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Firearms Legal Protection

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  1. #1
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    MGO Joins National Coalition Opposing ANY Gun Control Legislation!!!

    Open Letter to Members of Congress:

    In coming weeks, you will face pressure from the Obama administration and others to implement a ban on semi-automatic firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices, and to pass laws requiring private gun transfers to be processed via the National Instant Check System.

    Yet the “assault weapon” misnomer is a myth perpetuated by gun control advocates who seek to confuse the public about the difference between millions of semi-automatic firearms, which are functionally identical to hunting rifles, and military “assault rifles,” which are machine guns virtually unavailable to the public since implementation of the National Firearms Act of 1934.

    The truth about modern rifles

    The modern rifles Senator Dianne Feinstein has, by her own admission, waited decades to ban differ from others primarily by cosmetic features such as barrel shrouds, threaded barrels, flash suppressors, pistol grips and adjustable stocks – things which do not affect function. The notion being promulgated by gun control advocates that such features increase lethality by allowing guns to be “fired from the hip” is absurd: Any firearms expert will attest that rifles can only be effectively utilized from the shoulder.

    Although you are being told that ammunition used by modern rifles is excessively destructive, in truth it is ballistically inferior to common .30-06 hunting ammunition and was selected by the military not for its lethality, but instead for light weight and low recoil.

    And when you hear how “high capacity” magazines increase mortality in mass shootings, understand that Seung-Hui Cho carried no fewer than nineteen magazines for the Virginia Tech rampage, and that nearly all mass murderers who use guns carry multiple firearms, rendering magazine capacity moot. Like the misnomer “assault weapon,” the “high capacity” designation of more than ten rounds for magazines represents nothing more than an arbitrary limit set on devices which have been in common possession since the early Twentieth Century.

    Moreover, attempts to process private gun sales through the National Instant Check System represent nothing less than a stepping stone to national gun registration; under the Clinton administration, the FBI retained NICS transaction records in violation of the Brady Act, creating a defacto national registration system.

    Most outrageous, however, is Sen. Feinstein’s proposal to regulate “grandfathered” modern rifles under the National Firearms Act. Doing so would not only entail registering millions of existing firearms, but would represent unprecedented expansion of police powers through the BATFE by requiring millions of gun owners to be fingerprinted and photographed like common criminals. Because a large percentage will refuse to comply, the scheme, if implemented, will make felons of otherwise law-abiding citizens.


    Semi-auto ban: No impact on violence

    Neither have such laws been effective. From 1994 to 2004, the previous ban on semi-automatic firearms and magazines had no impact on school shootings, which actually increased during that period. Indeed, some of the worst school shootings, including Columbine High School, took place during the ban.

    Despite predictions from gun control advocates that violent crime would increase after the ban expired, it has actually dropped: According to FBI Uniform Crime Reports, between expiration of the ban in 2004 and the most recent for which data is available (2011), violent crime dropped by 17% and homicide, by 15%.

    Meanwhile, weapons use in homicide has remained unchanged and, significantly, use of rifles (including those targeted for bans) declined slightly from 2.7% of homicides in 2004 to 2.5% of homicides in 2011. Clearly, rifles of any type, including those with features targeted by semi-auto bans, are rarely used in crimes.

    ‘Gun Free School Zones Act’ increased killings

    What does appear to have impacted school shootings was implementation of the latest version of the “Gun Free School Zones Act” (GFSZA), which is associated with a dramatic increase in school murders.

    Between the first significant school shooting, in 1966, and enactment of the 1996 GFSZA, media summaries reveal 8 shootings with 134 victims killed or wounded – a rate of 4.3 victims per year. Between 1996 and 2012, the review finds 62 shootings and 367 victims – a fivefold increase to 23 victims per year. Yet, during the same period, FBI Uniform Crime Reports indicate homicide nationwide dropped by 14%.

    While media summaries may not be comprehensive, the GFSZA has clearly been an abject failure. Worse, evidence suggests it may actually create “kill zones” which attract violent predators.

    Researchers John Lott and William Landes, then at Yale and the University of Chicago, respectively, studied multiple victim public shootings. Said Lott, “Gun prohibitionists concede that banning guns around schools has not quite worked as intended—but their response has been to call for more regulation of guns. Yet what might appear to be the most obvious policy may actually cost lives. When gun-control laws are passed, it is law-abiding citizens, not would-be criminals, who adhere to them.”

    Examining data from 1976 to 1995, they discovered that mass homicides in states adopting concealed handgun laws declined by 84%, deaths plummeted by 90% and injuries by 82.5%. Crediting the reductions to deterrence (even suicidal maniacs avoid armed victims), Lott and Landes called their findings “dramatic,” concluding: “[T]he only policy factor to have a consistently significant influence on multiple victim public shootings is the passage of concealed handgun laws.”

