In the wake of the Pulse night club shooting last year Orlando Democrats are proposing an “assault weapons ban” law for the state of Florida. What’s interesting about this is that it not only makes possession of the usual suspects (semi-auto magazine fed firearms) illegal, but it also makes possession of actual select fire assault weapons illegal within the state whether or not legally registered and possessed under the National Firearms Act.
The bill, SB254, appears to be a hit parade of every major AWB-related strategy ever tried. Instead of investigating each specific proposal and figuring out which one works best, the Democrats are instead demanding to implement all of them at the same time — even those that would have no impact on crime. Which, come to think of it, covers pretty much all of them.
Here’s a list of what Gunshine State Dems would ban or prohibit:
– All “select fire” firearms capable of fully automatic fire
– The possession of a combination of parts that can be used to construct a select fire firearm
– Dianne Feinstein’s latest list of specific model names for firearms she finds objectionable
– Guns the meet the “single feature” test for semi-automatic “assault weapons” not listed above
– The possession of any parts that could be used on an “assault weapon,” (so a flash hider will get you a felony charge)
– Any detachable magazine with greater than a seven-round capacity
That’s just about every “assault weapon” definition method that has ever been tried in the United States all rolled up into one bill. It’s also a fine example of what we keep saying — gun control activists don’t repeal laws that have no effect on crime rates, they just add more prohibitions in the hope that the accumulation of laws will eventually be restrictive enough to work.
With definitions in place for “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines,” the bill would impose a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison for anyone who has one of these prohibited items in their possession, two years in prison for anyone who tries to sell one, and six years if they try to sell (or give) one to someone under 18 years of age. But it’s all OK, because there’s an exemption for anyone who owns their evil object before October 1, 2017, registers it with the state, and has a “possession certificate.” Those with grandfathered items can keep the object (only at their home, a shooting range, or other similar locations, but NOT while hunting) but cannot transfer it except to a licensed firearms dealer.
Naturally the law would exempt law enforcement from any of its provisions.
The good news: that Robert has a better chance of spending a night of passion with an Israeli supermodel than this bill has of being passed into law. Florida is solidly in Republican control and the bill isn’t expected to ever emerge from committee. On the contrary, what’s more likely is the passage of a series of bills easing gun control restrictions in the state. When asked about the chances for his bill’s passage, the Senate sponsor, Sen. Linda Stewart, stated “We’re trying to cut back on the violence. To say, ‘in order to cut back, we’re going to have more’ — that doesn’t make sense.”