Thread: Feinstein pushes for semi-automatic rifle import ban - The Borg Hive is Desperate

National Rifle Association

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is circulating a letter on Capitol Hill calling once again for a ban on semi-automatic rifles and asking for President Barack Obama to keep his State of the Union promise to make 2014 a “year of action.” LIKE if you oppose banning semi-automatic rifles!



Dianne Feinstein pushes for semi-automatic rifle import ban based on 45-year-old law

6:30 PM 03/20/2014
Mike Piccione
Editor, Guns & Gear

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is circulating a letter on Capitol Hill calling once again for a ban on semi-automatic rifles and asking for President Barack Obama to keep his State of the Union promise to make 2014 a “year of action.”
Citing the Gun Control Act of 1968, Feinstein states, “In recent years… importers of firearms have taken advantage of ATF’s interpretation of the ‘sporting purposes’ test to evade the import ban.”
The phrase contained in The Gun Control Act of 1968 Feinstein is referencing prohibits the importation of firearms that are not “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.” She claims that in recent years firearms importers have taken advantage of ATF’s interpretation of “sporting purposes” to circumvent the ban.

Although Feinstein recognizes that the firearms are designed for civilian use and never manufactured or used by any standing army, she maintained that “many semiautomatic firearms on the market today do not have a military origin but are modeled closely after military firearms.”
To justify the ban, Feinstein cited a study by The Center for Public Integrity and expressed concern regarding international gun-running.
“700 Romanian AK-47 variant rifles were identified in 134 federal gun trafficking prosecutions involving illegal smuggling from the United States to Mexico and other Latin American countries,” she wrote.
The ban would target attributes like “thumbhole stocks” and “semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds” which would prohibit tube-fed .22 rimfire rifles.
Additionally, rifles and “assault pistols” capable of accommodating detachable magazines with a capacity in excess of 10 rounds would be banned “regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm’s magazine well.”

Feinstein’s letter does not appear on her Senate.gov page, where constituents can view her other positions.

Read the complete text of the letter, as provided to The Daily Caller:

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:

During your State of the Union address, you stated that you want to make 2014 a “year of action.” We write to urge you to take immediate action to address the significant number of assault weapons that are being imported into the United States in contravention of federal law. We respectfully request that you take steps to ensure that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) fully enforces the ban on the importation of these military-style firearms.
A provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 925(d)(3), prohibits the importation of firearms that are not “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.” In recent years, however, importers of firearms have taken advantage of ATF’s interpretation of the “sporting purposes” test to evade the import ban. In
1998, the Department of the Treasury — which then housed ATF — issued guidance that interpreted the import ban to prohibit only semiautomatic rifles that use magazines originally designed for a military rifle. Many semiautomatic firearms on the market today do not have a military origin but are modeled closely after military firearms. These military-style firearms are not prohibited under the current import ban, even though they are functionally equivalent to prohibited rifles with a military origin. In addition, the Treasury Department’s 1998 guidance allows foreign-made firearms to be imported into the United States without military features, even though these firearms have the capacity to fire multiple times in quick succession without the need to reload and can easily have military features attached.
As a result of the Treasury Department’s unnecessarily restrictive interpretation of the sporting purposes test, imports of military-style weapons have increased dramatically in recent years, helping to fuel deadly gun violence along the Southwest border and in neighboring Mexico. According to data obtained from the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission and analyzed by The Center for Public Integrity, 2.96 million rifles and handguns were imported into the United States in 2009, more than double the 1.32 million firearms imported in 2005. In January of this year, Russia’s Kalashnikov gun maker announced that it plans to sell in the United States up to 200,000 rifles and shotguns, many of which are designed after the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. An analysis by the Violence Policy Center found that more than 700 Romanian AK-47 variant rifles were identified in 134 federal gun trafficking prosecutions involving illegal smuggling from the United States to Mexico and other Latin American countries.
For example, one imported Romanian AK firearm, the WASR-10, was carefully designed to exploit the sporting purposes test and has become a favorite of the gun traffickers that profit by arming Mexican drug trafficking organizations. The importer of the WASR-10, Century International Arms, circumvents the import ban by taking the following steps: First, the company imports the inexpensive weapon without any military features, to avoid contravening the ban. Next, the weapon is disassembled, and American-made parts are added, to make the weapon “American-made,” not “foreign-made.” The magazine well is also modified to accept higher capacity ammunition magazines. Finally, assault features — which would be illegal if added to a foreign-made weapon — are added to the now-American-made weapon, rendering the weapon an assault rifle for all practical purposes. The resulting firearm is then sold on the civilian market, either to be used in violent acts here at home or smuggled across the border into Mexico.
WASR-10s have repeatedly been found in the arsenals of top drug kingpins and their associates. For example, at least one WASR-10 was used in May 2008 to kill eight police officers in Culiacan, Mexico, a city in the northwestern part of the country. An analysis conducted by The Center for Public Integrity found that, over the last four years, WASR-10 rifles comprised more than 17% of the firearms recovered at Mexican crime scenes and successfully traced back to the United States. In all, according to a memorandum by the Council on Foreign Relations published in July 2013, over 70% of the 99,000 weapons recovered by Mexican law enforcement since 2007 were traced to U.S. manufacturers and importers.

