USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Welcome back to The Legal Brief, the show where we CRUSH the various legal myths and misinformation surrounding various areas of the gun world. I’m your host Adam Kraut and today we’re giving you the full break down on the SHARE Act otherwise known as the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act.
The SHARE Act is an omnibus bill that had a variety of pro-gun provisions and was recently voted out of committee. The bill was waiting to be scheduled to be brought to a vote.
I say was because given the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has been quoted as saying that there is no scheduled plan to vote on the bill.
For those that don’t know, an omnibus bill is a bill that is accepted by a single vote in the legislature but has a variety of difference measures in it that can be related or cover a diverse range of topics. As gun owners, there are several sections of the SHARE Act that should capture your attention. Specifically the provisions pertaining to interstate transportation of firearms and ammunition, the lawful purpose and self-defense act, the recreational lands self defense act and the hearing protection act.
Interstate transportation of firearms is a topic that you guys ask about all the time. Currently, the law allows for a person to lawfully transport their firearm from a location that they can lawfully possess or carry the firearm to another location where they can lawfully possess or carry the firearm, as long as the firearm is unloaded and that the firearm or ammunition is not readily accessible (in the trunk assuming you have one). We also know that states like New York, New Jersey, etc. love to arrest people for violating their laws when they are simply passing through.
One of the provisions in the SHARE Act would modify the existing law as it pertains to the interstate transportation of firearms and adds a provision for the transportation of ammo that is lawful in the start and end destination. More importantly, the term transport is defined to include “staying in temporary lodging overnight, stopping for food, fuel, vehicle maintenance, an emergency, medical treatment, and any other activity incidental to the transport.” Even better, if an individual is prosecuted and shows that they complied with the law and successfully assert the affirmative defense, they are entitled to attorney’s fees, which is a huge deal. It also allows for the person to sue the government and recover attorneys fees and damages if they are deprived of any right, privilege, or immunity secured by this proposed section, along with sections 926B and 926C which you may better know as LEOSA. We covered that topic in a previous video and you can find that in the description.
As you probably remember during the Obama Administration, ATF attempted to enter into rulemaking to reclassify M855, more commonly known as green tip 5.56 ammo, as armor piercing ammunition. Fortunately enough people got involved with the process that it became a non-issue. Interestingly, there is a section in the SHARE Act that seeks to address the classification of armor piercing ammunition by looking to the manufacturer’s intent. This would eliminate the ability of the ATF to declare ammunition armor piercing, simply because it can be used in both a rifle and handgun. This section also completely eliminates 92k2(r) compliance, which means we would lose the opportunity to film one of the most highly requested topics on The Legal Brief. It also provides a provision which would eliminate the ATF’s ability to arbitrarily reclassify shotguns and large caliber rifles as destructive devices.
The SHARE Act also contains a provision which would prevent the Secretary of the Army from creating or enforcing any regulation that prohibits a person from possessing a firearm at a water resources development project. You probably better know this as an area the Army Corp of Engineers is involved with.
And as you probably better know the SHARE Act for, it also provides an updated and better drafted version of the Hearing Protection Act.
Specifically, it revises the definition of a silencer to mean “any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including the ‘keystone part’ of such a device.” The bill defines the term ‘keystone part’ as “an externally visible part of a “silencer” without which a device capable of silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm cannot be assembled” but specifically excludes any interchangeable parts designed to mount a silencer to a firearm. Since we’ve covered the HPA a number of times on the show, we won’t beat this one to death.
As you can see, the SHARE Act is much more than just a better version of the HPA.
We talked about interstate travel becoming safer for those passing through states who make it a mission to punish gun owners. We see that the manufacturer’s intent would be the criteria for determining whether ammunition is considered armor piercing. More areas would be opened up for people to exercise their Second Amendment rights and of course, we would be able to purchase silencers just like any other firearm.
As a whole the bill touches on a number of issues that Congress needs to step in to protect. So what can you do to help make this a reality? There are two things. First, pick up the phone and call your representative and demand that they support this important bill and that you want it to be voted on. It will go nowhere without you, the constituent, demanding it be supported and voted on. Be firm, but be polite. Explain your position to the person on the other side or simply just tell them who you are, that you support the bill and you want your Representative to do the same. Second, pick up the phone again and call Speaker Paul Ryan’s office and demand that he bring to bill to a vote. Tell his office that you want to know where the Representatives stand on the issue and the only way to do that is to have it voted on. This is a bill that we as gun owners need to push for. Sitting on the sidelines is not an option.
Did you like this video? Make sure to share it with your friends. Don’t forget to hit that like button and if you aren’t subscribed already, you better make that happen. Be sure to ring that bell so you don’t miss an episode. Check out my website adamkraut.com.
And as always thanks for watching!
Links for this episode:
- SHARE Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3668
- LEOSA Episode: https://youtu.be/NpESIZWZZB8
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