14 minute read
Machine Guns Cont. on
Machine Guns Continued from Page 3
to acquire legally in the United States, where machine guns cannot legally be owned without a special license. In recent years, these small metal or plastic devices have exploded in popularity on the black market and gained a particular cachet among criminals and anti-government extremists. Last year, members of the Boogaloo Boys, an accelerationist movement that hopes to spark a second civil war, used weapons equipped with auto sears to attack a federal courthouse.
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From 2017 to 2021, the number of cases jumped from 10 to 83, according to our exclusive nationwide analysis of court filings. We found over 260 cases filed in the last five years, including robberies, assaults, and murders, with over 1,000 devices recovered. The government has not previously compiled this data, and the actual number of illegally converted machine guns on the streets is likely far higher.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal agency responsible for policing guns in the U.S., said it seized 1,500 weapons modified with auto sears in 2021, a staggering increase over 2020, when only 300 were recovered.
The ascent of the auto sear has been propelled by its availability and ease of use. The American market is largely supplied by China, where manufacturers sell the devices on websites like Alibaba and Wish.com directly to consumers, law enforcement officials say. Auto sears are often advertised as airsoft parts or tools and shipped with false documentation and packaging labels. They can also be created using a 3D printer. Once in a person’s hands, installation can take just seconds and requires scant technical knowledge or tools. “It is so simple,” said Rick Vasquez, the former head of the ATF’s Firearms Technology Division. “The information is out there, and the knowledge to do it is out.”
To gang members, auto sears are an advantageous new accessory that can inflict incredible damage and intimidate enemies, especially when paired with high-capacity magazines. One California ATF agent, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the agency’s behalf, said that in his first decade on the job, he hardly ever came across machine guns; now he sees firearms that have been converted with auto sears “all the time.” Some criminals, the agent added, have been caught with the devices on ghost guns — untraceable firearms that can be made at home or obtained without a background check.
In 1934, after several highprofile crimes involving machine guns, Congress passed the National Firearms Act, which required anyone who owned a fully automatic weapon to register it with the government and pay a $200 tax, equivalent to about $4,000 today. This significantly drove up the cost and difficulty of owning one.
Industrious gunsmiths searched for workarounds. In the ’70s, conversion devices started surfacing in niche gun communities but the general public rarely sought them out. It became more difficult to obtain an auto sear in 1981, when the ATF ruled that possessing one was, in legal terms, the same as owning a machine gun, whether or not the device was installed on a firearm. Having an auto sear without the proper federal license, which requires an extensive background check and costly fees, can carry a 10year federal prison sentence.
Action Needed
When the Legislature convenes for the 2023-2024 session December 5th, some big issues will be waiting for us. They include crime, the cost of living, water supply – these problems and many more need immediate attention.
According to a recent report from the Attorney General’s office, violent crime increased by 6.7% from 2020 to 2021. Property crimes increased 3%, the total arrest rate decreased 7.3%, adults on probation are at the lowest level since 1980, and the total number of full-time criminal justice personnel decreased by 2.7%. So crime rose, but law enforcement personnel, arrests and probation rates have gone down. Even so, we can reduce crime; we just need to put criminals in jail, with supervised probation and substance use and mental health treatment programs that prevent future crimes.
The rising cost of living is a national problem, resulting largely from the federal government printing trillions out of thin air – a policy that always causes inflation. Rising oil costs are another factor. California has massive inland oil reserves, while most of our oil is imported from overseas. But our gas taxes add more per gallon than the national average.
What about water? Voters approved a water bond in 2014 to fund new reservoirs and aqueducts, with minimal progress on two reservoirs underway and no big projects being planned. I have introduced multiple bills to expand storage facilities and encourage use of recycled water for agriculture. Unfortunately, those bills were blocked by the majority in Sacramento. Desalination is one partial solution, but it took over 14 years to get the Poseidon plant in Carlsbad approved and a similar plant in Orange County was recently blocked. Bureaucratic hurdles standing in the way of vital water projects must be eliminated.
These are just a few of the many critical issues we face. Hopefully, bipartisanship and commonsense won’t be in short supply next session.
Assemblymember Marie Waldron, RValley Center, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Bonsall, Escondido, Fallbrook, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Rainbow, San Marcos, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista.
5th District Supervisor Jim Desmond
More Problems for SANDAG
Here we go again, SANDAG is once again mismanaging taxpayer dollars.
