USA –-(Ammoland.com)- Hello; my name is Duane Liptak Jr., I am the Executive Vice President of Magpul Industries. I want to say a few words on why I want to represent you on the National Rifle Association’s Board of Directors.
I am asking for your vote for the 2018 NRA BOD because I want to be a voice for you, to protect ALL of our rights, and beyond that, to push harder for taking back more of the firearms freedoms that we have lost over the last 80 years.
I have long been involved with the fight for gun rights, including fighting hardware and magazine capacity bans, with lobbying at the state and federal levels, recall elections, legal actions, PR, with the Magpul move out of Colorado, and with my service on NRA committees.
On the NRA Board committees, I can only advise and recommend. A board seat will allow me to be a voice and a vote in the boardroom to more effectively guide the policies and positions of the NRA to assertively champion an inclusive view of firearms, activities, and freedoms, from flintlocks all the way to NFA items.
Through both legislative and legal channels, I believe that the following, in no particular order, should be among the goals of the NRA:
Absolute prevention of ANY additional erosion of firearms rights across the nation : Self-explanatory.
Passage of H.R.3668, including the “Hearing Protection Act” language, to classify silencers/suppressors as title 1 firearms and not as NFA items. : Even many European countries with strict firearms laws recognize that suppressors are not a danger, and they are completely uncontrolled in many of these nations, so it is oddly hoplophobic to be so restrictive here. Among other benefits, they help save hearing, they allow shooting activities to create fewer noise concerns, and they are a great aid to new shooters by minimizing muzzle blast and noise as they learn.
Challenge or repeal, which likely will take reversal through judicial review, of all “assault weapons” bans and magazine capacity bans throughout all US states : These are the arms MOST intended to be protected under the Second Amendment, and the most suitable for the protection of life and liberties. They are also firearms that result in fewer unlawful deaths annually than hammers and bare hands.
Firearms Education in Schools : Basic safety education about firearms should be a part of grade school curriculum. We talk about bicycle safety, car safety, safe health practices, and numerous other safety issues, and learning basic firearms safety is no different, whether someone likes the idea of firearms ownership or not. The stigma against firearms that is promoted by ignoring them, restricting any mention or likeness of them, or by educators expressing anti-gun views, is an effort to marginalize firearms and firearms owners.
Ultimately, I’d love to see more scholastic shooting programs such as those that do exist in some places, although this will be a longer effort.
Support of Hunting Opportunities and Opposition of Ammunition Bans : Access to public lands for hunting is critical to maintaining this tradition in our nation that is the largest contributor to wildlife and environmental conservation. We also need to lift some of the various restrictions on ammunition types and other matters which don’t actually help wildlife or the environment, but deter those interested in hunting.
Removal of Short Barreled Rifles from the NFA : This was another misguided, feel-good restriction in the National Firearms Act, that like silencers/suppressors and machine guns, really aren’t used frequently in crimes. The arbitrary and silly nature of the SBR rules is easily seen with the popularity of pistol braces and “other firearm” short smoothbore guns, like the shockwave and Tac 14. These guns are exactly the same in form and function as NFA SBR/SBS, but because the law makes no sense, it’s easily skirted. Stop the charade, remove SBRs and SBSs from the NFA. Once again, as with suppressors, even many restrictive European nations don’t generally see any use in controlling rifle or shotgun barrel length.
Repeal the Hughes Amendment : This amendment to FOPA closed the registry of machine guns, or fully automatic firearms. As much as the entire NFA makes no sense, and that full repeal is an ideal goal, full repeal right now will be a hard road. Opening the registry is an important first step, and can then lead to full repeal. Legally owned machine guns have been used in exactly one crime in over 8 decades since the passage of the NFA. Restricting new legal fully automatic firearms has not changed anything, and a restriction that doesn’t achieve anything certainly has no purpose. Finding something “scary” is not a justification for banning it.
The term “Sporting Use” has no Bearing on Second Amendment Rights. : This phrase needs to be eliminated from all legal and regulatory language, forever. Sporting use has no relevance to the protections of the Second Amendment, and has no place as a litmus test for importation, legality, or configuration.
922(r) compliance is a wasteful hurdle that achieves nothing, and needs to be repealed. : This rule, requiring certain US parts count, ties directly into the abuses of “sporting use”. If a firearm is legal in a given configuration, it should be legal to import in that exact configuration. Currently, some foreign firearms are manufactured in a configuration that no one wants, in order to be legally imported and then converted into the configuration in which they should have been manufactured in the first place. This makes zero sense, and just raises prices. It doesn’t protect American manufacturing, as the extra money that is spent on converting a firearm to the correct configuration would likely be spent on US accessories, anyway. As with most restrictions, it serves no purpose, and should be eliminated.
Massive reform of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and their application, regulatory interpretation, and enforcement, with respect to basic small arms : ITAR was implemented to protect things like missile and radar technology. Applying it to general small arms with no real technological secrets was erroneous enough, but now, in application and interpretation, it is being used as a tool to further oppress the firearms industry. Currently all manufacturers of firearms have to register with DDTC and pay a $2750.00 registration fee, or 3% of the value of export permits, whichever is greater—whether they export or not! This may not seem like a big deal until you consider the small FFL with a manufacturer’s license for various gun work that really isn’t in the business of building massive numbers of guns for export. Late during the Obama administration, the DDTC registration requirement and fee was interpreted to include regular, non-manufacturer FFLs if that FFL performed gunsmithing tasks that “improved the performance” of a firearm, including mounting optics, trigger improvements, and drilling or threading holes.
This yearly tax, levied on those who don’t even manufacture firearms by the FFL definition, is an incredible burden on the small gunsmith, and has driven many out of offering basic services.
ITAR should be reserved for the high technologies it was intended for. Small arms should be removed from the list unless there is a technological leap in their makeup, and then, the only time DDTC should be involved is for export.
You can read about more of my positions on my website: www.duaneliptakjrnra.com
I hope you will consider voting for me when you get your ballots in the mail towards the end of January.
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Duane Liptak Jr.
Executive Vice President
MAGPUL INDUSTRIES CORP.