Feinstein Fiasco

24 January 2013

Dianne Feinstein has laid out her new "Assault Weapons Ban" legislation.  She is not lying when she says, "No weapon is taken from anyone."  Technically.

However, all the "grandfathered" weapons are required to pass through a background check, whether being handed down to a grandchild or sold after the law would take effect.  Since the NICs standards can be altered, such an engine makes it trivial for Congress to sneak in adjustments to existing law to prevent these weapons from going to anybody but the BATFE.

Remember, the best lie is based on a mere nugget of truth.  Her legislation doesn't mandate kicking in front doors, it merely puts obstacles in the path of changing ownership.  Since most gunowners do their level best to follow the myriad thousands of gun laws on the books, it's a cheap, painless way for the government to get these weapons.

As pointed out in the Washington Free Beacon article, this is a method to choke off the supply of certain guns.  Many of these weapons are mechanically identical to less "ugly" (read less "military") looking rifles, so the end result is a piece of legislation that won't really change anything except cosmetics on new rifles.  That and restrict a private gun owner's right to sell private property as he or she sees fit.

If the infringement upon property rights strikes you as repugnant, then you are paying attention.  It's not a simple attack on the Second Amendment, it's also an attack on one of our cornerstone rights: the right to own property.  Last I checked, the definition of fascism covers activity such as this, where you are free to own property but have no rights regarding said property.

“Instead, the bill protects hunters and sportsmen by protecting 2,200 specifically-named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes,” said Feinstein.  Funny, building a short list of protected firearms, limited to the vague "hunting and sporting" function, protects hunters and sportsmen...though I fail to see how.  What she doesn't state is that the Second Amendment is not about hunting and sport shooting.  The right encompasses a great deal more.

Limiting the Second Amendment to "hunting and sporting" is tantamount to limiting the First Amendment to reporters working for major news agencies and nobody else.