We’ve lost count of how many attempts there have been to enact another federal “assault weapons” ban since the Clinton-era gun control law sunsetted in 2004. A new election year version that was introduced yesterday is just as doomed as those prior iterations, but it takes a slightly different approach than its predecessors.
Maine’s Angus King and New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich are the lead sponsors of the cleverly monikered Gas-Operated Semiautomatic Firearm Exclusion (GOSAFE) bill. But like the so many other examples of intentionally mislabeled legislation (think: Inflation Reduction Act) this one would do literally nothing to make anyone any safer.
Rather than taking a feature-based approach like earlier gun ban attempts, the GOSAFE bill targets semi-automatic gas-operated firearms that take detachable magazines. It also limits magazine capacity to ten rounds. Owners of any newly-banned firearms would be grandfathered in.
The bill has carveouts for
- .22 caliber rimfire or less firearms
- Bolt action rifles
- Semi-automatic shotguns
- Recoil-operated handguns
- Rifles with a permanently fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less
- Shotguns with a permanently fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less
- Handguns with a permanently fixed magazine of 15 rounds or less
All of the usual suspect gun control operations are, of course, enthusiastic.
None of that matters, though. In an election year and with the current makeup of Congress, the bill has virtually no chance of passage. And then there are its obvious constitutional problems under Bruen. But the real motivation here isn’t actual passage, it’s been introduced to force Senate Republicans to vote against it. The intent is to provide Democrats with a campaign talking point to help them in a number of competitive races next November that will determine control of the Senate.
As you’d imagine, the NSSF isn’t a fan of the maneuver . . .
NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, flatly rejects the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act, which would ban the sale of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) and most other semi-automatic rifles. This proposed legislation is clearly unconstitutional, as the U.S. Supreme Court held in Heller that entire classes of firearms cannot be banned from legal sale and possession by law-abiding citizens. The bill was introduced today by U.S. Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
“The legislation introduced by Senators King and Heinrich is openly defiant of the rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. There is no path forward for legislation of this nature that would deprive law-abiding citizens the ability to lawfully possess the firearm of their choosing and the full spectrum of their Second Amendment rights,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This legislation is a knee-jerk reaction to a travesty for which the American public is still demanding answers as to why the Lewiston murderer, who clearly showed signs of mental instability and professed to violent threats, was allowed by state and federal agencies to continue to possess firearms. Depriving law-abiding citizens of their Constitutional rights for the criminal acts of a depraved individual doesn’t make our communities safer.”
The legislation introduced by Sens. King and Heinrich would ban the sale of commonly owned gas-operated, semiautomatic rifles that can accept detachable magazines. The bill would also place a federal limit on magazine capacity, a measure that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found had no appreciable effect on crime reduction during the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.
The murderer in Lewiston, Maine, was identified by military authorities while training in New York as having shown signs of violent criminal intent and was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility by authorities for two weeks before being released. Federal law should have prohibited the possession of firearms but there was clearly a failure to properly report and act on this information. The murderer reportedly made threats of violent attacks against a National Guard facility in Maine. New York State Police were notified and reacted to the verbal threats made by the murderer, as well as Maine State Police. While the investigation is ongoing, it appears that neither the military nor either state law enforcement agency reported these instances to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
NSSF championed the FIX NICS Act, which compelled federal agencies and incentivized state authorities to submit all disqualifying records to FBI NICS. The law was named after NSSF’s FixNICS initiative to change the law in 16 states and in Congress to get all disqualifying records submitted to FBI NICS to ensure firearms remain out of the hands of those who cannot be trusted to possess them. The FIX NICS Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump after the U.S. Air Force failed to submit disqualifying records of the murderer in Sutherland Springs, Texas, who should have been disqualified from purchasing firearms before his crimes. The failure of the U.S. Air Force to follow the law and submit several instances of disqualification resulted in the background check system being incomplete.
There are over 24.4 million MSRs in circulation since 1990, which are used daily for lawful purposes, including self-defense, hunting and recreational target shooting.
LOL no
Another scheme where democRats use the criminals they created to move the Gun Control football…typical nazi demoCrap.
Gun Control? Abolish it like its sidekick buddy Slavery was abolished.
Some day they’ll have time to work on a proper budget. Until then we are treated to this nonsense.
The NSSF was in favor of the Bi-partisan Safer Communities Act so I don’t see any “of course” in their opposition to this Negotiating Rights Away bill.
All the RINO turncoats on the NSSF and NRA’s payroll in the Senate who wrote and pushed through “the deal” to get last year’s gun control victory continue to receive A-grades on their legislative report cards from the NSSF which tells anyone paying attention what the “gun industry” thinks about that new bill.
Last year’s bill was just as bad as this new one -worse because it not only had a chance of passing, it actually DID pass and the repercussions of it are still making waves. The ATF is going to shut down all private sales because of the language in that new law.
Thanks NSSF you are a real backstabber to the 2A.
THANK YOU. I had the exact same thought on the “of course” line.
Let’s see…Who stood on the floor of congress and threw a wrench in the spokes of knee jerk Gun Control following Uvaldie? If those who complain today would have stood prior to tragedies like Uvaldie and Defined Gun Control by its History perhaps there wouldn’t be what is once again repackaged Gun Control…In other words if you did not or have not Defined Gun Control by its History you are the problem…
The NSSF is only concerned about their bottom lines. If you think they don’t support gun control then you are the one who isn’t paying attention to RECENT history.
The NSSF loves a little gun control being passed like last year. It sells more guns.
Once again they are showing how clueless they are about firearms since they are clearly giving old school HK rifles a pass.