We urge ATF to close the loopholes that allow the importation of military-style weapons into the United States. Such an approach should, at a minimum:

• Prohibit importation of all semiautomatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm’s magazine well;
• Prohibit semiautomatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds;
• Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm;
• Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts;
• Prohibit the use of a “thumbhole” stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle; and
• Prohibit the importation of assault pistols, in addition to assault rifles.

We urge you to review enforcement of the sporting purposes test and take the necessary regulatory steps to stop the importation of all military-style, non-sporting firearms, and the assembly of those firearms from imported parts. We have endured too many funerals and mourned the loss of too many innocent lives to accept less than full enforcement of the import ban. Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Follow The Daily Caller on Twitter

Tags: AK-47, AR-15, assault rifle, Gun control, gun import ban, Pistol, semi-automatic, Senator Feinstein

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/20/di...pe_redirect=no

http://www.alipac.us/f19/jews-lead-g...outube-271216/

http://www.alipac.us/f19/number1-cau...-works-299561/

http://www.alipac.us/f19/penn-teller...ontrol-299562/

Here she comes again...coming after those "dangerous looking" guns.

This woman has literally made a career out of attacking the 2nd Amendment...

Feinstein: Ban semi-automatic weapons because they look like military firearms


Alex Wong/Getty Images


Joe Newby
Policy & Issues Examiner
March 21, 2014

In a letter circulating on Capitol Hill, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is demanding a ban on imported semi-automatic weapons because, in her words, they are "modeled closely after military firearms," the Daily Callerreported Thursday.
"Many semiautomatic firearms on the market today do not have a military origin but are modeled closely after military firearms," she wrote, citing the Gun Control Act of 1968. "These military-style firearms are not prohibited under the current import ban, even though they are functionally equivalent to prohibited rifles with a military origin."
The Daily Caller noted:

The phrase contained in The Gun Control Act of 1968 Feinstein is referencing prohibits the importation of firearms that are not “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.”

Nevertheless, she wants Obama to take executive action to ban these weapons.
"During your State of the Union address, you stated that you want to make 2014 a 'year of action.' We write to urge you to take immediate action to address the significant number of assault weapons that are being imported into the United States in contravention of federal law," she said.
Feinstein says she wants the ATF to close loopholes that allow the importation of military-style weapons into the United States.
At a "minimum," Feinstein said the ATF should:

• Prohibit importation of all semiautomatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm’s magazine well;
• Prohibit semiautomatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds;
• Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm;
• Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts;
• Prohibit the use of a “thumbhole” stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle; and
• Prohibit the importation of assault pistols, in addition to assault rifles.

The ban Feinstein seeks would also include tube-fed .22 caliber rimfire rifles, Mike Piccione said.
"We urge you to review enforcement of the sporting purposes test and take the necessary regulatory steps to stop the importation of all military-style, non-sporting firearms, and the assembly of those firearms from imported parts," Feinstein said. "We have endured too many funerals and mourned the loss of too many innocent lives to accept less than full enforcement of the import ban."
The letter does not appear on Feinstein's Senate webpage, the Daily Caller said.
Related:

• South Carolina pub under fire for insulting gun owners
• White House petition calls for Sen. Dianne Feinstein to be tried for treason
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein admits: Goal of gun ban is to 'dry up' supply of weapons
• Sheriff warns of second American revolution if gun confiscation laws pass
• Pat Buchanan warns of revolution if government tries to confiscate weapons
• Eric Holder: Time to ask 'hard questions' about Constitutional rights

----------------------------------------------------------------
If you like this article, you can follow Joe on Twitter @jnewby1956, visit and like his Facebook page, orsubscribe to receive email updates when a new article is published.
For hard-hitting conservative commentary, please visit Joe's blog, the Conservative Firing Line. You can also find Joe's articles at Right News Now, Liberty Unyielding and PolitiCollision.

