Okay everyone, I’m back to touch on another of Ms. Lee’s resolutions.
H.R.125 – To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for a 7-day waiting period before a semiautomatic firearm, a silencer, armor piercing ammunition, or a large capacity ammunition magazine may be transferred.
First off, any time I see “may be transferred”, I worry that this hints at a registration and tracking system. This is something that I am 100% against, so I cringe.
Now, any waiting period is something that has been debated. There are good arguments on both sides. I personally think that after a background check, or with the possession of a firearms license that has already required on, there should be no wait to own a firearm. That’s a personal opinion, based on personal experiences. Certain states agree and others disagree.
The curious part of me wonders what the current wait time is for a silencer, it’s already a Class III firearm, in the same class as fully automatic and short-barreled rifles and requires a Class III SOT to purchase or sell. These are registered and tracked, so I don’t anticipate that they are a problem. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time that I heard about one being used illegally, outside of movies.
As for armor piercing ammunition, Giffords Law Center says “Federal law prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, or delivery of armor-piercing ammunition, with very limited exceptions. Licensed dealers are prohibited from “willfully” transferring armor-piercing ammunition. Federally licensed dealers, to the extent they may transfer armor-piercing ammunition, must keep a record of any transfer.” This waiting period seems unneeded at best and misleading at worst.
This leaves all semi-automatic firearms (handgun, rifle, shotgun) and “large-capacity” magazines.
Including all semi-automatic firearms and taking into account the concerns that I voiced earlier about registration and central databases is my first concern. I understand the argument for a waiting period otherwise. I disagree, but I understand. There’s a scene in the movie “White Men Can’t Jump” where a player says “I’m going to go to my car, get my gun and get my money back”. The instances of a person thinking that they are angry so they will go buy a firearm and return to use it are infinitesimal. I just don’t agree with the argument that it does more good to make people wait. In the case of a stalker, the three or five day wait is already too long, seven is ridiculous. We live in an era where the background check should take no more time than an online grocery order. The people who have made mistakes (I’m talking to you USAF) had no means to fix those mistakes in three, five, seven or thirty days. They didn’t realize the mistake was made. I don’t believe in waiting periods, so my arguments are probably not gong to convince anyone.
I’m no more a fan of the term “large-capacity magazine” than I am of “assault rifle”. If there is anything that the anti-gun lobby does well, it’s using terms to invoke emotion and fear. Most firearms sold in the US today use a standard magazine with more than ten rounds. This isn’t “high-capacity”, it’s standard equipment. When someone breaks in to your home, according to Ms Lee, you are to assume that they will be alone, because we want to limit the amount of ammunition that you are permitted to use to defend yourself. Not to mention that if one or more intruders violate your safety, they probably aren’t incredibly concerned with obeying ammunition capacity laws. They may have a 17-25 (or more if it’s modified) round magazine in their handgun.
If the firearm is used legally, there is no problem with a 100 round capacity. If the firearm is not used legally, the capacity law is probably not a concern for the user. The only purpose that this serves is to handcuff the assaulted and give the assailant or assailants an advantage. If someone violates my home, I’m not interested in making sure there’s a fair fight, I want every advantage that I can get, but this does the exact opposite, it gives the offender the advantage.
Some of this bill, based on the title, seems unnecessary, the rest is just plain bad. It looks like it will cause more harm than good in my opinion.
Thanks all, enjoy the time that you have, it’s not infinite.