ILA Report

Feinstein Wants to Ban Commonly Owned Semi-Autos, Again!

LATEST LEGISLATIVE NEWS FROM INSIDE THE NRA INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION

ILA Grassroots: (800) 392-8683 NRA-ILA: (703) 267-1170 NRA-ILA website: nraila.org

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Last Nov. 8, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced S. 2095, which she has called the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017 (congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/ senate-bill/2095/text). The 125-page firearm prohibition bill is perhaps the most far-reaching gun ban ever introduced in Congress.

The bill would prohibit AR-15s and dozens of other semi-automatic rifles by name (as well as their “variants” or “altered facsimiles”), and any semi-automatic rifle that could accept a detachable magazine and be equipped with a pistol grip, an adjustable or detachable stock, or a barrel shroud. And that’s just a partial list. A “Pistol grip” would be defined as “a grip, a thumbhole stock, or any other characteristic that can function as a grip,” meaning the ban could implicate even traditional stocks or grips specifically designed to comply with existing state “assault weapon” laws.

Needless to say, semi-automatic shotguns and handguns would get similar treatment.

Also banned would be any magazine with a capacity of greater than 10 rounds, or even any magazine that could be “readily restored, changed or converted to accept” more than 10 rounds.

While Feinstein’s bill would graciously allow those who lawfully owned the newly banned guns at the time of the law’s enactment to keep them, it would impose strict storage requirements any time the firearm was not actually in the owner’s hands or within arm’s reach. Violations would be punishable (of course) by imprisonment.

Owners of grandfathered “assault weapons” could also go to prison for allowing someone else to borrow or buy the firearm, unless the transfer was processed through a licensed firearms dealer. The dealer would be required to document the transaction and run a background check on the recipient.

Should lawful owners of the newly banned firearms and magazines decide that the legal hazards of keeping them were too much, the bill would authorize the use of taxpayer dollars in the form of federal grants to establish programs to provide “compensation” for their surrender to the government.

In many ways, the bill is nothing more than a rehash of Feinstein’s last failed experiment in banning “assault weapons” and magazines over 10 rounds. Except this time, Feinstein would like to go even further in restricting law-abiding Americans’ access to firearms and magazines that are commonly owned for lawful self-defense.

The congressionally mandated study of the federal “assault weapon ban” of 1994-2004 found that the ban had little, if any, impact on crime, in part because “the banned guns were never used in more than a modest fraction” of firearm-related crime to begin with.

Don’t let Feinstein infringe on our Second Amendment-protected rights with a policy that has been proven to do nothing to stop crime. Please contact your U.S. senators and encourage them to oppose S. 2095. You can contact your U.S. senators by phone at (202) 224-3121, or go to nraila.org for more information.

New Evidence Against Gun Confiscation

The selection of input variables for statistical modeling can alter the findings of research studies. New research published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology (link.springer.com/article/10.1007/ s11292-017-9313-3) examines how the choice in methodology can alter research findings.

This new research focuses on a favorite topic of anti-gun politicians, high-ranking politicos and liberal media: Australia’s 1996 firearms confiscation laws. The anti-gun crowd loves to talk about how the confiscation reduced firearms mortality rates, based at least in part on research conducted in 2006 that concluded the laws led to a decline in firearm deaths, particularly suicides.

Now, Ivy League researchers have found that the impact of the massive confiscation by government authorities was wildly overstated because previous research used a statistical methodology that did not account for crime trends unrelated to any specific event (in this case, the 1996 confiscation law). The authors present their findings with sterile text that nonetheless turns the long-running anti-gun narrative of Australia’s “success” on its head.

In the new study, researchers ran a new model to account for existing trends over the time period. This model found no statistical evidence that the confiscation law had any impact on firearm homicide trends over the period, finding that the downward trend existed before Australia forced lawabiding citizens to turn in their legally owned firearms.

The authors also conducted a series of “robustness” checks on the analysis to ensure their findings were sound. To do this, the authors looked at years prior to the 1996 gun confiscation law and inserted a series of artificial laws to determine if any such interventions would result in the same “findings” of the previous research. In short, if the same law were to pass in any of the earlier years, would the results be the same?

Nineteen out of 36 “artificial laws” models were statistically significant, “suggesting that the empirical model can be implemented in multiple nonintervention years with results similar to the true 1996 interruption year.” In layman’s terms, this means the 1996 law had nothing to do with the downward trend in homicides, because you could get replicate the results by modeling the law’s passage in other years as well.

These findings demonstrate that the 2006 research was mis-specified and poorly designed. We don’t have much faith that politicians and gun control advocates will acknowledge the shortcomings of the previous research or of the Australian gun confiscation itself. After all, they still call it a “buyback.”

