Federal Legislation That Will Affect Your Gun Rights: Part 1

By Chris Chumita

It is a good time to be a gun owner. We are successfully taking back our Second Amendment rights that we lost due to years of complacency. In order to maintain our momentum, you need to be aware of what is going on at the local, state, and federal levels. The Buckeye Firearms Association’s web site will help keep you current on the local and current issues. Web sites such as Thomas Library of Congress, the NRA-ILA, and Gun Law News are excellent sources to keep track of all the federal legislation.

In this first part of a two part series, you will be provided with a brief synopsis of just some of the pro-gun FEDERAL legislation that is being considered by the House. Part two will cover some of the pending anti-gun FEDERAL legislation.

For the complete synopsis, click on 'Read More...'.

HR 47: Citizen ‘s Self-Defense Act of 2005

The “Citizen’s Self-Defense Act of 2005 recognizes an individual’s right to self-defense. The bill is a good first step in one day passing a true national “Stand Your Ground Law.”

The bill also allows a person to sue the United States, the state, or anyone who deprived them of their right to self-defense with a firearm. It even holds anti-gun prosecutors PERSONALLY liable if they violated a person’s rights! The person who had their rights violated can seek compensation and reimbursement of their legal fees.

HR 4547: Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill

The “Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill’ can be considered a watered down “civilian” version of HR 218 (Law Enforcement Safety Act). It would allow any CHL (concealed handgun license) holder to carry their firearms in other states if they meet certain criteria. Other states would have to recognize another state’s CHL, and would make it easier for a person to travel with a firearm. In a sense, it would make a CHL more like a driver’s license.

This bill does NOT create a federal licensing system.

HR 5013: The Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006

The “Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006” is a result of the horrific experiences of Hurricane Katrina. Law-abiding citizens were illegally disarmed by the police after surviving a natural disaster, looters, and thugs.

This bill amends current federal emergency laws and is rather simple. During a disaster, it would prevent local authorities from confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens.

HR 5005: Firearms Corrections and Improvements Act

The “Firearms Corrections and Improvements Act” is meant to make a number of current firearm laws permanent and to clean up some of the language. This act will:

Permanently ban taxes on fees for running federal instant background checks prior to the sale of a firearm. The fees were first banned in 1998.

Permanently ban the government from creating a centralized electronic database of firearms dealer’s records. The creation of a centralized electronic database would be a threat to a gun owner’s privacy, help the government to confiscate firearms if they ever decided to do so. Under current law, the government cannot create a centralized electronic database of firearms dealer’s records.

Limit the access to firearms trace data.

Repeal some language in the Brady Act that expired in 1998 concerning “interim” waiting periods.

HR 5092: The BATFE Modernization and Reform Act of 2006

The “BATFE Modernization and Reform Act of 2006” is the first step in finally reforming the BATFE. It is a bill that needed to be passed years ago, and desperately needs your support. Its passage would have an enormous positive impact on gun owners and the entire firearms industry.

The bill will revise how the BATFE handles administrative penalties. Currently the BATFE only has two options if a firearms dealer, manufacturer, or importer commits a violation. The BATFE can either issue a warning or revoke the FFL holder’s license. Under this bill, the BATFE can fine FFL holders for less serious violations. License revocation would only be for serious violations that impede investigations or allow criminals access to firearms. It will also allow FFL holders to appeal BATFE penalties to a neutral judge. Currently, a FFL holder would have their appeal heard by the BATFE.

The BATFE has been aggressively going after FFL holders for simple paperwork mistakes. Under this bill, the BATFE will only be able to penalize FFL holders for intentional or purposeful violations. It helps enforce the changes that the Congress attempted to make in 1986 with the “Firearms Owners Protection Act.”

This bill will also hopefully put an end to the BATFE abuse that was witnessed at the recent Virginia gun shows. It will require the BATFE to establish real investigative guidelines, and their gun show enforcement/investigations would be over seen by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

HR 1603: Fairness In Firearm Testing Act

The “Fairness In Firearm Testing Act” is the result of the hard work of the JPFO (Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms). The bill is meant to prevent abuses from the BATFE by requiring them to make video recordings of all of their firearm and ammunition tests. Copies of the video would be available to the owner of the item in question, the defendant and would be admissible as evidence.

This bill must be passed to prevent the unwarranted prosecution of anyone who builds semi-automatic firearms from kits and all gun owners. Under current law, the BATFE DOES NOT have to video tape any of their tests performed on guns to determine if they are illegal machine guns. A simple report and testimony of the test by the BATFE can be admitted as evidence.

Without this law, you can be arrested, tried, and possibly imprisoned if a malfunction causes your semi-automatic rifle to fire more than one round per trigger pull. You don’t think it can happen to you? Just ask John Glover. Glover was vindicated with the help of firearms expert Len Savage and a video tape of the testing process. An innocent man was facing jail time based upon a test that was performed by an “expert” from the BATFE. It was determined that the “expert” never disassembled the firearm after it fired multiple rounds. The malfunction would have been discovered if he had. The JPFO’s web site has a detailed account of Glover's ordeal. A copy of the video can be purchased here from the JPFO.