NSSF Call to Action: Tell Your Senators Not to Sign On to Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Attempt to Ban Imports of Semi-Automatic Rifles
National Shooting Sports Foundation 03.21.14
She’s back! Roundly defeated legislatively and procedurally on the Senate floor a year ago, Dianne Feinstein, the U.S. Senate’s leading foe of Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights, is resuming her jihad against semi-automatic modern sporting rifles using a different tactic.
This time, the California Democrat is asking her fellow U.S. Senators to sign on to a letter to President Obama asking him to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to ban the importation of what she calls “assault weapons” and “military-style rifles” that are not “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.”
If that sounds like nonsense, it’s because it is nonsense. Here’s some more of her flawed reasoning:
“In 1998, the Department of the Treasury — which then housed ATF — issued guidance that interpreted the import ban to prohibit only semi-automatic rifles that use magazines originally designed for a military rifle. Many semi-automatic firearms on the market today do not have a military origin but are modeled closely after military firearms. These military-style firearms are not prohibited under the current import ban, even though they are functionally equivalent to prohibited rifles with a military origin. In addition, the Treasury Department’s 1998 guidance allows foreign-made firearms to be imported into the United States without military features, even though these firearms have the capacity to fire multiple times in quick succession without the need to reload and can easily have military features attached.”
Sen. Feinstein’s intent is clear. Again she is pursuing “banning” firearms because of their characteristics and not focusing her effort on the criminals who misuse firearms. What does she want President Obama, acting through ATF to do? Here’s what (her words):
- “Prohibit importation of all semi-automatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm’s magazine well;
- Prohibit semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds;
- Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm.
- Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts;
- Prohibit the use of a “thumbhole” stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle; and
- Prohibit the importation of assault pistols, in addition to assault rifles.”
That would be a lot of semi-automatic rifles! This effort must be stopped short! Why should law-abiding citizens have their rights curtailed by an anti-gun Senator’s effort to convince other senators to join her jihad?
Call both your Senators today (Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121) and tell them NOT to sign on to this letter!