IN MEMORY NRA-ILA CONTRIBUTIONS

October 1, 2017 – October 31, 2017 John Brooks Cargile, Corpus Christi, TX (from: B.M. Ray III, Jack & Janie Dean, Kathy Chachere, L.C. Homan, and Clark C. Flato); Harry W. Hanson, Cape Coral, FL (from: Carol J. Hanson); Willis S. Whittlesey, Salt Lake City, UT (from: Horton S. Spitzer); Rodney Lenard, Winnifield, LA (from: The Franks Family); Jeffrey Lynn Harms, Watseka, IL (from: Ken Courtney); Phillip Viruso, Springwater, NY (from: Springwater Rod & Gun Club); Ted R. Chism, Galesburg, IL (from: Rita Chism, Mickey Carr and Tiara Hatfield).

ILA CONTRIBUTIONS

(The following have contributed $1,000.00 or more to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action: October 1, 2017 – October 31, 2017) America Engaged, Warrenton, VA; William L. Shores, Longwood, FL; Sam W. Acola, Arlington, TX; Steven Shawley, Scottsville, VA; Alaska Defenders of Freedom Inc., Fritz Creek, AK; Umarex USA Inc., Fort Smith, AR; Turner’s Operations Inc., Cucamonga, CA; Lisa Graham, West Covina, CA; Grand Island Rifle Club, Grand Island, NE; Michael Fogg, Holland, MI; Thomas M. Moeller, Vero Beach, FL; David Johnson, Houston, TX; David Y. Rogers, Midland, TX; Philip E. Bender, Reno, NV; Geoff Smith, Casper, WY; Thomas J. Hutton, Santa Clara, CA; Edward S. Martin, New Kensington, PA; Walter Obermeier, Cranberry Township, PA; Dan Kessler, Brier, WA; David Young, Oro Valley, AZ; Mark S. Petcavage, Somerville, MA; Jesse C. Maxwell, Maitland, FL; Carl Kuhn, Cadillac, MI; Edy Adkison, Riverside, CA; Alan Mossberg, Tierra Verde, FL; James Shoureas, Boca Raton, FL; Larry Cevora, Belleville, MI; Karl Schulz, Antigo, WI; Joel H. Williams, Porum, OK; Eric Boeckers, APO, CA; M. Antoinette Carver, Palm Desert, CA; Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs Inc., North Haledon, NJ; Cape Radiology Group Care, Girardeau, MO; Great Plains Outdoorsmen, Aberdeen, SD; Oregon Association of Shooting Ranges, Dundee, OR; Robert E. Domine, Loyal, WI; Curt Scoggin, Wasilla, AK; Dowe Tillema, Land O’ Lakes, WI; Carl Schanbacher, Boston, MA.

Nate Hosie is

Nate Hosie was born and raised in the mountains of Pennsylvania. At 5, his father and grandfather began taking him hunting, sparking a passion for the outdoors. He earned the nickname “The Turkey Slayer,” and eventually joined “HeadHunters TV,” showing viewers that there are still people in this world who appreciate memories made in God’s country. But hunting isn’t the only thing filling Hosie’s schedule these days. He released his debut country music album, “The America I Know,” available now via iTunes. His music reflects his passion for life, the outdoors and his patriotism. “I live the life that I sing about in my songs,” Hosie said. At the end of the day, Hosie acknowledges he’s a lucky man to get to live the life he does, whether it’s calling turkeys, tracking a deer’s pattern or playing music for his fans. Hosie took a few minutes between hunts to answer a few questions for NRA Country’s Vanessa Shahidi. VS: Do you have a favorite personal firearm? NH: I can’t say I have a personal favorite. I love them all for different reasons. They all have different stories from different hunts they’ve been on, all unique in their own way. But if I had to pick one it would be my Grandpa Josh’s shotgun. VS: Favorite outdoor memory of the past year? NH: We’ve had an amazing season this year with “HeadHunters TV” and we are thankful for it! The highlight for me: I took my biggest elk, a 351-inch, 7x7 in New Mexico this past September with my bow. It was my first hunt after my wife Tiffany and I were blessed to welcome our son Cruze into the world. It was truly a bull of a lifetime! VS: What can we expect from your new album/ upcoming project? NH: “The America I Know” is my first music project I’ve put out and am so proud of it. It’s all about positivity, having fun, the outdoors and American pride. We are so blessed to live in America and I want to celebrate that through the outdoors and music platforms I’ve been given!

NRA Country is a lifestyle and a bond between the country music community and hard-working Americans everywhere. It’s powered by pride, freedom, love of country, respect for the military, and the responsibilities of protecting the great American life. For more information visit nracountry.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.