How Congress Intends To Sidestep An Outright Repeal Of The 2nd Amendment

It is rumored that HR 45 is about to undergo hearings on Capitol Hill.  And the more I read about this piece of legislation, the more angry I become.

HR 45 is titled, “Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009”.  This is an embarrassing nod to the courage of high school junior Blair Holt, who died shielding another student from gang-related gunfire on a Chicago city bus; titled solely to distract from the fact that both criminals and wack jobs walk amongst us.  Nowhere is it mentioned, of course, that the gun used to kill Blair Holt was itself illegal and there are already laws on the books to address this.

The purpose of this bill is ostensibly to legislate some kind of bassackwards morality as cover for the progressive liberals’ wish to destroy our 2nd Amendment rights.  Because people use guns to kill other people, whether for all the wrong or right reasons, it is now being presumed that it is the government’s job to insure that only those it deems qualified may own “any handgun” or “any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device” (not “antique”).    The thinking goes that it is only by restricting private gun ownership to only those approved by only the government that the number of guns getting into the hands of criminals or secretly taken by screw-loose, unsupervised youngsters will be reduced.

It’s bullshit.  The truth is that both laws and locks keep only honest people honest.  The criminal element is by big, fat “DUH!” definition “criminal” because it never has and never will have any regard whatsoever for laws or locks or anything else that would stand in their way of going about their bad business.  The real protections of we, the people, provided by the 2nd Amendment comes from criminals’ uncertainty about what they might face should they attempt to steal or otherwise harm us.  Not to mention that when citizens have the right to bear arms, it is no longer such an easy task for the government to overstep its bounds and (illegally) seize anything from them by force.  In both cases, the 2nd Amendment creates a truce-type of situation; exactly as was intended by the Founding Fathers the bulk of control, the power, remains with the people.

The gist of this wicked bill is that no one may possess a “qualifying firearm” without a license.  And in order to get a license, you must give the Attorney General $25 and all of the following:

1. A current, passport-sized photograph
2. Your name, address, and date and place of birth
3. Any other name you ever used or by which you have ever been known
4. A clear thumb print (yours, of course)
5. A statement that you are not a person prohibited from obtaining a firearm
6. Certification you will keep any firearm safely stored and out of the possession anyone under 18 years of age
7. Proof of having taken a written firearms examination intended to test your knowledge about
   1. The safe storage of firearms, particularly in the vicinity of persons who have not attained 18 years of age
   2. The safe handling of firearms
   3. The use of firearms in the home and the risks associated with using them in the home
   4. The legal responsibilities of firearms owners, including Federal, State, and local laws relating to requirements for the possession and storage of firearms, and relating to reporting requirements with respect to firearms
   5. Any other subjects, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate
8. An authorization to release any of your mental health records to the Attorney General or their authorized representative (if there are any)
9. Date the application was submitted
10. Your signature

If you are then deemed worthy, you will get your very own firearms license (it will say so, in bold letters centered right at the very top, “FIREARM LICENSE–NOT VALID FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE”).  Each one will have a unique number and include your photograph, address, date of birth, the license’s expiration date, and your signature.  Though if you move, you’d better tell the Attorney General or you’ll be in trouble!

You won’t be able to buy a “qualifying firearm” from anyone except a “licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector” and they will be given a special number to note on the bill of sale that they’ve verified with the Attorney General’s office you have a valid license.  Oh, you can’t sell a gun to anyone except a  “licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector” either, though they kindly made provision to allow inheriting guns.

Of course, there are always exceptions and the ones in this bill should be even more cause for concern.  It won’t apply  to “any department or agency of the United States, of a State, or of a political subdivision of a State, or to any official conduct of any officer or employee of such a department or agency”, or to “a peace officer, a member of the Armed Forces, or a member of the National Guard”.

What this bill does is to effectively negate the 2nd Amendment by automatically making all private citizens a criminal until they prove themselves otherwise.

Not only is that the real crime, it is also unconstitutional.