Liberty Belles - Anti-Gun Laws


	Anti-Gun Laws by Jennifer Freeman

At issue in the D.C. vs. Heller case is not only whether or not the Supreme Court will acknowledge that the Second Amendment applies to private citizens, but also to what extent the government can restrict our ability to exercise that right.

Although the phrase, "shall not be infringed" rings clear as a bell to gun owners, the judges may take a different view. Further, the term, "arms" is not specific and appears to have no legal definition despite the fact that the American people consider the term "arms" to be synonymous with "firearms or guns."

While it is doubtful that the Supreme Court decision will contain a long list of specifics in terms of regulation, their opinion should convey the Court's opinion quite clearly and should be broad enough to cover a variety of scenarios.

With that in mind, we would like to review several common anti-gun laws that serve no purpose other than to infringe or restrict the law-abiding citizen's ability to own or possess a firearm.

10-Day Waiting Period	Now that national instant background checks are available, there is absolutely no reason why anyone who passes a background check should be forced to wait 10 days before completing their firearm purchase. Some anti-gun proponents contend that the waiting period is actually a "cooling off" period. This is not only insulting, but its purported usefulness has no bearing in reality. Refer to the Liberty Belles article Waiting Period Scam for a further discussion on this topic.
One Gun Per Month	Gun grabbers love to conjure up the image of someone walking into a gun store and walking out with 200 firearms that will subsequently be sold "on the street." In reality, this is just another insinuation that lawful firearm owners are would-be black-market dealers. Or perhaps it is just a made-up excuse to prevent law-abiding citizens from exercising their rights.
Ban on Small Handguns	The City of Los Angeles invented the term, "pocket rocket" to describe handguns with short barrels. The City claimed that such guns were "wepon of choice" among gang members. These guns were banned in Los Angeles despite protests from women, the elderly, and the handicapped with small or weakened hands. It is worth noting here that the majority of gang members in Los Angeles are illegal aliens or are the children of illegal aliens. While the City has no problem restricting gun ownership of law-abiding citizens, they refuse to deport criminal illegal aliens.
Ban on Large Caliber Rifles	The .50 caliber rifle has been banned in California because the State claims that this is the preferred weapon of terrorists. Although there is no record of any such crime being committed with a .50 caliber rifle in the United States, it did not prevent the legislature from banning these firearms. Today's .50 caliber may be tomorrow's .30-06. By burning the candle at both ends, gun grabbers can greatly narrow the scope of available firearms.
Mandatory Trigger Locks	A trigger lock effectively turns a reliable defense tool into something as primitive as a brick. Anti-gunners proclaim that trigger locks would prevent accidental shootings. They fail to mention that it would also prevent intentional acts of self defense.

There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that gun laws reduce crime. Further, the government has made no effort to statistically evaluate the usefulness of gun ownership. Private studies show that firearms are used up to 2.5 million times per year as a defense tool, often without ever firing a shot.

While lawmakers, with the assistance of their cohorts in the anti-gun media, manipulate public perception by exaggerating crimes committed with firearms and completely ignoring self-defense stories, they also divert attention away from the fact that the Second Amendment is not about public policy.

An armed populace is the only thing that will deter the government from usurping power away from American citizens. If the government refuses to accept direction from her people the need to take up arms as a last stand becomes absolutely necessary. It is to be used as a last resort measure to maintain our Democratic Republic committed to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, the Second Amendment is at the very heart of freedom.

Jennifer Freeman is Executive Director and co-founder of Liberty Belles, a grass-roots organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the Second Amendment.
http://www.libertybelles.org
jennifer@libertybelles.org

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