EDITORIAL

States line up to ban guns

David A. Lombardo

Remind me again how The Messiah doesn't want to take away our guns. Does anyone seriously believe that Pelosi, one of his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, introduced that bill without his involvement? Or that the flurry of anti-gun articles in the newspapers isn't orchestrated? I mean, they all just decided to start writing anti-gun editorials simultaneously by coincidence? And then there are the states. Following in the footsteps of California, Colorado, Connecticut and Maryland are New Jersey, Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota.

Despite hundreds of gun-rights advocates descending upon New Jersey's Statehouse, it has been reported that the Dems essentially ignored them and ramrodded their agenda through committee for more gun control laws in a state with some of the toughest gun laws on the books. Gun owners call the 23 proposed bills "feel-good" and having nothing to do with gun violence. The proposed laws seek limiting magazine capacity to 10 bullets from 15, the banning of online sales of guns and ammunition, and forbidding gun ownership for anyone on the FBI's terrorist watch list.

New Jersey has had an assault weapons ban in place since 1991, all firearms must be registered, and concealed carry permits are essentially part of a good old boy network and unavailable to the common citizen. Additional laws sought would ban possession of armor-piercing bullets and .50 caliber or greater weapons, mental-health records being turned over to NICS background system and give the authority to law enforcement to seize firearms from anyone a mental health professional designates as a danger to himself or others.

There is only one pro-gun bill that was passed alongside all of the anti-gun bills. It is the one that requires all firearm records be confidential. It is the only issue that would have a negative effect on the anti-gun crowd, many of whom own guns but don't want anyone else to know about them.

In Illinois, the legislature is spooling up to pass comprehensive gun control laws. Illinoisans are urged to attend either the Tuesday, February 19th public hearing in the Capitol (12:00 noon; Room 114 Capitol Building in Springfield) or the Friday, February 22nd hearing in Chicago's Bilandic Building (10:00 a.m.; Room N-600 Bilandic Building).

Missouri Democrats introduced an anti-gun bill which would turn law-abiding firearm owners into criminals. Under the terms of the bill any person who owns an assault weapon or large capacity magazine would have 90 days to turn it in to law enforcement or become subject to felony prosecution. It also would make it unlawful, a class C felony, to manufacture, import, possess, purchase, sell, or transfer an assault weapon or a large capacity magazine.

"These assault weapons have no place in a civilized society except when we have an outside threat and that's what we have the military for," said Rep. Rory Ellinger of University City. "I don't think we have to have all these guns sitting around that countless times have led to terrible disasters. It's generating a panic that has no justification."

Then there's a proposed law in Minnesota which states, "Any person who, on February 1, 2013, legally owns or is in possession of an assault weapon has until September 1, 2013, to either remove it from the state, surrender it to law enforcement for destruction, render it permanently inoperable, or register it as provided by statutes.

Across the country the Dems are lining up and introducing similar bills in their respective state houses and the wording of many is eerily similar. But of course it's all a coincidence because The Messiah respects our right to own firearms.