In a bi-partisan move, Reps. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois and Clifford Stearns of Florida introduced H. R. 2732, the proposed National Instant Notification System Act of 1999.
If enacted, it would require that state and local law enforcement authorities and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms be notified immediately when the national instant criminal background check system determines that a person is ineligible to purchase a handgun.
If the system makes such a determination, it shall immediately notify the state and local law enforcement authorities (if willing to accept the information) and the field office of BATF, that the Attorney General deems appropriate, of:
The determination (including why the receipt would constitute such a violation);
The name of, and such other identifying information about the person as the system possesses; and
The location of the licensee involved.
H. R. 2732 would provide that neither a government nor an employee of a government responsible for providing a notice of such information shall be liable in an action at law for damages for failure to provide the notice or information.
The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
In California, the gun grabbers are having the time of their lives.
Declaring that “guns do kill people,” Gov. Gray Davis signed into law a “one gun-a-month” anti-handgun law proposed by Assemblyman Wally Knox of Los Angeles.
He also signed into law a bill by Sen. Don Perata of Alameda which bans the manufacture, import or sale or any semiautomatic rifle or handgun which has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition or can be easily concealed. The same measure redefines and bans so-called “assault weapons,” such as a “semiautomatic centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine,” and such other features as a thumbhole stock, a flare launcher and a pistol grip. It also bans the manufacture of high capacity ammunition magazines.
The California gun grabbers have proposed a plethora of other anti-gun legislation as well, and seem well on the march in our country’s most populous state.
On the other side of the country, in Maryland, Gov. Parris N. Glendening revived a proposal to require that all new handguns sold in the state be equipped with so-called “childproof” locks. He established a 21 -membertask force and ordered it to draft legislation that all new handguns in Maryland include some type of internal safety lock that would prevent them from being fired by children, thieves or other unauthorized users.
The task force, led by Maryland State Police Superintendent David B. Mitchell, is charged with reviewing a variety of gun-safety measures, from simple mechanical combination locks to so-called “smart gun” technology.
“What’s really going on is that Glenclening wants to ban handguns, and he wants to accomplish this by requiring that they be sold with a technology that does not exist,” said Bob McMurray, Chairman of the Maryland Committee Against the Gun Ban, and a CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Awardee.
Far fewer students were expelled for taking guns to school in the academic year 1997-1998 compared with the previous year, according to a U. S. Department of Education survey released August 10.
In the state-by-state survey, the government found that expulsions for carrying firearms onto school property dropped by nearly a third, to 3,930 students from 5,724.
The study is the second on how schools around the country are implementing the Gun-Free School Act, a 1994 federal law requiring states that receive federal education aid to enact laws requiring a minimum one year expulsion of students who take firearms to school.
In Atlanta, Georgia, Philip Anderson, President of the American Bar Association, called last month for stronger gun control measures.
Saying “we can still do something about gun violence in our society,” Anderson said August 7 it should be unlawful for teenagers to buy military assault weapons and expressed support for banning the importation of highcapacity ammunition feeding devices. He said the background check required for firearm sales by licensed gun dealers should apply to such sales at gun shows and that the background checks should take a minimum of three days.
He said. “There is no reason in the world why teenagers should be able to buy assault weapons.”
He said the ABA has no policy on state efforts to bar cities from suing gun manufacturers over firearm violence, but that the group generally favors access to the courts.
“Personally, I believe that any entity, city or otherwise, that has a legitimate claim should be able to pursue it,” he said.
Pointing to civil rights cases during the 1960s and more recent litigation over tobacco, he added, “The gun industry is another industry that it looks like the people will have to resort to the courts for relief if the legislatures don’t act.”
In Cape Town, South Africa, more than 1,000 gun owners, most of them Caucasian, according to news reports, marched to the gates of Parliament early last month to protest planned curbs on firearm ownership.
The government is considering broad new anti-gun legislation that would make all gun owners apply for new licenses, prove their need to be armed and take a mental health test. To buy a gun now in South Africa, you already have to pass a police check, which can take months.
Chanting, “Crime Control, Not Gun Control,” and carrying banners with slogans such as, “Don’t Disarm LawAbiding Citizens,” the marchers handed a petition to a representative of the Safety and Security Ministry. According to the reports, there are four million registered firearms in South Africa, one for every 10 men, women and children.