H.R. 7115 Outlaws ‘Assault Weapon’ Parts Kits & Private Sales

Ar15 Lower Parts
Ar15 Lower Parts

U.S.A. -(Ammoland.com)- The Democrats in Congress have hurried to introduce restrictive anti-Second Amendment legislation. Progressivism detests the concept of the Second Amendment in its bones.

Congressman Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, has introduced H.R. 7115.  The bill outlaws the private manufacture of guns by requiring a serial number be applied for, and received, before manufacture. Thus, all legal private making of guns would be recorded by the government,. The manufacture would no longer be private. The purpose is to make all legal guns fall under federal control.

From congress.gov:

To prohibit the sale, acquisition, distribution in commerce, or import into the United States of certain firearm receiver castings or blanks, assault weapon parts kits, and machinegun parts kits and the marketing or advertising of such castings or blanks and kits on any medium of electronic communications, to require homemade firearms to have serial numbers, and for other purposes.

The bill outlaws parts kits for semi-automatic firearms, machine guns, and handguns. H.R. 7115 also outlaws the advertising of parts kits and ANY firearm receiver blank or casting that can be used to make a functional semi-auto assault weapon, machine gun, or handgun.

The bill has many logical flaws. Many pieces of pipe fit the definition of firearm blank that can be used to make a handgun.  Simple steel or aluminum stock does so as well.

This bill is meant to make it hard for individuals to make legal guns without being controlled by the government.

It is explicitly aimed at those who bother to follow the law.

It would have a real effect on people in the gun culture. Parts would be harder to find. Making guns by yourself would become difficult and require registration with the government.

It has always been legal to make your own gun in the United States. It still is, if the gun made is not illegal to possess for other reasons. California passed a law requiring individuals making guns to obtain a serial number from the state.  Other states, such as New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, have proposed bills to do the same. This bill would indirectly require the same thing. It would require federally licensed gun dealers to create the serial number. The number is required to be unique; that could only happen if the dealers have access to a database of all serial numbers.

Enforcement of the bill is explicitly taken from the BATFE and given to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and to the Federal Trade Commission. In doing so, it deliberately places people who have no expertise about guns in charge of this gun ban.

The bill is designed to appeal to those who see no value in guns or in people being armed.  Implicit in the bill is the assumption that all guns should be known to and tracked by the federal government; that more guns create more problems; that control of the manufacture of guns by individuals is a legitimate government function, instead of an infringement on the Second Amendment.

All of those assumptions are subject to debate. They imply that infringements on the Second Amendment are desirable.

The bill makes the sale of gun parts problematic. How can it be illegal to sell a “parts kit” of 40 parts, but legal to sell two different parts collections of 20 parts each?  The logical conclusion would be to make gun parts illegal to sell.  This is the case in countries with strict gun control.  Creating a legal climate where parts are difficult to obtain is another blow aimed at legal gun owners.

Some countries require all gunsmithing to be done by licensed gunsmiths. It has always been legal to repair your own guns in the United States.

H.R. 7115 is unlikely to pass Congress. It addresses problems that do not exist in significant numbers. Gun tracing has never been an effective crime-solving tool.

Gun tracing only exists as a silly compromise effected to stop President Lyndon Baine Johnson’s bill to register and license all guns in the United States. That was the Gun Control Act of 1968. It has been a costly and ineffective measure.

This bill promotes the narrative that restrictions on guns are a good thing.

For people who are voluntarily unarmed, restrictions to make more people unarmed, or which only impact gun owners, appear desirable, and appear to cost them, personally, very little.

Most current gun control bills work at making gun ownership difficult. The idea is to slowly reduce the number of gun owners, to make them politically impotent.

That worked in England, where gun ownership was always a small percentage of the people. It was tried in Australia but isn’t working. Gun ownership has risen, in spite of the extreme restrictions. Brazilian voters rejected the concept in the last election.

It is not working in the United States.

People who want a disarmed population do not need logic or facts on their side. They have the media on their side. They only need to appear to have public support. In states with low populations of gun owners, that may be enough.

