Univeral Background Checks

Do you approve of background checks before someone purchases a firearm?

I approve of background checks for those purchasing firearms, but not what the government is requiring through their “Universal Background Checks”

The talking points to the NRAs letter to Congress about universal background checks is quoted below in Green.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TALKING POINTS

NRA and NICS

The National Rifle Association supported the establishment of the National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS) [1], and we support it to this day.  At its creation, we advocated that NICS checks be accurate; fair; and truly instant.  The reason for this is that 99% of those who go through NICS checks are law-abiding citizens, who are simply trying to exercise their fundamental, individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Dealers

Since 1986, those engaged in the business of selling firearms for livelihood and profit have been required to have a Federal Firearms License (FFL).  All retail sales of firearms currently require a NICS check, no matter where they occur.

Private Sales

Regarding the issue of private firearms sales, it is important to note that since 1968, it has been a federal felony for any private person to sell, trade, give, lend, rent or transfer a gun to a person he either knows or reasonably should know is not legally allowed to purchase or possess a firearm.

Mental Health Records and NICS

According to a recent General Accounting Office study, as of 2011 23 states and the District of Columbia submitted less than 100 mental health records to NICS; 17 states submitted less than ten mental health records to NICS; and four states submitted no mental health records to NICS.[2]

Gun Shows

A common misrepresentation is that criminals obtain firearms through sales at gun shows.

A 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey of state prison inmates who had used or possessed firearms in the course of their crimes found that 79 percent acquired their firearms from “street/illegal sources” or “friends or family.”  Only 1.7 percent obtained firearms from anyone (dealer or non-dealer) at a gun show or flea market.[3]

Prosecutions

In 2010, the FBI denied 72,659 NICS checks out of a total of 14,409,616.  But only 62 of these cases were actually prosecuted, and only 13 resulted in a conviction.[4]

“Universal Background Checks”

While the term “universal background checks” may sound reasonable on its face, the details of what such a system would entail reveal something quite different.   A mandate for truly “universal” background checks would require every transfer, sale, purchase, trade, gift, rental, or loan of a firearm between all private individuals to be pre-approved by the federal government.  In other words, it would criminalize all private firearms transfers, even between family members or friends who have known each other all of their lives.

According to a January 2013 report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, the effectiveness of “universal background checks” depends on requiring gun registration.[5]  In other words, the only way that the government could fully enforce such a requirement would be to mandate the registration of all firearms in private possession – a requirement that has been prohibited by federal law since 1986.

Does the subterfuge in their wording about universal background checks cause you to pause and think?

I was astounded to find that they had a mandatory firearm registration built into the “universal background check” bill they had proposed.  They seem to lie at every turn and try to get us to approve of something we know is wrong simply by hiding the facts from us like in this “universal background check” bill.  This is about as dishonest as you can get.  How did we vote such lowdown, dishonest criminals into office.  They are in office to do right by us, their constituents, but seem to be in it for themselves and/or their party.  I’m feeling real sick to my stomach right now; believing in background checks, but not the garbage in their universal background checks bill; and am ready to vote every one of them out and start over with honest people we can all trust.  Why are they after our Second Amendment rights so hard?  Are they planning something they do not want citizens armed when it happens?  Could our socialist president have anything to do with this misrepresentation of background checks by putting undue pressure on these elected officials that we all trust?

 Has your trust for our government taken a dive?

I vote every election and haven’t ever missed one.  My votes may have not been counted when I was in the military though.  I have seen some very shady things happen with elections, and in many cases when the election was close, they never mentioned the absentee ballots the military casts when overseas.  Do they ever count these ballots?  I think they probably do not.  Hell, half the time these absentee ballots get to the base/post late anyway.  They may not even get to the polls on time to legally be counted.  No wonder things like this universal background checks are put before congress without anyone knowing about them.  They know they have us by the short hairs and don’t care anymore.  This kind of thing coupled with the garbage coming out of our government and good things not coming out of our government has made me lose a lot of respect for our elected officials.  Our Senate won’t even pass a budget.  This kind of thing is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.  Could we get by with that kind of performance in our jobs?

 What can we do about the lazy, nonworking and dishonest officials we elected who try to slide things like the universal background checks past us?

The elections are over for a while and our elected ones feel they can do whatever they want with bills including things like the universal background checks.  It may help if we write them weekly and let them know we do not agree with what they are doing.  I even threaten mine by telling them I will never vote for them again if they don’t get off their butts and pass a budget or vote a certain way on a bill.  I think if we all did this, we may get a lot better response from these lazy law makers.  I have a mail-merge system I set up in outlook that lets me write the letter once and send it out to everyone I vote for during elections.  It is real handy and takes less time to send out the ten or so emails than it takes write the initial letter.  Hopefully this will help defeat the universal background checks in bills before congress right now.  I pray my fellow Americans take heed and start letting their elected officials know what needs to happen and what happens if they do not react in the correct manner.  Remember folks, they work for us and we need to get them under control soon.  They cannot lie anymore and must stop hiding thing like the universal background checks from us.  We deserve better than that from them.

Take care folks and God bless you all!

Marine Understands California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Assanine Proposal

Amen Marine, you are exactly right!!!

"One U.S. Marine was more than a little displeased with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s draconian gun control proposal, which includes an assault weapons ban and provisions on handguns and even 'grandfathered weapons.'"

I have the utmost respect for this marine and his article!!!