Last week, an internal audit was released that found multiple issues with the way SANDAG manages and processes contracts with outside vendors. Key takeaways include a disproportionate preference to certain vendors, with some contractors receiving up to 700% more than initially awarded. One vendor received a $64 million increase from the original contract.
This follows a trend of out-of-control misspending from SANDAG. Earlier this year, an audit found that over the past four years of credit card purchases, SANDAG spent over $2,485,001 of taxpayer dollars on their procurement card. This included nearly $70,000 spent at local restaurants and $250,000 spent on non-working days.
For those of you unfamiliar with SANDAG, they're the regional transportation agency. They're in charge of funding and projects for freeways and public transportation. They're currently working on a $165 billion transportation plan, but are going to need to come back to the taxpayers in order to fund that project. The plan taxes working-class families and the underserved communities that aren’t able to afford to live next to where they work. It crushes landscapers, plumbers, farmers, electricians, parents and families, and anyone who must drive or work and live away from fixed rail lines to make a living. San Diegans deserve a world-class transportation system, but it must be thought out carefully and must be presented to the taxpayers, not decided by bureaucrats.
SANDAG needs to get its own house in order before they come back to the taxpayers with its hand out. We should not be on the hook for any more of SANDAG's lavish spending.
To contact
North County Office – by appointment only 325 S. Melrose Ave., Suite 5200 Vista, CA 92081 Mon.-Fri., 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Website: www.supervisorjimdesmond.com
Local News Continued from Page 5
A place to heal: 106-bed center in Escondido significantly expands recuperative care for homeless
Interfaith Community Services’ new facility will help homeless people recently discharged from hospitals
Homeless people who are discharged from a hospital, but still have some healing ahead, will have a safe, comfortable and dignified place to stay in the near future at the Abraham & Lillian Turk Recuperative Care Center, where a grand opening celebration was held last Wednesday morning in Escondido.
The ceremony was the culmination of a two-year, $15 million renovation of a 1970s-era motel at 555 N. Centre City Parkway, Interfaith Community Services’ singlebiggest undertaking in its 43-year history.
“Imagine what it would be like having been in the hospital, being ready for discharge to home, except in this case you’re unsheltered, without a place to call home,” said Patricia Mack, Interfaith’s director of housing.
Mack also asked guests at the ceremony to imagine the challenge of finding a clean space to change bandages or having to choose between visiting a doctor for a follow-up appointment or keeping watch over all your possessions for fear they would be stolen when away.
CEO Greg Anglea said within the past year the Ash Street facility has provided recuperative care for 147 people, with more than 50 percent moving into housing. Since its opening in 2015, the center has served 1,500 people.
The program has a 93 percent success rate in stabilizing the medical condition that led a client to hospitalization and a 79 percent success rate of transitioning people into stable housing. The program also found 82 percent of clients reported a reduction in depression.
The new Abraham & Lillian Turk Recuperative Care Center will provide 106 beds in 60 rooms. Next month, people in the Ash Street center will begin moving into the new center, where they will find therapeutic care, mental health and substance recovery help if needed, 24hour behavioral health support, nursing care and case management that can lead to independent living and permanent housing.
Interfaith bought the old America’s Best Value Inn & Suites on Centre City Parkway in 2020 for $8.6 million and temporarily used it as a shelter during the pandemic. Anglea said the motel had a bad reputation in the city.
Travel Troubleshooter
Q: I rented a car from Hertz more than a year ago. Another motorist rear-ended my rental. I was slightly hurt, and the rental sustained minor damage to the bumper.
I followed all the rules during the claims process. The other driver's insurance paid a $2,000 claim to Hertz. A Hertz representative told me the claim was closed.
I got a call almost 10 months after the accident from Hertz telling me I still owe them $658 for loss of use, underpayment by the other driver's insurance and a processing fee. Hertz claims it called me "many times." But it was the first time I had heard from the company.
I can't file another claim with my insurance because I'm past the 60day limit. I thought it was a scam because it was so long after the accident, it just didn’t seem realistic. Hertz has now sent my case to collections.
What can I do? I’ve sent emails to customer relations, and I used your reference guide to email corporate members of Hertz. But I keep getting the runaround. Hertz now refuses to speak to me, only referring me to the outside collection agency. I would appreciate any assistance in this matter. -Michael Edgar, Vancouver, Wash.
