Tag: gun control

ATF Is Key To Biden’s Gun Control Plans

It looks like a confirmation hearing for the former ATF agent turned gun control activists who Joe Biden nominated to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives will take place in just a few weeks, and the administration appears to be engaging in a bit of pre-hearing spin with the help of the New York Times. In a lengthy new piece, reporters Danny Hakim and Mike McIntire portray the agency that oversees our nation’s gun laws and firearms industry as the “whipping boy” for the NRA in years past, but the ATF is now at the heart of Biden’s gun control agenda.

Mr. Biden has ordered a ban on the homemade-firearm kits known as “ghost guns,” a prohibition the A.T.F. will have to enforce. To help set gun policy, he has charged the A.T.F. with undertaking the first comprehensive federal survey of weapons-trafficking patterns since 2000. And to lead the bureau into the future, Mr. Biden has nominated a fiery former A.T.F. agent and gun-control activist, David Chipman.

First, though, the bureau will have to overcome its past. In the 48 years since its mission shifted primarily to firearms enforcement, it has been weakened by relentless assaults from the N.R.A. that have, in the view of many, made the A.T.F. appear to be an agency engineered to fail.

At the N.R.A.’s instigation, Congress has limited the bureau’s budget. It has imposed crippling restrictions on the collection and use of gun-ownership data, including a ban on requiring basic inventories of weapons from gun dealers. It has limited unannounced inspections of gun dealers. Fifteen years ago, the N.R.A. successfully lobbied to make the director’s appointment subject to Senate confirmation — and has subsequently helped block all but one nominee from taking office.

The Times neglects to mention that one of the reasons why the ATF has had a difficult time getting a permanent director confirmed is because Democrats have offered up some candidates that simply couldn’t pass muster with a majority of the U.S. Senate. In 2010, for instance, Barack Obama nominated ATF agent Andrew Traver as permanent director, but his nomination never received a vote on the Senate floor because a number of senators had voiced their concerns over Traver’s anti-gun attitudes.

Obama’s second nominee, B. Todd Jones, was ultimately confirmed by the Senate but remained in the job for less than two years before retiring in 2015 and taking a job with the NFL.

Despite Traver’s anti-gun rhetoric scuttling his chances at the top job, the Biden administration has also nominated a former agent with deep ties to the gun control movement. David Chipman spent 25 years at the ATF, but has also spent nearly a decade working for gun control groups like Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Giffords. According to the Times, Chipman may not have the votes to be confirmed either, though the paper says he does have the backing of one of the most important members of the Senate these days.

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REPUBLICANS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO PUSH FEDERAL GUN CONFISCATION BILL BY PAYING STATES TO ACCEPT IT

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced S.292 — Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act of 2021, and he has garnered support from the gun-grabbing Democrats and Republicans alike. On Wednesday, this latest Red Flag gun confiscation bill, gets a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which includes notorious gun grabbers like Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Unlike red flag legislation on which TFTP has reported in the past which involve state laws, S.292 will apply to all states and Indian Tribes. Under the guise of a “grant program” the bill will bribe states to enact the most comprehensive red flag law we’ve ever seen.

The Assistant Attorney General shall make grants to an eligible State or Indian Tribe to assist the State or Indian Tribe in carrying out the provisions of a qualifying State or Tribal law.

S.292 is described as a bill:

To provide family members of an individual who they fear is a danger to himself, herself, or others, or law enforcement, with new tools to prevent gun violence.

However, as the Free Thought Project has reported in the past, these “tools” have failed repeatedly and pave the way for rampant abuse. Naturally, the “fact checkers” have already taken to defending the bill, claiming that it doesn’t remove due process.

However, citizens who are targeted by these laws will be deemed guilty first, and only after their guns are taken will they have a chance to defend themselves in court. This is de facto removal of due process.

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New Gun Control Bill Expected to Pass Requires Background Checks to Purchase Ammo

South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Connecticut US Senator Richard Blumenthal were given massive coverage in the media this week to push their new tyrannical gun control law. “The Ammunition Background Check Act of 2021,” would require all citizens who wish to purchase ammo for their already-legal firearms to undergo background checks first.

The law is also called “Jamie’s Law,” named in honor of Jaime Guttenberg, one of 17 victims in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.

On Thursday, the congresswoman from Florida took to shamelessly exploiting the Parkland tragedy to push even more senseless gun control measures.

“No person should endure the agonizing pain of losing someone they love to gun violence. Families in towns and cities across the country who have been touched by this agonizing epidemic are joining Fred Guttenberg and other gun safety advocates to demand Congress address this public health crisis,” said Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz. “Jaime’s Law is a crucial piece of the multifaceted approach needed to end the gun violence epidemic. Closing the ammunition loophole and requiring background checks for ammunition purchases can save lives.”

Jamie’s father also released a statement to push the bill.

“My daughter Jaime was murdered over 3 years ago. Since then, our failure to address the reality of gun violence has only become more challenging as we see more instances of gun violence. The gun surge unleashed during the pandemic has resulted in over 400,000,000 weapons on our streets,” said Fred Guttenberg, founder of Orange Ribbons For Jaime. “Unfortunately, as we are seeing every day now, many in the hands of someone who intends harm and wants to kill. The way to deal with this reality is to pass Jaime’s law and extend background checks to ammunition. The reality of gun violence in America will not fix itself. We need this life saving legislation or we will continue to face our current daily reality of gun violence and loss of life. We are better than this. THE TIME IS NOW!!! Let’s save lives together and pass Jaime’s Law.”

As CBS Miami reports, with Democrats in control of Congress, Guttenberg feels there is a great chance of passage this year.

“The gun lobby is weakened and this is the year to pass legislation,” he says.

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NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Pushes Ammo Purchase Database, .50 Caliber Rifle Ban

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is fighting gun crime in his state by calling for a database of ammunition purchasers and banning .50 caliber rifles.

ABC7 notes that Murphy also wants to require “gun safety training” as part of the process for obtaining a firearm ID card, enact gun storage obligations, mandate registration of out-of-state firearms, and relaunch the “smart gun commission” and a microstamping requirement, among other things.

Murphy’s ideas are already enacted–and failing–in other states.

For example, California already has ammunition gun control, yet South Los Angeles witnessed a 742 percent spike in shooting victims during the first 16 days alone of 2021. California also has a microstamping requirement and firearm registration.

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Democrats Introduce Ban on Sale, Possession of Firearm Suppressors

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation on Wednesday to ban the sale and possession of firearm suppressors.

His legislation, the Help Empower Americans to Respond (HEAR) Act, is co-sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), among others.

It would ban the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of firearm suppressors.

Menendez commented on the legislation, saying:

Gun silencers are dangerous devices with one purpose and one purpose only – to muffle the sound of gunfire from unsuspecting victims. The sound of gunshots is what signals you to run, hide, take cover, call the police and help others save themselves; however, this is nearly impossible when a gun silencer is used. That is why we must pass the HEAR Act, commonsense legislation that will prevent armed assailants from using these deadly devices to make it easier to shoot and kill another person.

Sen. Feinstein also commented: “Gun silencers and suppressors are dangerous and don’t belong in our communities. They hide the sound of gunfire from potential victims and law enforcement. Removing them will save lives.”

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