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Boge Quinn
Senate Democrats Continue to
Exploit War on Terror by Attacking Gun Rights
Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Thursday, Nov. 27, 2003
WASHINGTON Legislation on Capitol Hill seeks to use
the threat of terrorism to do an end run around the Second Amendment and
could be abused to ban sales of firearms.
The so-called Homeland
Security Gun Safety Act of 2003, referred earlier this year to the
Senate Judiciary Committee, purportedly seeks to enhance the security
of the Nation by increasing the time allowed to track terrorists during
periods of elevated alert &
That sounds commonsensical enough on its face. After 9/11,
who could argue with wanting to track terrorists during periods of elevated
alert ?
It is in the rest of that paragraph that raises red flags
for National Rifle Association:
... closing loopholes that have allowed terrorists to acquire firearms,
maintaining records of certain handgun transfers during periods of heightened
terrorist risk, and for other purposes.
The NRA says the problem lies with Section 2, which says
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended so that sections
of the gun law shall not apply during any period in which the threat
condition under the Homeland Security Advisory system is elevated, high
or severe. Later it stipulates that the changes shall remain in effect
until the threat condition has been at the lowest level for 180 consecutive
days.
The NRA sees the bill as something that is being slipped
under the radar. The terrorist threat condition has never been down
to its lowest level since 9/11, the Second Amendment group notes.
'Permanent Suspension of Law'
In effect, its a permanent suspension of existing law,
NRA Communications Director Andrew Arulanandum told NewsMax.com.
Further, he sees it an an attempt to create a national firearm registration
system.
The NRA spokesman says the bill would suspend statutes
that limit law enforcement to three days for completing background checks
of firearms purchases, as well as a law that requires the destruction
of records of anyone whose purchase is approved, meaning theyre law
abiding.
It would mean a suspension of rules that protect firearms
owners, as long as were in a state of heightened alertness, Arulanandam
declared.
Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun
Owners of America, said when the legislation was introduced: "These
are the very laws that were used by the Nazis to register everybody's
guns, to confiscate the Jews' guns and then to commit genocide. Why the
senator would want to do something as horrible as that, I can't understand."
Supporters of the Constitution said at the time that law
enforcement agencies could block sales of firearms by refusing to complete
background checks.
Sen. Lautenbergs office did not get back to NewsMax
by deadline. However, a Senate staffer requesting anonymity told us that
is not the interpretation the legislations co-sponsors want it to
mean, if thats what you mean.
Lautenbergs co-sponsors are Sens. Edward Kennedy,
D-Mass., Jon Corzine, D-N.J., and Jack Reed, D-R.I.
This staffer could see how someone may misunderstand
it, but thats not the impression supporters of the bill want to get
across.
NRA maintains that if one wants to avoid misinterpretation,
the wording could be made clear. The statutes are loaded with laws that
elected officials wrote in vague wording so as to leave it to unelected
regulators or police to enforce its unpopular provisions and let them
take the blame for any backlash.
When he introduced the bill, Lautenberg said that to protect
our homeland and keep our families safe, we must deal directly with the
ability of terrorists and criminals to get their hands on guns.
The problem with that, says NRAs Arulanandam, is that
it affects the ability of law-abiding citizens to get their hands on
guns for their protection.
Second Amendment watchdogs will keep their eyes on the
progress of this one.
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