By John Crump
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is no stranger to anti-gun legislation, has introduced a bill to close what she refers to as the “automatic weapon loophole.”
The Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act would outlaw such devices as bump stocks, trigger cranks, binary, and any other instrument that would speed up the rate of fire for a semi-automatic rifle.
10,000’s of owners of these devices would have 180 days to get rid of them or risk being in violation of the law. When reading through the text of the bill, there seems to be no grandfather clause.
Without a grandfather clause, it would make Americans choose between having their rights violated or risk being charged with a crime.
The bill seems overly broad as well. It bans everything that can speed up the rate of fire of a semiautomatic gun. It is not clear if this will include standard aftermarket trigger with a lighter pull than stock triggers because that does speed up the rate fire. The only group that could still access these parts would be the military and police which both do not use these components.
The bill has other notable co-sponsors such as Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). With any anti-gun legislation, those names are usually attached to it in some way. What is surprising the bill seems to be gathering steam with Republicans.
Republican Support
In addition to the 26 Democratic senators that signed on to support the bill some Republicans said they would support its passage such as Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) who told reporters “I have no problem banning those.” Most Republicans are not as vocal about supporting the legislation as Johnson, but it seems that some are leaning that way.
These Republicans didn’t come out in full support of the bill but said they would be open to it like Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) who said. “You can’t buy a chain-fed machine gun in the United States today. There’s a reason for that. And I want to make sure that nobody has access to that if that’s the law of the land.” Another Senator, John Thune (R-S.D.), also came out and said he would look into these devices.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex) called for hearing into bump stocks and other devices. It is not only gathering steam in the Senate, but there are Republicans in the house that seems to be bending. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told The Wall Street Journal that “anything that would try to make it an automatic weapon would need greater scrutiny.”
The chances of this bill moving on are still slim with staunch second amendment supporters such as Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee in the Senate. There is an even smaller chance of the bill making it through the House Of Representatives, but that doesn’t mean that it is doomed to fail.
With pressure being put on Senators from anti-gun groups and the media it would only take a few to flip for new gun laws to be enacted.
Gun owners and constitutionalist can do their part by contacting their Senators and Representatives ( United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 ) to implore them not to support this draconian bill. We must urge them not to trample on our liberty because of the actions of a madman.
Benajim Franklin said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither. He who would trade liberty for some temporary security deserves neither liberty nor security.”
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on the history of the patriot movement and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss or at www.crumpy.com.