Opinion
New York – -(AmmoLand.com)- With a lot of the focus being on modern multi-purpose semiautomatic long-guns like the AR-15 rifle, we forget that anti-Second Amendment extremists have other targets as well. Perhaps the most notable, despite the landmark Heller and McDonald cases, are handguns. When you think about it, targeting handguns make for a more practical (even if they are protected under the Second Amendment) target, especially when looking at the Justice Department’s crime stats.
We should not forget that Sarah Brady long ago called for a “needs-based licensing” scheme. Well, the first step to getting there is to actually get any kind of licensing scheme passed, and the two who are trying to make that infringement on our Second Amendment rights happen are Representative Jamie Raskin & Senator Chris Van Hollen via the Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act. In the House, this bill is known as HR 3285, while the Senate version is S 1844.
In a release by Raskin’s office, he is surprisingly open about what he wants. Not only is the National Instant Check System not enough – he wants those who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights to have to go to the police station, provide a photo, and be fingerprinted like some common criminal. All of this because of crimes and acts of madness they did NOT commit.
We see comments from anti-Second Amendment extremists about straw purchases (there are better options to deal with those, if only the laws on the books are enforced). The fact is, though, the failure to enforce laws that lead to crimes being committed is something that must be addressed.
Raskin also put out a statement with the usual nonsense in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings, and he failed to mention his proposed legislation. But the press release was full of platitudes. We must look at the text of both the House and Senate versions, and we can see what they have in mind.
Mother May I Please
Raskin and Van Hollen have taken a much more indirect approach to wrongfully attacking our rights: They are going to bribe states to enact their own licensing schemes via grants. Thankfully, only nine states have such systems in place, per a release from Van Hollen. Just how bad can licensing be you might say?
Well, keep this in mind: New Jersey’s permit-to-purchase system and its delays has cost at least one woman who was trying to escape an abusive ex her life.
The fact is, with the National Instant Check System, especially with the protections of the Tiahrt Amendments (which anti-Second Amendment extremists want to dismantle), there is really no rational basis for a permit-to-purchase system. The only reason to back such legislation is to begin the process of turning America into England, Australia, or New Zealand.
Second Amendment supporters need to contact their Representative and Senators to politely urge them to oppose this anti-Second Amendment legislation. When there is a way to instantly determine whether someone is a prohibited person, there is no way a permit-to-purchase system should be allowed to stand where it exists, much less be expanded across the country.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.