"Bump Stock" Overreach

The media frenzy over the mass murder in Las Vegas has died down faster than any other such story I have seen in the last two decades. The push for legislation to ban "bump stocks" has also died down.  It has not stopped.

As expected, the enemies of an armed population are using "bump stocks" as a vehicle for much broader bans. In Illinois, the last state to pass a concealed carry permit law, the Democrats are looking to ban as many as half the guns in Illinois with the broadly worded measure. Nearly all semi-automatic firearms would fit under the wording of the bill. From chicagotribune.com:

“This bill would essentially prohibit, or outlaw, in our rough estimation, 50 percent of the firearms out in Illinois today,” said Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. “This may be a response to what took place in Las Vegas, but the net result is criminalizing a lot of very common things gun owners do to modify their guns to make them shoot better, to make them shoot more accurately.”

Vandermyde called the legislation an “overreach,” saying Democrats are seeking to take advantage of a tragedy to push through tighter gun controls even as facts surrounding the shooting continue to change.

The bill passed a committee on a 7-5 vote, sending it to the House floor. Republicans voted against it. They favor a competing bill that would only apply the ban to bump stocks, not other devices. That measure, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake, has the backing of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

A correspondent in Wisconsin has informed me that normally dependable Second Amendment supporters, such as Wisconsin Representative Sean Duffy, are caught up in the emotional frenzy. From Wisconsin:

At the end of the townhall meeting as Duffy said he needed to bolt, I was given the floor to ask my question. I said, as a knee-jerk reaction to the tragedy of the Los Vegas shooting, we will be seeing an attempt to ban bumpstocks and other accessories. Representative Duffy stopped me right then and said, "I will vote to ban bumpstocks. Automatic weapons have been banned for a long time, nobody should have access to automatic weapons." I replied, That I didn't think he understood the issue, and that it is the laws physics that they are trying to ban. I told him the effect of a number stock could be attained through, many ways that could not all be banned, a piece of stick, a belt loop and many other ways. I stated that the bill is very ambiguous and up for radical interpretation. Congressman Duffy agreed that it is ambiguous,  but again stated he will vote to ban the bumpstocks.  That ended the discussion.

The broad overreach to criminalize as many firearms and firearm accessories as possible needs to be exposed. The San Francisco 49ers are said to have donated $500,000 in an effort to ban bump stocks, silencers, and armor piercing ammunition. Notice that "armor piercing ammunition and silencers had nothing to do with the atrocity in Las Vegas.  From ktvu.com:

Now the 49ers, the SJPOA and the LA Protective League and other major law enforcement unions are coming together calling for new laws around bump stocks-- armor piercing rounds-- and gun silencers.

The police unions say the idea is not to restrict gun owners’ rights-- but to make the community as a whole safer.

For its part, 49ers are pledging $500,000 toward the campaign-- and are working to recruit other NFL teams to sign the pledge. The team and the unions are also working on public service announcements and ways to improve community police relations.

Legislators need to be reminded to be vigilant against including irrelevant items and activities.

Those pushing for a disarmed population always attempt to portray their extreme policies as "common sense".

Las Vegas is the only crime where bump stocks have been used. Armor piercing ammo is a virtual non-factor in crime, and silencers are so seldom used in crime the ATF is considering their deregulation.

This is the typical overreach of those opposed to an armed population.

When they push for too much, they should get nothing.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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