As an old
saying goes, you aren't paranoid if someone really is out to get
you.
Gun owners in Pennsylvania are taking that saying to heart as
a new bill has been introduced which would ban many hunting rifles
and handguns. No longer satisfied with going after military-looking
rifles, proponents of the ban have expanded the language of the
bill far beyond that of the 1994 Assault Weapon ban.
Introduced in the Pennsylvania House
of Representatives, Bill 2451 would ban "any semiautomatic
pistol or semiautomatic or pump-action rifle that is capable of
accepting a detachable magazine," and includes other restrictions.
The bill would thus ban most semiautomatic handguns as well as
many common hunting rifles such as the Remington 7400, 7600 and
hundreds if not thousands of other popular firearms.
The bill has 23 sponsors, including Representative
Dan Frankel (D-Pittsburgh). Frankel said he co-sponsored the bill
because the 1994 Assault Weapons ban will likely expire on September
13th. He went on to say that it's looking less and less likely
that Congress will renew the ban, and the bill he co-sponsored
is stronger than the 1994 ban and "closes some loopholes."
Incredibly, Frankel said "I have
no intention of taking any weapons from hunters and people who
believe they have to protect themselves in their homes."
Frankel pointed to California and Maryland as two states that
have already instituted their own bans. However, he did not admit
that Bill 2451 goes even further than the laws in California and
Maryland--the two most anti-gun states in the US--to ban a much
wider category of guns.
Some provisions of the bill are confusing,
and appear to some Pennsylvania gun owners to require owners of
semiautomatics to undergo an annual background check. Frankel
denies that charge, saying that he only wants background checks
performed when someone transfers ownership of a firearm to someone
else, such as the transfer of a firearm from father to son, grandfather
to father, brother to brother, friend to friend, mother to daughter,
or any other currently legal private transfer.
"In my view, this is not about sport," Frankel said.
Representative Frankel, as a sworn representative
of The People and a sworn defender of the Constitution, should
be required to point to the word "sport" in the Second
Amendment. The word "sport" is not there, period.
Politicians such as Representative Frankel
love to use terms such as "sport" or "sporting
purposes" to divide the gun community. This time, though,
it's clear that the aim of this bill isn't just at Evil Black
Rifle Shooters or even pistol shooters: it's aimed at every last
segment of the shooting sports community, from bird hunters to
deer hunters to trapshooters, and further.
Pennsylvania gun owners should call their
legislators as soon as possible to make sure that this bill receives
the quick deep-six it deserves. Those in Pennslylvania who don't
know who their legislators are can find them by clicking here,
and then find their legislator by zip code or county.
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