A: Hertz should have closed your claim when it said it did. The fees it's charging for loss of use and processing are controversial. Some might even call them junk fees. Loss of use covers the hypothetical revenue the car rental company would get if the vehicle wasn't in the repair shop. Many insurance adjusters won't cover this fee. Chances are, the other driver's insurance wouldn't cover it -- leaving you with the bill.
The administrative fee is also problematic. It's essentially asking you to cover the car rental company's other costs associated with repairing the vehicle, such as employee salaries and other overhead expenses. Again, I'm betting her insurance refused to pay this junk fee.
If an employee tells you that you're good to go, you should be good to go. But it's best to get this decision in writing. That's particularly true when you're dealing with a car rental damage claim.
I see you tried to use the executive contacts for Hertz on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. Someone should have responded quickly and fixed this for you.
I contacted Hertz on your behalf. It dropped the claim against you.
Christopher Elliott's latest book is
Historically Speaking
by Tom Morrow
Are You Ready to Cast Your Ballot?
We’re on the eve of our next “midterm” national election. As voters it’s never too late for all of us to brush up on our Constitutional rights, especially those Americans who have never voted before.
For those of you who had a fair amount of history in school, you may recall what Abraham Lincoln said as the Civil War began: “A house divided cannot stand.” As each of our elections pass it would seem, as a nation, we are dangerously coming close to a “house divided.”
The World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans and most of their families soon will be gone. Why is that important? Most represent the last of our society who received a somewhat rounded civics education, witnessed the effects of geopolitics, and had an understanding of basic American citizenship. If you didn’t learn it in school or college, the military did a pretty good job of filling in what might have been overlooked in class during elementary and high school. Having parents to give a good example for the family also is/was important.
Most of those in today’s society under 40 years of age received little or no basics in American history, civics, and world geography. Ask any from this age group if they can answer simple questions all immigrants receive when they are going through their naturalization citizenship test and you might be shocked at the answers or lack thereof you may receive from these native-born citizens.
We have college students today who can’t name their congressional representative in Washington D.C., how many members make up the U.S. Senate, who’s our vice president, in what city is their respective state capital, where is the United Nations building located, and name at least three of our founding fathers.
How many of you have had a few basic lessons in civics? Sadly, too many from our latest generations haven’t a clue as to how our government basically works and what significance it has played in global politics. The American form of government is the first “democratic republic” to be created – and still in existence.
Voting citizens of today (18 and older) have an important role to carry out. They need to understand our Bill of Rights, and what prompted Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. Why did we fight World War II – and more importantly – who won? It might be interesting to find out just how many of those recent street protesters were newly naturalized citizens … probably none because they came to this country to enjoy what most of us take for granted .... freedom to vote. Before being sworn in, all of those naturalized citizens have to pass a test with questions about our country, government and history … things few of our students of today learn in school because there’s little or no civics (sometimes call government) instruction.
Now, you might consider the above as exaggerated questions, but try posing some of them to our nativeborn young and middle-aged people of today who have attended and graduated from high school, even college.
It is surprising, even shocking, the lack of civic education our schools and colleges of today provide about our government and citizenship … basic Civics 101. Simple things such as … what is a “republic?” The difference between a democratic government and one that is a monarch or a fascist dictatorship. How many people in today’s society know what the “Electoral College” is and what importance did it play in the elections of 2000 and 2016. Do you know the difference between a democracy and a republic?
Remember this disconcerning thought: young people of today will be in charge of the nation’s purse strings tomorrow. They will be, or already are, voting. Wouldn’t you like for them to know what they’re doing? Most of today’s young people don’t know what they don’t know.
TEST YOURSELF -- To test anyone try the few questions below – all are from the basic citizenship test given to all immigrants before can become naturalized U.S. citizens. Every voter should be able to answer at least half of these basic questions.
1.Who is in charge of the executive branch? 2.What is freedom of religion? 3.How old do citizens have to be to vote for President? 4.If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President? 5.What is the political party of today’s President? 6.Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? 7.What is a Constitutional amendment? 8.Who makes “Federal” laws? 9.What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States? 10.Name one U.S. territory. 11.Who was President during World War I? 12.To whom was the Declaration of Independence aimed? 13.Who does a U.S. Senator represent? 14.How many states make up the United States? 15.Who or what has veto power?
SCAG SEZ: A not-too-bright neighbor keeps complaining about being in debt “over his head.” I'd like to tell him it's because he didn't use it in the first place. – Cecil Scaglione, Mature Life Features.