Suggested by the author

Actress Marg Helgenberger: 'One can only hope' NRA members are shot dead
Sen. Dianne Feinstein uses Navy Yard shooting to push gun control
Dianne Feinstein compares ownership of assault weapons to child pornography
Dianne Feinstein: Semi-automatic weapons are unnecessary personal pleasures
Communist Party USA backs Obama gun grab, calls Second Amendment obsolete


http://www.examiner.com/article/fein...itary-firearms

National Rifle Association

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), sponsor of the federal "assault weapon" and "large" magazine "ban" of 1994-2004, is asking President Barack Obama to direct the BATFE to reinterpret a provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to prohibit the importation of various semi-automatic firearms and their parts.

Feinstein Wants Obama to Pull a Clinton on Firearm Importation

Posted on March 21, 2014



U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), sponsor of the federal "assault weapon" and "large" magazine "ban" of 1994-2004, is asking President Barack Obama to direct the BATFE to reinterpret a provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to prohibit the importation of various semi-automatic firearms and their parts.

In a letter to Obama, the text of which was included in an article published by the Daily Caller on Thursday, Feinstein said that, "at a minimum," the BATFE should:

prohibit importation of all semiautomatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds . . . . prohibit semiautomatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle . . . . prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts …. prohibit the use of a "thumbhole" stock . . . . and prohibit the importation of assault pistols.

Though Feinstein failed to gain approval of legislation she introduced in Congress last year, which would have imposed the biggest gun ban in American history, she has reason to believe that she could achieve some of her ends through the president's use of his executive authority. In the 1990s, Feinstein urged then-President Bill Clinton to direct the then-BATF to restrict the importation of semi-automatic rifles, and Clinton agreed. With the White House saying "we're taking the law and bending it as far as we can to capture a whole new class of guns," the BATF prohibited the importation of semi-automatic rifles capable of using standard magazines holding over 10 rounds.

In its report on its 1998 action, the BATF attempted to justify its decision on the grounds that Feinstein's 1994 law had banned the importation of magazines that held more than 10 rounds.

There were many flaws with that argument, including:

• The 1994 law didn't define a rifle as an "assault weapon" on the basis of the size of its magazine. Rather, it did so on the basis of its action (semi-automatic), its ability to use a detachable magazine (regardless of the magazine's size), and its attachments, such as a pistol-type grip, and a folding or telescoping stock.
• The 10-round magazine limit applied to magazines for all types of firearms--rifles, pistols and shotguns. The BATF's decision applied only to rifles.
• The 1994 law didn't ban the importation of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds made before the law took effect. It banned only the domestic manufacture and importation of such magazines made afterthe law took effect.
• Contrary to the BATF's claim that semi-automatic, detachable-magazine rifles "may be used for organized competitive target shooting, [but] their suitability for these competitions is limited," American-made rifles of that type are the most commonly used rifles for organized marksmanship competitions.
• Feinstein's 1994 ban expired in 2004, but the BATFE has not rescinded its 1998 ban.

In her letter to Obama, Feinstein incorrectly stated that the relevant provision of the Gun Control Act, 18 USC 925(d)(3), "prohibits the importation of firearms that are not generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.'" (Emphasis added.) Instead, it requires the Attorney General to approve the importation of firearms meeting either standard. While an important point, however, it may ultimately become moot, as the entire provision has become constitutionally suspect. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms for defensive purposes, not merely for sports.

One might think it doesn't make sense for Feinstein to agitate for gun control in an election year, especially one in which a number of anti-gun senators are going to be facing the voters. However, she is religiously committed to gun control and has been for a long time.

In 1982, then-San Francisco mayor Feinstein said she was "deeply committed" to her proposal to ban the private possession of handguns in the city, even as she carried a handgun for her own protection. In 1993, she described semi-automatic firearms as "weapons of mass destruction," even as she admitted that the guns she wanted to ban were rarely used in crime.

The same year, Feinstein implied support for banning magazines holding four or more rounds, saying on the Senate floor "I intend to add an amendment that would exempt semiautomatic bolt action (sic) shotguns and bona fide hunting rifles whose clips don't exceed three rounds."

In 1995, Feinstein admitted "there is no question that I would have preferred to see an outright ban on the possession of semiautomatic assault weapons in America, including the 1.5 million to two million currently in circulation. But, simply stated, the votes were not there." Later, she said "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them, Mr. and Mrs. America turn them all in, I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren't there."