Bill, I was thinking the same thing. BTW, outside of a Broomhandle Mauser, how are you going to load a fixed magazine in a semi-auto pistol?
Don’t worry…when people are still killed with fixed magazine firearms, they’ll try to ban those too…failing to realize that all along, it’s the person, not the tool that needs “regulation” or “restriction.”
Oh, they realize it all right. They just refuse to acknowledge it because it doesn’t fit their agenda of disarming the citizenry.
Every time they move the ball towards their goal line of banning everything, even if it is just inches, is a win for them. It’s not like football where they need to move the chains every four downs. They will take any win they can get and then try for more next week or next month. They’ve been moving steadily down the field since before the NFA passed.
SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, let’s hope this becomes law, so we can get on with it; start the federal court tango, and have the national legislation that attempts to evade Bruen voided.
And….
“There are over 24.4 million MSRs in circulation since 1990, which are used daily for lawful purposes,…”, a claim disputed because there are very few actual self-defense incidents where “MSRs” are used. Non-defense uses are apparently not lawful uses.
Just once I would love to see a congress critter who signs on to a bill like this (and ultimately votes for it) to be personally brought up on charges under TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242, specifically deprivation of rights under color of law.
Only then will our betters understand that Rights are not subject to the democratic process within Congress.
Of course, the problem is until it became law, no-one has standing, so the courts wouldn’t touch it. And then there is the qualified immunity.
Wrong tack. ALL these traitourous clowns swore a solemn oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution AS WRITTEN. To violate that oath is an act of felony perjury. Lay such charges against those who write, propose, and vote for such treasonous bills. Once convicted, they can not ever again hold public office.
weed the traitors out one by one. After the first two or three, the rest will get the memo and straighten up and fly right.
Politicians lie daily. And I suspect that all politicians violate some portion of the US Constitution (although they inevitably will say it’s their interpretation of the US Constitution, not the Court’s).
Given that congress-critters have general immunity from prosecution for the laws they propose / enact, it would be neigh impossible to charge them for violation of oath (which has weak penalties like being removed from office). Deprivation of rights has jail time and financial penalties.
Bottom line – both are “good ideas” that will never happen.
WHAT PART OF “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED” DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND? EFF ‘EM ALL.
King and Heinrich: Two more irritating little chiggers. Buy more Deet.
All of this b s proposal has already been ruled unconstitutional . Everyone that wrote and or supports this farce should be removed from the senate.
Those fixed pistol magazines with 15 rounds or less or a rare breed. I am wondering how I would load one. Does it have a trap door on the bottom?
You feed em from the top, via a “stripper-clip”. Austria-Hungary fielded a couple during ww1- Steyr and Roth-Steyr 1907…
“You feed em from the top, via a “stripper-clip”.
Doesn’t the magazine, or magazine well have to be configured to accept the stripper clips?
When will these idiots learn there is NO SUCH THING as an “assault weapon” or “assault rifle”?
Walt – you are correct about “assault weapon” – a bogus term invented by Art Agnos and popularized by josh sugarmann specifically to confuse people. You are incorrect about “assault rifle” – that has a specific military definition which was applied to the Stg 44 by adolf. That is why hoplophobes love to use the terms interchangeably, it confuses people much to the delight of josh.
Couple more senators proving their racist roots. They are worried about a weapon that is used in less than 3% of firearms related homicides. They have nothing to say about the weapons that are used in 90%+ of the homicides in which minorities are the vast majority of victims. Unfortunately, I’m not surprised.
Dumb and useless.
The reason people are killed in mass shootings (in addition to the depravity of the shooter) is that — here it is, logic and everything — they’re UNARMED. If the folks in that bowling alley were armed they could have fought back and wounded, or even killed, their attacker. But of course, the bowling alley was a “gun free zone,” also known as “a target rich environment.”
Of course the one small always overlooked problem, compliance, good luck with that. I wish you well.
Shady ATF Violates Agreed Upon Timeline In Pistol Brace Case.
There is a point where all this jyst translates to outright defiance of SCOTUS.
We’re PAST that point! Just look at all the “inferior courts” that are currently ignoring Heller, Bruen, et al.
As long as they are allowed. Their continued attacks on the 2nd amendment will never cease. Regardless of any court decision. Including the Supreme Court.
That point has long since been past. What more will it take before POTG reach their come to Jesus moment on that fact?
Quote from NSSF above:
“This proposed legislation is clearly unconstitutional, as the U.S. Supreme Court held in Heller that entire classes of firearms cannot be banned from legal sale and possession by law-abiding citizens.”
If that is correct, why can’t we just go out and buy machine guns yet? Isn’t that also “entire classes of firearms”???
Because the Machine Gun ban rider (AKA Hughes Amendment) to the 1986 “Firearm Owners Protection Act” hasn’t been challenged in court, and the 1934 National Firearms Act (in general) has not been challenged in court.
Laws that are passed and signed by a President / Governor are presumptively Constitutional until challenged in court.
Democrats are running out of the Low Hanging Fruit of Other People’s Money and know that the remaining wealth they need to expropriate will be defended by The Gun, if necessary. They have to disarm us or go broke.
How about we pass the GOFUCKYOURSELF act?
So I guess that means that the M1 Garand is good to go because it has a fixed magazine, but the M1 Carbine is history as well as all of the M-14 style rifles by Springfield Armory. The op rod will not save them because it is gas operated.
It won’t pass, yet. They need to indoctrinate a few more generations to insure compliance. Without being assured they will have a high rate of they will only use it to build upon that indoctrination. At this point we deplorables have raised children and grandchildren who have a non compliance streak still.
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