Feinstein's bill: What it says, and reading between the lines

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Feinstein's bill: What it says, and reading between the lines
David Codrea at Examiner.com links to a copy of Senate Bill 150.




As of 8:55 am Saturday morning, the bill's still not posted at the government's Thomas site.

A quick read suggests that, despite their bluster, the gun banners are in retreat mode.

For example, most Ruger Mini-14s appear to be exempt from the ban even though they're about the same size, shoot the same ammo, and can provide the same sustained rate of fire as an AR-15, of which all varieties would be banned.

Ruger Mini-30s are exempt too, and some might argue it's a better platform than the AK-47 counterpart.

Of course, mags for all of 'em would be banned under the bill. This remains an unacceptable condition. As Dianne Feinstein says, the intent is to dry up supply over time.

The bill's bad, but not as bad as its proponents promised it would be. Delays in presenting it have apparently been used to narrow its scope, with backers hoping the naive would go along seeing a longer exemption list. But some of the guns on the exemption list have designs dating back more than 120 years. At least one (a Henry 1860) predates the American Civil War. The list is intentionally padded.

Public protest has paid off. Resistance is working.

Let's keep up the pressure and push the Feinstein crowd into more than retreat. Based on their retrenchment so far, I'd say complete defeat is well within reach - if pro-gun pressure remains consistent. Even better if the outcry escalates.

We don't dare let up now.
 
One of the key aspects of the bill that you missed is that it bars all future sales or transfers of grandfathered firearms - so if you own 30rd magazines or what it defines as an "Assault Weapon" (but not the 2,285 specifically exempt models that will have a legislative imposed monopoly) you can keep them, but you can't sell them to anyone else or even give them to your wife, son, daughter, grand-children, etc.

The proper response to her legislation is for our friends in California to start a recall petition. Unlike MA and NH, California does allow for the recall of sitting federal representatives and senators. I know we have some members from California who are active over on Cali guns. I want to encourage them to start the ground work for a recall of Feinstein. Starting a recall petition will send a huge message to the Senate - That their jobs are at stake, and nothing wakes politicians up faster than honestly fearing for their jobs. We need them to realize that gun owners are a large, politically active force that will sway electoral decisions. Right now, many democrats are considering whether the reprocussions for supporting the Feinstein bill, or similar legislation would last until their next election - I think many of them are hoping that with it more than 22 months away, the answer is YES. We need to demonstrate to them immediately that the answer is NO.

If you live in a state that allows federal recalls, notify your Senators that you are willing to start a recall petition if they support this legislation. And if you live in Cali - let's get Feinstein's started as soon as possible.
 
Appears to allow selling pre-ban firearms, but not pre-ban magazines?

Look's like a grandfather clause to me?
Feinstein said:
‘‘(v)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a semiautomatic assault weapon.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the possession, sale, or transfer of any semiautomatic assault weapon otherwise lawfully possessed[/B] under Federal law on the date of enactment of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.
So just like the original AWB, you can sell/transfer pre-ban weapons.

But for magazines, only exempts possession, so you can't sell/transfer pre-ban magazines.
Feinstein said:
‘‘(w)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
1 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the possession of any large capacity ammunition feeding device otherwise lawfully possessed on or before the date of enactment of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.

Full text from this thread.
 
She's been forced to back off on at least one thing already... her original plan called for having all currently owned, grandfathered EBR's to be registered as NFA items.

Apparently, someone only slightly more knowledgeable and wiser, doped slapped her closer to reality.
 
She's been forced to back off on at least one thing already... her original plan called for having all currently owned, grandfathered EBR's to be registered as NFA items.

Apparently, someone only slightly more knowledgeable and wiser, doped slapped her closer to reality.
Possibly even the ATF...
 
One of the key aspects of the bill that you missed is that it bars all future sales or transfers of grandfathered firearms - so if you own 30rd magazines or what it defines as an "Assault Weapon" (but not the 2,285 specifically exempt models that will have a legislative imposed monopoly) you can keep them, but you can't sell them to anyone else or even give them to your wife, son, daughter, grand-children, etc.