    Coalition position

    Members of the National Coalition to Stop the Gun Ban demand that Congress refuse to use lawful gun owners as political scapegoats and instead reduce school violence by:

    • Defeating any attempt to pass gun control including, but not limited to, banning semi-automatic firearms or magazines, or requiring private gun transfers to be registered through the National Instant Check System; and

    • Repealing the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1996.

    No ‘compromises’

    Some will urge you to “compromise,” perhaps even the National Rifle Association. The many thousands of gun rights supporters represented by the Coalition, however, regard “compromise,” as our opposition defines it, to be a process in which we lose slightly fewer of our rights than under the original proposal. Consequently, any legislation which registers or bans firearms; limits magazine capacity; registers private transactions through NICS; or restricts time, place or manner of self-defense is unacceptable.

    Members of Congress who support gun owners by opposing all gun control will, in turn, benefit from support by Coalition organizations. Members of Congress who support gun control by any means, procedural or substantive, will be targeted for defeat by Coalition members. They will be subject to picketing, leaflet drops at events in their districts, phone and mail campaigns, and political action committee opposition. NRA ratings and endorsements will have no impact on Coalition actions.

    In coming weeks, we look forward to working with you to reduce school violence by allowing lawful citizens in schools and elsewhere to defend themselves against violent predators.

    Respectfully,
    The National Coalition to Stop the Gun Ban

    Signatories

    National Organizations:

    The Firearms Coalition
    Jeff Knox, Managing Director
    Chris Knox, Director of Communications

    Gun Owners of America
    Larry D. Pratt, Executive Director

    Rights Watch International
    F. Paul Valone, Executive Director

    Second Amendment Sisters
    Marinelle Thompson, President
    Lee Ann Tarducci, Director of Operations

    USRKBA.org
    Dave Yates, Co-founder
    Dave Van, Co-Founder

    State-level organizations:

    Arizona Citizens Defense League
    Dave Kopp, President


    Arkansas Carry
    Steve Jones, Chairman

    Florida Carry, Inc.
    Sean Caranna, Executive Director
    Richard Nascak, Executive Director

    Grass Roots North Carolina
    F. Paul Valone, President

    Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance, Minnesota
    Joe Olson, President

    Gun Owners of California
    Sam Paredes, Executive Director

    Gun Owners of Maine
    Shane Belanger, Executive Director

    Gun Owners of Utah
    Charles Hardy, Public Policy Director

    Gun Owners of Vermont
    Gary Cutler, Legislative Director

    Michigan Gun Owners
    Jeff LaFave, President

    Montana Shooting Sports Association
    Gary Marbut, President

    New Hampshire Firearms Coalition
    Jonathan R. Evans, Esq, President

    New Jersey 2nd Amendment Society
    Frank Flamingo, President

    Nebraska Firearms Owners Association
    Wesley Dickinson, President

    Oregon Firearms Federation
    Kevin Starrett, Executive Director

    Peaceable Texans for Firearms Rights
    Paul Velte, President

    Virginia Citizens Defense League
    Philip Van Cleave, President

    West Virginia Citizens Defense League
    Keith Morgan, President

    Western Missouri Shooters Alliance
    Kevin Jamison, Press Officer

    Wisconsin Carry, Inc
    Nik Clark, Chairman/President
    1

  2. #2
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    Nicely done.

    I'm ready for it. Maybe sticky this and update if there is to be a cordinated grassroots emailing, phonecalling or otherwise campaign. Subscribed people can get instructions....

  3. #3
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  4. #4
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    Nicely done

  5. #5
    Administrator G22's Avatar
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    This is what it's all about. Let's get busy making our voices heard. No compromises.

    Good start MGO!
    The Constitution is NOT dead. It's just being held captive.

    DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in my posts are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, or official policies of Michigan Gun Owners.

  6. #6
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    Great job!

  7. #7
    In Memoriam mikeb32's Avatar
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    Agreed!!!!
    "Tell Me No Lies, I'll ask you No Questions"

    NRA Life Member
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    NRA RSO

    NRA CRSO
    MOC Member

    Unless otherwise noted, my posts represent my personal opinion, and are not an official position, opinion, or endorsement by MGO or the MGO BOD.

  8. #8
    MGO Member
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    All Aboard !

  9. #9
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    It really needs the NRA to sign on.
    I know many people do like the NRA but it still is the most known of the bunch.
    Just because something is legal to do doesn't mean it is the smart thing to do.

  10. #10
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    Well written statement, thanks to all who contributed to it's creation.

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