I am a gun owner. I own a LOT of them. I am a target shooter, and collector. I have a concealed carry permit, and yes I am a member of the NRA. I am also a member of the ACLU. I figure they defend all the other amendments, and the NRA defends the 2nd. I am highly trained, certified, and responsible.
Please, let’s not immediately knee jerk, and jump all over me with the usual arguments, and attacks regarding the evil of guns and all the rest. It’s all been covered, and I’m trying to make a point here that I don’t want to get lost in the usual forest and trees rat hole that seems to happen.
I support background checks! I’ve not had a chance to review the Manchin-Toomey bill other than what’s been said on the news and on cable, but I’ll tell you now that if the NRA was in the room, it’s probably not too great of a bill! As a long time gun owner and purchaser let me tell you some things, and maybe dispel some myths, so that you can understand what REALLY does and does not need to be in a bill.
When Mad Wayne made his 1st news conference after Sandy Hook, he sent out an Email to all of us NRA member with a “How did I do?” feedback request in it. I told him he sounded like a total idiot, and he completely did not represent my position. That the best thing the NRA could do is to help educate people about guns, and gun owners, and work toward sensible gun purchase practices.
Let me start with a few things that you may already know, but I put it here just so you are sure to be aware. Sorry if it’s basic, but I want folks to be on the same page.
1. Magazines/Clips – They are reloadable! I don’t mean to insult your intelligence, but I have seen comments that seem to imply that these are 1 use items that are thrown out after they are expended. Sorry, but no. It doesn’t matter their capacity, they can be reused, and they can be refilled with bullets, and used again another day. So, if you ban “High Capacity Magazines” you are not banning them from the planet forever. Just want you to understand that. Not trying to be obtuse.
2. Internet Sales – Under current laws you can’t just log onto some site and buy a gun and have it mailed to your house. Sorry, no it does not happen! You CAN go to Craigslist, or some other site, and find a PRIVATE SELLER, and have them meet you somewhere and sell you a gun face 2 face, as a “private sale”, and that does not have to have a background check! THAT is wrong! As I can tell from the news reports this will still be allowed under the proposed bill. RED ALERT – Don’t be so happy with this bill if this is indeed still a loophole!
a. Buying from auction sites or retailers must be sent to a holder of a Federal Firearms License (FFL), and they do a background check, and then you get your gun. Current law, good thing, in effect now.
A real background check bill needs to include coverage for all transactions. The ONLY exemption I would allow would be for family member to family member, or in the case of an estate/death. I don’t care if it’s person to person, or at a gun show, or whatever.
In NO CASES should a gun ever be sold to:
1.a convicted felon
2.a person with domestic violence issues
3.a person with outstanding restraining orders, or orders of protection on them
4.people on the terror watch list, or no fly list
When I sell a gun person to person I print out the forms that the ATF makes an FLL holder use to sell a gun and make the buyer fill them out completely. If they refuse, I won’t sell to them. I do this to protect myself. I won’t sell to a criminal, or other asshole. I don’t want a gun that has been put on the record that was sold to me to be used, down the line, to be used in a bad way, coming back to me, without complete records that show I sold it legitimately. If I could call the ATF and do a check, I would!
I think real, legitimate, honest, and responsible gun owners like myself all feel this way. Even the knee jerk NRA reactionaries I’ve spoken to over the last few months all come over to my view very quickly when I say, “do you want a bunch of criminal, and bad asses to make us look like criminals and irresponsible citizens?”
We ALL agree that “Straw Purchasers” are the lowest form of shite-slug. Anyone who would willingly buy guns and redistribute them to criminals should be halved and quartered in the public square. I’ve heard die hard NRA members come up with even more creative punishment for these slime devils.
The bottom line is that we need to take a VERY close look at this bill and be sure it REALLY does do something worth lauding. Unless we plug ALL the holes, it’s not worth it. Make sure you’re being factual and tilting at the right windmills.
If anyone wants to ask me questions, or get clarifications on the TRUTH of gun purchasing, and ownership, please feel free. If you just want to jump up my butt for being a gun owner, and not being for gun banning, or other histrionic topics, please don’t. Let’s find middle ground, OK?
I could continue this discussion on Large Magazines, and Assault Weapons, but I won’t. Those topics get more nuanced, and perhaps I’ll approach those later. There’s a lot of emotion there, so we’ll open that on another day.
Be well all.