Meet the Brady Center's newest "assault weapon": Your upland/waterfowl/skeet/trap shooting shotgun

by Jeff Riley

Several years ago, published at BuckeyeFirearms.org, I detailed the Brady Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence's call for banning "any ammunition that can penetrate ballistic armor" worn by law enforcement. This of course would ban almost any rifle ammunition used by big game and deer hunters in the United States. For years, gun-grabbers like the Brady Center have claimed that they aren't after your hunting guns. As the old saying goes, however, "actions speak louder than words". Not content to go after deer hunters rifles by calling them intermediate sniper rifles, now they have targeted your grandaddy's bird gun.

On Sunday July 27, 2008 a disturbed man identified as Jim D. Adkisson entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church in Knoxville, Tenn, firing three shots resulting in two deaths, wounding seven others before being tackled and held until the police arrived. The murder used a Remington Model 48 semi-automatic shotgun. This is what has the Brady Center trembling with fear and outrage, the dreaded semi-automatic (insert any model of firearm) "assault weapon."

Never one to let any tragedy go by without capitalizing on it, they hurriedly published a news release falsely claiming that "The shooter used a Remington Model 48 that can fire three shells at a time." This is not true as this would make it more akin to a machine gun, though even that can't fire three cartridges at once. Apparently they confused ammunition capacity with number of shots fired per trigger pull. They have since corrected their error after numerous pro-gun bloggers noticed and ridiculed their mistake. They apparently are as clueless about hunting firearms as they are with military styled firearms.

They have posted two videos of these dangerous "assault weapons here":

Knoxville shooter used semi-automatic shotgun

What is a semi-automatic shotgun

For a group that promises they aren't after your bird gun, they sure do talk about them often. In the second video notice how they refer to an over and under shotgun as the "perhaps more familiar over/under your granddad might hunt ducks with." See how the emphasis that with an over and under gun you have to reload after only two shots. Never mind that in the the church shooting the murderer only fired two shots into the crowd before discharging the third shot into the ceiling while being tackled by parishioners. So in this case the shooter could have used your grandpa's over and under to inflict the same amount of damage.

Now I know a lot duck hunters and while I am sure that some of them use o/u shotguns, the majority of duck hunters use semi-automatic shotguns. Not because they are "blasting away," but for various reasons such as reduced recoil, less time reloading (a task made more difficult with cold, wet hands), and lower cost of ownership. Most over and under shotguns are pretty fancy, as well as pricey, and wouldn't fare to well if dropped over the side of a boat.

This new emphasis on semi-automatic shotguns is a far cry from their stated position in 1994 (from the FAQ on the 1994 "assault weapons" Ban):

http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/faqs/?page=awb

Q: Does the law ban all semi-automatic guns? Does it affect hunting rifles and shotguns?

A: No. The definition of an assault weapon is tightly drawn. Only semi-automatic guns with multiple assaultweapon features are banned (see below). Traditional guns designed for use in hunting and recreational activities are not affected. To alleviate concerns that hunting weapons somehow might be affected, the law provides specific protection to 670 types of hunting rifles and shotguns that are presently being manufactured. The list is not exhaustive and a gun does not have to be on the list to be protected. Again, the only weapons that are prohibited are those with multiple assault weapon features.

Once again they have shown their true colors and are following their long term goals of working to restrict law-abiding citizens' ability to own a gun while at the same time working to broaden the definition of "assault weapon" to any firearm they don't approve. While the Supreme Court protects an individual right to own a firearm, it doesn't protect owning every type of firearm.

With the horrific murders in Connecticut, President Obama and his allies in the gun ban extremists world finally think they have an incident that can exploit a new "assault weapons" ban, and don't be surprised when your upland/waterfowl gun is added to the proposed list.

Over the years the Brady Bunch has accused the NRA of trumpeting "Any gun, at any time, for any reason." It seems that they have adopted the motto "No gun, at any time, for any reason" to now include firearms commonly used for hunting and recreational shooting.

It is time for those in the shooting community who have turned a blind eye to the gun grabbers efforts to wake up to this new reality. They ARE after your hunting/trap gun. It's not just guns used for self-defense.

Please consider joining a group such as Buckeye Firearms Association, and help spread the word to other firearms enthusiasts. Get involved at the local level, some of the most egregious anti-gun laws are passed by local/State legislatures. Donate your time to a youth shooting program to encouraged the future of our sport to protect our hard fought liberties.

Jeff Riley is a Southwest Ohio volunteer for Buckeye Firearms Association.