'Qualifying fireams'

It has begun.

Despite assurances to the contrary, some democrats are champing at the bit to institute citizen disarmament, and like impulsive children, can't even wait for their guy to be inaugurated.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you H.R.45, Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, introduced in the House one week ago today by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL).

Per Jeff Knox of The Firearms Coalition:

If passed, this bill would require that anyone wishing to purchase, own, or possess a "qualifying firearm" - that's any handgun, and any long gun capable of accepting a detachable magazine - would have to be licensed by the state or the federal government in a licensing program managed by the Attorney General. To get a license you would have to prove you're you, provide a passport-style photo, a thumbprint, and take a written exam which includes questions about firearms safety, safe storage, the risks of firearms ownership, and anything else the Attorney General deems appropriate. All transfers would be required to go through a licensed dealer with the exception of occasional gifts or bequests between parents, children (18 or over), and grandparents, or loans of not more than 30 days between "persons who are personally known to one another." (It actually says that. I'm not making this up.) And all transfers would have to be recorded in a "Transfer Record" established and maintained by the Attorney General.

The bill also makes it a crime for a dealer to have shoddy records or fail to appropriately cooperate with any inspectors. It makes failure to report the loss or theft of a firearm within 72 hours a felony punishable by up to 2 years in prison. Failure to keep a firearm locked up in such a way as to keep it inaccessible to anyone under 18 becomes a federal felony too.

Read the bill for yourself .

As of now, it has no co-sponsors. Some will tell you that means there's no cause for alarm. Some may even tell us this has no chance of passing (now), and to expend effort opposing it will weaken future political efforts.

One mass shooting in a "no guns" zone from now, that could change, and this could come to the front burner. Along with the anticipated push to permanently ban (that means no "sunset clause" this time) all semiautomatics by both name and characteristic.

Here's the important part: It will make it illegal for you to possess guns you currently legally own unless you go jump through their hoops, register yourself and obtain a license. All under the watchful oversight of Eric Holder--another grave danger to gun rights our lobbyists see no need to expend "political capital" on.

This is what the gunhaters mean by "common sense gun control" and "reasonable restrictions."  So much for "shall not be infringed."

This is nothing less than a declaration of war on American gun owners.

Naturally, I'll have more as things develop. Come to think of it, I'll have more over the coming days.

I intend to go through everything this tyrannical edict proposes, and expose it for the evil and ridiculous affront to Liberty that it is.

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Down the Hatch

It's not just the democrats we have to watch. The republicans have their share.

This time, it's from a guy who should know better.

Orrin Hatch supports Eric Holder.

What is wrong with these people?

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Speaking of Holder...

RedState.com has noticed a conspicuous absence of "gun lobby" opposition to his confirmation.

I like the way they characterize their post as "breaking."

Readers here and at The Firearms Coalition know better.

Welcome to the party, guys.

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Speaking of welcoming...

Say hello to my friends at Oregon Firearms Federation and Montana Shooting Sports Association. Those of you who live in those states need to bookmark those sites, join those groups and get involved with your support and response to alerts.

You can find recent OFF Alerts here. The latest MSSA Alert is here.

Make sure you get involved, and make sure you use whatever influence you have to persuade your friends to follow suit.