The proper response to her legislation is for our friends in California to start a recall petition. Unlike MA and NH, California does allow for the recall of sitting federal representatives and senators. I know we have some members from California who are active over on Cali guns. I want to encourage them to start the ground work for a recall of Feinstein. Starting a recall petition will send a huge message to the Senate - That their jobs are at stake, and nothing wakes politicians up faster than honestly fearing for their jobs. We need them to realize that gun owners are a large, politically active force that will sway electoral decisions. Right now, many democrats are considering whether the reprocussions for supporting the Feinstein bill, or similar legislation would last until their next election - I think many of them are hoping that with it more than 22 months away, the answer is YES. We need to demonstrate to them immediately that the answer is NO.

If you live in a state that allows federal recalls, notify your Senators that you are willing to start a recall petition if they support this legislation. And if you live in Cali - let's get Feinstein's started as soon as possible.

According to ballotpedia, this is not true for Cali.

Laws governing recall in California - Ballotpedia

The authority to conduct a recall election in California only applies to politicians at the state and local levels; as with most states, the right of recall in California does not extend to recalling federal politicians. In California, citizens can recall "judges of courts of appeal and trial courts".

According to that site, only 11 states allow for federal recalls.

Laws governing recall - Ballotpedia

Those states are:
Laws governing recall in Arizona
Laws governing recall in Colorado
Laws governing recall in Louisiana
Laws governing recall in Michigan
Laws governing recall in Montana
Laws governing recall in Nevada
Laws governing recall in New Jersey
Laws governing recall in North Dakota
Laws governing recall in Oregon
Laws governing recall in Washington
Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
 
Look's like a grandfather clause to me?

So just like the original AWB, you can sell/transfer pre-ban weapons.

But for magazines, only exempts possession, so you can't sell/transfer pre-ban magazines.


Full text from this thread.

must have been an altered or earlier draft that I got a copy of, because it had the same language under both high-capacity feeding devices and assault weapons. Checked Feinstein's webpage to confirm the proposed language.

Still a problem that you can't sell or transfer large capacity feeding devices. Unless you're one of the many exempt persons.

Direct link to her website and the bill: Assault Weapons - United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
 
I am understanding this right, it will name 2,000+ fudd guns and we can't build/buy anything new, even non 'freedom rifles' or whatever the black killy ones are called? That is royally screwed up if so.
 
According to ballotpedia, this is not true for Cali.

Laws governing recall in California - Ballotpedia



According to that site, only 11 states allow for federal recalls.

Laws governing recall - Ballotpedia

Those states are:

eHow lists 18 states, with California as one of them How to Recall a U.S. Senator | eHow.com but looking more deepling into it, it looks like eHow might be incorrect.

It's unfortunate. Every state should have recall proceedings so that our representatives serve as the leisure of the public they're hired to represent.
 
I am understanding this right, it will name 2,000+ fudd guns and we can't build/buy anything new, even non 'freedom rifles' or whatever the black killy ones are called? That is royally screwed up if so.

Climb,

No. The Bill defines a "Semi-Automatic Assault Weapon" in much broader terms than the 1994 bill did. Moving from a "two prohibited features" definition to a single prohibited feature, including threaded barrels, telescoping stocks, a pistol grip, thumb hole stock or even a shotgun with a fixed magazine able to hold more than 5 shells as prohibited features.

Then, since the definition is overly broad, they exempt 2,285 specific makes and models of firearms that might fit within the definition but are widely viewed as "sporting" or "hunting" rifles which the senator wanted to protect. Listed firearms are thus NOT assault rifles, but only the listed exemptions. For example Ruger Mini-14s (w/o folding stock) and Ruger Mini-30 are exempt (even if they have pistol grips, threaded barrels, etc) but the Ruger Mini-14 tactical is specifically prohibited. The majority of the exempt list wouldn't be affected anyway, because they're not semi-automatics (demonstrated her total lack of understanding of what she's doing) and there are virtually identical firearms that appear on both lists.
 