In 1995, six months after Feinstein's 1994 ban took effect, CBS 60 Minutes' Leslie Stahl, in a segment titled "What Assault Weapons Ban?" reported that "Assault weapons are still . . . . sold by the thousands." Calling 1994 "the best year for the sales of assault weapons ever," she dismissed as "a good applause line" President Clinton's claim that the ban reduced the number of "assault weapons." The Christian Science Monitor similarly noted, "gun manufacturers only had to make minor changes to weapons in order to comply with the ban," such as omitting a flash suppressor.

Violent crime had been decreasing and continued to decrease, as Feinstein's "ban" remained in effect. Nevertheless, in 1997, after the Los Angeles Times joined the chorus of news entities reporting the weakness of her ban, Feinstein said she wanted it tightened.

In 1998, Feinstein began introducing bills to expand her 1994 ban's ammunition magazine restriction. In 2004, knowing she didn't have enough votes to expand the ban, she introduced bills to extend it another 10 years, none of which passed.

With her plea for greater restriction on the importation of firearms, Feinstein continues to badger America for gun control in abject denial of relevant statistics. The nation's murder rate is now at nearly an all-time low, even as Americans have been buying hundreds of thousands of AR-15s annually, including over 800,000 in 2012 alone.

http://nraila.org/legislation/federa...portation.aspx

Feinstein Trying To Ban Importation Of
Semi-Auto Firearms

Senator Feinstein is calling for a ban on the importation of semi-automatic firearms she has labeled "assault weapons" and "military style weapons". It was just a matter of time before Feinstein continued to attack our gun rights. She is trying to recruit fellow Senators to sign off on a letter she is sending to Obama demanding anti-gun legislation.

This is what the Obama Administration has been waiting for; a roundup of anti-gun troops ready to attack our gun rights, and it is being lead once again by Dianne Feinstein.

We defeated Feinstein's wave of anti-gun legislation in 2013; we must do it again NOW! We must flood the offices of every single U.S Senator demanding they side with the Second Amendment Patriots of our country and protect our rights.

SELECT HERE TO FAX OUR U.S SENATE: DEMAND THEY IGNORE FEINSTEIN'S PUSH FOR ANTI-GUN LEGISLATION AND PROTECT OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Below are the important yet disturbing points in Feinstein's letter to Obama:

We urge ATF to close the loopholes that allow the importation of military-style weapons into the United States. Such an approach should, at a minimum:

-- Prohibit importation of all semiautomatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm's magazine well;

-- Prohibit semiautomatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds;

-- Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm;

-- Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts;

-- Prohibit the use of a "thumbhole" stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle; and

-- Prohibit the importation of assault pistols, in addition to assault rifles.

Feinstein is on record saying if she could take away every American's firearms, she would! Do not believe she is pushing for anti-gun legislation for any reason other than keeping firearms out of the hands of Americans. If she cared about stopping gun violence she would be focusing on the criminals that are committing violent crimes.

SELECT HERE TO FAX OUR U.S SENATE: DEMAND THEY IGNORE FEINSTEIN'S PUSH FOR ANTI-GUN LEGISLATION AND PROTECT OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Here is another ironic piece of Feinstein's letter:

According to a memorandum by the Council on Foreign Relations published in July 2013, over 70% of the 99,000 weapons recovered by Mexican law enforcement since 2007 were traced to U.S. manufacturers and importers.

I wonder how many of these recovered firearms in Mexico were given to criminals by ATF themselves in the Fast and Furious debacle. Too bad she did not mention that in the letter. It is almost certain that 100% of the weapons traced to U.S manufacturers and importers were illegal firearms. Why does she not concentrate on stopping criminals from possessing illegal firearms instead of stopping law abiding citizens from obtaining legal firearms?

SELECT HERE TO FAX OUR U.S SENATE: DEMAND THEY IGNORE FEINSTEIN'S PUSH FOR ANTI-GUN LEGISLATION AND PROTECT OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Since the re-election of Obama there has been constant pressure and threats toward our Second Amendment. The only way to counteract these threats is for Law Abiding gun owners to stand up against them. We must demand our Senators side with the American people and protect our gun rights. We voted them in office, they work for us, and they need to protect the rights of our United States' law abiding citizens.

Sincerely yours,

Alan M. Gottlieb
Chairman
Citizens For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms (CCRKBA)

If you prefer to donate by check, please mail to:
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
13000 NE Tenth Place
Dept Code 156
Bellevue, Washington 98004

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. Contributions are not tax deductible. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

Copyright © 2014 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All Rights Reserved.