Please read what this patriotic marine has to say and you may see our Second Amendment rights a little differently.

U.S. Marine Joshua Boston's patriotic article at The Blaze

The letter, written by U.S. Marine Joshua Boston, was titled “No ma’am” and was first posted on CNN iReport on Dec. 27. The letter has since gone viral and has been shared extensively on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, as it seemingly has resonated with a segment of the American population.

The marine says it all:

I will not comment after the letter this patriotic marine wrote, because I cannot improve on what he said.  What this Marine said stands alone with no further comments.  Please read it.
Read Boston’s entire “No ma’am” letter below and then share it with others:

"Senator Dianne Feinstein,
I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.

I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.
I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American.  

You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.

I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.

We, the people, deserve better than you. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Joshua Boston, 
Cpl,
United States Marine Corps
2004-2012"

Firearm Safety is a Must

What All Firearm Owners Need

Safety is not a wish, it is a necessity with a firearm

When I was a child (about 6 years old) my father took me out and taught me to hunt, but before I ever got to touch a firearm I went though a rigorous safety briefing/practice session.  Even today, I remember what my father taught me.  Most people I talk to about firearm safety  remember their fathers teaching them something similar to what my father taught me.  It always seems to start with "Treat every firearm as though it is loaded, and always point the muzzle in a safe direction." If everyone did these two things we would never hear about or see an accidental wounding or killing.

I am an old man now and have never discharge a firearm in an unsafe direction.  I did fire a round off when I didn't mean to, but thank the Lord I was still pointing my pistol down range after a hang fire.  I was just about to move to the side of the Glock 19 (9mm) to open the slide and check the chamber when it surprised the snot out of me and fired.  My father told me about hang fires too, but I was getting impatient and almost made a bad mistake.  At least I kept the two main safety rules in mind and no one got hurt.

This is why the firearm safety rules are so important and we all should demand that everyone handling firearms use these rules.  Anyone can make a mistake, but if you follow the rules no one will get hurt.  I've told you two rules, but let me run them all down to you.

Basic firearm safety rules

1. Always treat a firearm as if it is loaded (even if you know the firearm is clear)
2. Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction (even if you know the firearm is clear)
3. Always clear the firearm if it is not in use (Remember to keep the firearm muzzle pointed in a safe direction, even when cleared)  Note:  Clearing a firearm means you remove the magazine, if so equipped, and ammunition, then leave the bolt or cylinder open so any person can easily see it is not loaded. 
4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot a firearm (even if cleared)
5. When carrying a firearm loaded or unloaded always keep the safety on until the firearm is to be used, when possible.  (some firearms safety will not engage unless loaded)
6. When firing a firearm, ensure a clear field of fire between you and your target
7. When firing a firearm, ensure you have a good backstop and/or know the area behind your target is clear of persons, animals or property that should not be injured or damaged.
8. If not in use, always keep firearms clear and secured, by a trusted person or under lock and key.  There is no excuse for an unauthorized or unstable person to get control of your firearms.
9. Use a firearm only in self defense.  Firearms are not tools of aggression, but defensive tools
10. When used in a defensive manner, always adhere to all the rules above

These are the basic rules I was taught by my father and they have saved some lives.  Remember the hang fire problem I talked about before.  I was teaching my daughter how to physically shoot that day and my memory of the basic firearm safety rules my father drilled into me kept me from hurting her by just keeping the firearm pointed in a safe direction.  She even reinforced the safety rule of keeping the firearm pointed in a safe direction when it was over, by saying, "Now I understand why you point the gun downrange all the time dad."  (The safe direction at the range is downrange.)

Well, all the training I spent on that little girl was important even though she never touches firearms anymore as an adult.  When she was a child she knew never to touch any of my firearms, even though they were unloaded when stored in the house.  If she every came across a firearm, anywhere else, she knew to ensure all the kids left it alone and then she let adults know she and the other children had come upon one.  This never happened, to the best of my knowledge, but I taught her to do exactly that.

My daughter does not own any firearms today, at 32 years old, but she knows more about firearm safety than most people in this world.  I believe she could teach a firearm safety course.  I really drilled firearm safety into her from 4 years old until she left the house as an adult.  She fired my .357 magnum at milk jugs full of water at 5 years old just so she knew what kind of damage firearms can do, and just to feel how much power they have in her hand when she fired the firearm.  I feel this kind of training is essential if you have a child in the house where you have firearms.  This way they understand firearms are dangerous tools and not toys.  You can tell a child something all you want, but when they experience the actual power they know you are correct.

I have friends that know how much time I spent teaching my daughter firearm safety and how to shoot.  They thought I was crazy spending that kind of time teaching a girl that kind of thing, but the way I saw it, I wanted her to be safe in my house, and besides some of the best shooters in the world are ladies.  Now that she is an adult and chooses not to own firearms is her own choice and I would never try to influence her differently.  It is a personal choice under the Second Amendment and every citizen has the right to choose to own firearms or not own them.  I respect people that feel either way, but those that exercise their right to own and use firearms must know they have an inherent  responsibility that goes along with it which is to always, always, always use firearms safely.

Note:  This is just a recommendation, but when using a firearm for home defense, I recommend using Glazier Safety ammunition.  These will not penetrate drywall, but will blow anything moist, like a human body, apart.  This stops the intruder with one shot and does not endanger loved ones living in the house.

Take care, be safe and God bless you all!!!