Including in the Specifically prohibited list:

‘(i) All AK types

(ii) All AR types

‘(XIII) DPMS Tactical Rifles

‘‘(XV) Olympic Arms.

‘‘(xix) All Thompson rifles

3 specific manufacturers outright banned, any AR or AK type, even if modified not to meet the definition provided, such building one with a fixed, non-thumb hole, non-pistol grip stock and non-threaded barrel - still banned.
 
eHow lists 18 states, with California as one of them How to Recall a U.S. Senator | eHow.com but looking more deepling into it, it looks like eHow might be incorrect.

It's unfortunate. Every state should have recall proceedings so that our representatives serve as the leisure of the public they're hired to represent.

It's more than unfortunate. I daresay criminal.

- - - Updated - - -

Including in the Specifically prohibited list:

‘(i) All AK types

(ii) All AR types

‘(XIII) DPMS Tactical Rifles

‘‘(XV) Olympic Arms.

‘‘(xix) All Thompson rifles

3 specific manufacturers outright banned, any AR or AK type, even if modified not to meet the definition provided, such building one with a fixed, non-thumb hole, non-pistol grip stock and non-threaded barrel - still banned.

Doesn't that specifically go against the equal protection clause or something? Singling out a manufacturer and destroying the company with the stroke of a pen?
 
Thanks. Doesnt that pretty much kill someone inventing the next 10/22 or similar. Killing semi auto innovation is bad all around, why design a better battle rifle if there is no possibility of civilian version sales?
 
Thanks. Doesnt that pretty much kill someone inventing the next 10/22 or similar. Killing semi auto innovation is bad all around, why design a better battle rifle if there is no possibility of civilian version sales?

While it wont kill innovation, it will make it much more expensive. Since there will be no market for civilian owned version of battle rifles, the government will be forced to bear the entire development cost. What's more, the manufacturers of government grade equipment, whose tooling would be prohibited from being used for civilian counter parts, would lose the economy of scale, since the government purchases a fraction of what the civillian market does. That will drive up the procurement cost of government grade equipment. Plus, police departments that would have chosen semi-automatic civilian versions of AR-15 pattern rifles because they're far less expensive than the military version, will likely be pressed into paying for the military version either way, since there will no longer be a 6-10 million unit per year civilian market to drive down production costs.

But politicians like Feinstein aren't interested in what effect her legislation might have on government's costs. If equipment costs more, they'll just raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for it.
 
How in Gods name do they think there going to keep track of Hi cap mag transfers or sales??? Unfortunatley we wouldn't be able to publicly advertise them, but still not impossible.
 
While it wont kill innovation, it will make it much more expensive. Since there will be no market for civilian owned version of battle rifles, the government will be forced to bear the entire development cost.
It will kill innovation - the anti-gun movement and vilification of EBRs and handguns with the NRA as willing accomplice stalled firearms development for decades and drove it outside the US.

The NRA has come around and clearly the markets have come around, but make no mistake, firearms took a long time to even incorporate modern technology for lack of a large diverse market with experimentation by multiple vendors.

Not only does the government have to pay more per unit for R&D, but you get monopoly providers for lack of a civilian market to support multiple vendors (aka: Colt and its bitter stagnation and falling behind its peers in quality).

- - - Updated - - -

How in Gods name do they think there going to keep track of Hi cap mag transfers or sales??? Unfortunatley we wouldn't be able to publicly advertise them, but still not impossible.
You are thinking practically, they are thinking theologically and working towards a fantasy world where there are no guns or weapons and people like Feinstein can say whether you live or die with impunity.
 
There are inconsistencies on the "kosher" list, too:
H&K 270/630/770/940/SL7 all kosher, SL6 not listed.
The 770 is the "hunting" version of the SL7, just fitted with different sights and stock, fine.
The 630 is the same kind of variant of the SL6.
 
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