By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New;—California: three new anti-Second Amendment bills are still viable; California: End of session equals more gun bills; Louisiana: The legislature has adjourned; New York: Two more gun bills have passed the legislature; Oklahoma: The legislature has adjourned; Politics: November 5 is just 5 months away and state primary dates.
Politics – 2024
Colorado: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
Georgia: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
Maine: Ratihttps://www.nrapvf.org/grades/maine/ngs for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
Nevada: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
New York: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
North Dakota: The NRA Political Victory Fund has endorsed Rep. Kelly Armstrong for Governor of North Dakota in the June 11 primary—ratings for other candidates from the NRA-PVF.
Ohio: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
Oklahoma: Rahttps://www.nrapvf.org/grades/oklahoma/tings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
South Carolina: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
South Dakota: Ratings for candidates from the NRA-PVF.
Utah: The primary election will be held on June 25. You must be a member of a political party to vote. The NRA Political Victory Fund has endorsed Governor Spencer Cox for reelection.
Virginia: The primary election will be held on June 18—Virginia Citizens Defense League ratings.
State Legislation and local communities
States that are still in session: Arizona, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin
California: On Tuesday, June 11, the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety will hold a public hearing on SB53, which prohibits firearm possession in the home unless the firearms are stored in a California Department of Justice-approved locked box or safe. This bill has already passed the Senate.
Louisiana: The Louisiana legislature has adjourned.
New York: It is no surprise that New York has Democrat-led anti-Second Amendment supermajorities. As the end of the session is upon us, they are trying to pass as many gun restrictions as possible. Two bills have already passed both chambers: S.7392A/A7717B, a law to allege a public nuisance has been created by the sale, transfer, manufacturing, distribution, importing, and marketing of firearms; S8589/A7717B, enhancing the current extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law.
Oklahoma: The Oklahoma legislature has adjourned.
November 5, 2024, is five months away
Use the ballot box to fight Biden and ATF’s War on the Second Amendment
COMMENTARY: It has become obvious that President Joe Biden’s war on gun owners is ongoing. He has weaponized the ATF to rewrite federal law to nullify the Second Amendment.
In April, we reported the final publication of the new rule concerning federally licensed firearms dealers, which went into effect on May 12. BATFE’s history in the past 40 years has been to change the so-called definition of a federally licensed firearms dealer without having Congress change the law. The number of dealers registered with ATF in 1975 was 146,429, while 17 years later, in 1992, the number had grown to 248,155.
The Clinton Administration, which was in power from 1993 to 2001, was the most anti-Second Amendment administration before 2020. In Clinton’s 1992 campaign, he promised to pass the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Upon his inauguration in 1993, he fulfilled that promise. That law included a waiting period before purchasing a firearm that morphed into the current mandatory background check. The law also increased the FFL license fee from $30 to $200. Within three years, FFLs were cut by more than half—246,984 in 1994 to 79,285 in 1997. I remember friends who voluntarily gave up their FFLs to avoid the hassle of ATF harassment and inspections.
On Sept. 11, 2001, during the first year of the George W. Bush presidency, terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City, attacked the Pentagon, and changed America forever. One of the first significant policy initiatives after 9-11 was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security through the Homeland Security Act of 2002. That law also transferred ATF to the Department of Justice from the Treasury Department. The agency went from enforcing tax laws to becoming a federal law enforcement agency. Since 2002, the number of FFLs has fluctuated between 47,000 and 59,000, approximately 60 percent smaller than 27 years ago.
Joe Biden has resurrected and expanded the Bill Clinton playbook of attacking gun owners and firearms dealers. During the last two decades of the 20th Century, ATF’s abuse of its regulatory and enforcement powers became the subject of congressional hearings and media articles. After such scrutiny, ATF’s FFL license revocation rate for first-time violations stopped growing; however, when Biden became President, everything changed.
He focused on reinvigorating ATF. First, he nominated David Chipman, a lobbyist for Giffords, to become ATF Director. That failed. He then nominated another Democrat political operative—attorney Steven Dettelbach. Having none of Chipman’s ATF baggage, he was confirmed in July 2022.
With his yes man as ATF Director, Biden ramped up his campaign to go after FFLs. He supported ATF’s “zero tolerance” approach against FFLs by seeking to turn violations or clerical errors into license revocations. Inspectors were expected to seek immediate revocations even for dealers who had years of perfect compliance, which led to lawsuits such as Kiloton v. ATF. In addition, it became clear that Dettelbach’s mandate was to give the agency expansive powers by creating new agency rules on firearms storage, the definition of frame or receiver, pistol braces, and finally, the current “definition of engaged in the business.” According to thereload.com’s description of the latter proposed rule,“President Biden himself said the rule doesn’t go as far as he would like. He urged Congress to force all used gun sales to be done through licensed dealers.”
Biden’s war on gun owners, firearms dealers, and the Second Amendment has kept expanding, and there is no end in sight. On April 20, the White House even posted a tweet on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying, “It’s time for Congress to act. BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS.”
Already, firearms advocates are fighting ATF’s illegal rule-making. Lawsuits have been filed against the rule-making that ATF has initiated under Biden. However, lawsuits are very costly and take years to be decided. The government has unlimited federal dollars to fight back, and the anti-gun groups are also getting into the judicial arena by filing amici. Gun owners’ most basic tactic is to fight back at the ballot box. Mark the date: November 5, 2024.
