By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Anti-gun Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has unveiled her proposed measure to ban so-called “assault weapons” in 2013 and is pulling out all the stops by adding handguns and a registration requirement for pre-ban guns.
Details of Feinstein’s measure have roared across the Internet gun rights forums, and firearms owners are bristling.
Under her measure, pre-ban semiautomatic firearms dubbed “assault weapons” would have to be registered under the National Firearms Act, same as machine guns and some other other firearms.
Also on Feinstein’s “wish list” is a provision to include handguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have “one military characteristic” that is not defined in the summary. Indeed, to qualify as an “assault weapon,” the Feinstein measure would require only a single “military characteristic” instead of two as was the requirement under the original Clinton ban that was enacted in 1994.
Also included in Feinstein’s measure would be thumbhole stocks and “bullet buttons,” a device now used in California to make semi-auto rifles legal there.
Here is an overview of the proposal from Feinstein’s website:
Bans the sale, transfer, importation, or manufacturing of:
- 120 specifically-named firearms
- Certain other semiautomatic rifles, handguns, shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have one military characteristic
- Semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds
Strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and various state bans by:
- Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test
- Eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test
- Banning firearms with “thumbhole stocks” and “bullet buttons” to address attempts to “work around” prior bans
Bans large-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of accepting more than
10 rounds.
Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:
- Grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment
- Exempting over 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes and
- Exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons
Requires that grandfathered weapons be registered under the National Firearms
Act, to include:
- Background check of owner and any transferee;
- Type and serial number of the firearm;
- Positive identification, including photograph and fingerprint;
- Certification from local law enforcement of identity and that possession would not violate State or local law; and
- Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration
Some believe the bill will be dead on arrival when Sen. Feinstein introduces it in January, but that is not guaranteed because public emotion remains high in the wake of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.
Gun rights activists are already marshaling their forces to detail the legislation, but even with Capitol Hill fully focused on the nation’s financial crisis, there is still as potential for Sen. Feinstein’s bill to gain some traction.
President Obama has indicated he will support renewal of the ban, and making it permanent, so if this measure does pass on Capitol Hill, he will sign it into law.
