A leopard just can’t change his
(or her) spots. Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton of New York, wife of Bill, the
anti-gun former President, herself is
now considered the front-runner for
the 2008 Democrat Party presidential
nomination. In anticipation, she
apparently has been trying to position
herself as “centrist†to prevent
potential voters from being scared
off by her reputation as a leftist. Recently,
though, she and fellow antigun
Sen. Charles Schumer of New
York became cosponsors of a bill to
make public a national database of
firearms used in crimes and illegal
sales. This could facilitate anti-gun
lawsuits against the firearms industry.
The bill, S. 2460, by anti-gun
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey,
has been referred to the Senate Judiciary
Committee. Rep. Steven R.
Rothmann of New Jersey introduced
the House version, H.R. 5033.
After revelations of government
confiscation of legally owned firearms
in New Orleans during the time
of Hurricane Katrina, a number of
legislators around the country are
trying to make sure nothing like that
happens in the future. Two legislators
from Louisiana, appropriately,
are leading the charge at the federal
legislative level. They are Rep.
Bobby Jindal and Sen. David Vitter.
They have proposed the Disaster
Recovery Personal Protection Act
of 2006, H.R. 5013 in the House of
Representatives, and S. 2599 in the
Senate. This would amend current
federal emergency statute laws to
prohibit local authorities from confiscating
lawfully owned firearms
during times of disaster. CCRKBA
is foursquare for this proposal. We
urge Point Blank readers to contact
their own Representative and both
of their Senators and request them
to cosponsor it.
In Washington, D.C., CCRKBA
announced its support for the proposed
Sportsmen’s Privacy Protection
Act (SPPS), S. 2249 in the U.S.
Senate, and H.R. 4144 in the House
introduced by Sen. Rick Santorum
and Rep. Phil English, respectively,
both of Pennsylvania. SPPA would
modify section 666 of Title 42 of U.S.
Code to delete the state mandate
requiring Americans to disclose their
Social Security numbers in order
to obtain hunting, fishing or other
recreational licenses. In almost all
states, recreational licensing is administered
through retailers like bait
and tackle shops and other stores.
There individual agents, not state
agents, are the primary conduit for
collecting, recording and transmitting
Social Security numbers, putting
the personal information of sportsmen
at grave and unnecessary risk
of identity theft, the fastest growing
crime in the United States.
According to a Scripps Howard
News Service report filed in late
March, the number of gun dealers
in the United States has fallen 78
percent in the last 10 years as “tens
of thousands of home-based dealers
surrendered their federal licenses.
The drop shows how the gun debate
has moved from a national stage –
where gun control advocates lost
congressional battles to ban assault
weapons and to sue gun manufacturers
– to local zoning boards that are
creating a web of fees and regulations
that indirectly restrict the sale
of firearms.â€
Rep. Howard Coble of North
Carolina, Chairman of the House
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism and Criminal Justice, and
Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the
Subcommittee’s Ranking Member,
together introduced H.R. 5092, the
proposed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (BATFE)
Modernization and Reform Act of
2006. It would revise the system of
administrative penalties for federally
licensed dealers, manufacturers and
importers of firearms. Currently, for
most violations, BATFE can only give
an FFL holder a warning or totally
revoke the license. H.R. 5092 would
allow fines or license suspensions for
less serious violations, while allowing
license revocation for the type of
serious violations that would block
an investigation or put firearms in
the hands of criminals.
Make a note: The 2006 Gun Rights
Policy Conference, cosponsored by
CCRKBA and Second Amendment
Foundation, will be held September
22, 23 and 24 at the Renaissance
Charlotte Suites Hotel in Charlotte,
North Carolina. For more information,
call 425-454-7012.