There are several indications overall legal gun ownership is rising in the United States. In states that require a permit to own a gun, the numbers have increased dramatically. The number carry permits is increasing and at all-time highs. The number of guns sold has been breaking records. The opposite conclusion comes from some polls, where people may not wish to tells strangers they own a gun. No one knows for certain.

We live in unsettled times. There is no longer agreement on what set of ideas should govern the United States. When times are unsettled, people turn to their own resources. Owning a gun gives them more options.

Owning a gun the government does not know of is the common method of gun ownership in most nations, and, in most nations, it is illegal.  There are far more guns owned illegally, outside the United States, by individuals, than are owned legally.  In those countries, while it is possible to obtain a gun illegally, it becomes difficult to train and become proficient with one.

In the United States, the Second Amendment is intended to prevent that necessity. New Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh wrote that gun registration is not allowed under the Second Amendment.

Registration of all lawfully possessed guns – as distinct from licensing of gun owners or mandatory recordkeeping by gun sellers – has not traditionally been required in the United States and even today remains highly unusual. Under Heller’s history- and tradition-based test, D.C.’s registration requirement is therefore unconstitutional.

Other justices disagree.

Requiring a serial number on a gun made by an individual has virtually no function except to register that gun to that individual.


About Dean Weingarten:Dean Weingarten

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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moe mensale

Has anybody actually read the bill?
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/7115/text

The text seems to indicate that the Consumer Products Safety Commission and/or its rules will somehow be involved in carrying out the law’s purposes. The CPSC has no regulatory jurisdiction over firearms of any type barring some Congressional action modifying its mandate. This bill isn’t going anywhere.

Patriot guy

So a demon-crap from New Jersey wants to ban parts kits. Does he really believe that this would stop crime or gang members? Say, isnt New Jersey the headquarters of the American mafia? Another politician who thinks he knows whats best for America. I’ve read that there are some politicians who under the guise pf stopping suicides want to put Lithium nd Prozac in our drinking water, this is for ypur own good of course. Why do the sheep keep voting for the same people all the time? We need term limits! On TV is was said 75,000 die of… Read more »

Eddie Sanders

If they oppose the 2nd amendment pull their protection covered by the others.

Drew G

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/11/16/eric-swalwell-if-gun-owners-defy-assault-weapons-ban-the-government-has-nukes/ When you have liberal lawmakers making ridiculous statements like in the article above, it shows you where NY, NJ, CT, CA, MA stand. We’re in trouble folks. If the Libtards believe for a minute gun owners would fall right in line, turning our guns in under some kind of “gun buyback guise”, they’re in for a HUGE surprise. America would be in a “revolution” as millions of gun owners, like myself, would fight to the death (and there would be huge numbers of casualties on both sides) before turning my guns over. Remember, Australia is the model these liberals… Read more »

Barry Hirsh

No different than the government licensing printing presses. The core concept is the same. That would violate the First Amendment, this would violate the Second.

MagicDave

Excellent Article. I often wonder how Progressive Pioneers such as Teddy Roosevelt and Robert “Fightin’ Bob” LaFollette Sr. who were originators of the movement. How the Progressive Movement such prominent Republicans founded became a Democrat Party movement eludes me. TR must be spinning in his grave. I think those people interested in building an AR15 should buy a Lower Kit before January 2021. Building a rifle takes careful patience but is a skill that can be acquired.

Mark R

It’s like this ,if the first amendment covers radio tv and the internet
and the forth amendment covers wiretapping and video surveillance, how can the second amendment only cover weapons from the 1800’s

John A Bird

When taking office you take an oath to defend our Constitution, if you are unable to perform tis duty, you should either resign immediately or physically be removed! This also hokds true to ex military etc.

Patriot guy

It figures that some politician from New Jersey would introduce a bill like this. This wpuld do nothing to stop crime or gangs. Say, isn’t New Jersey the headquarters of the mafia? What they need is term limits on politicians. See, they really want gun registration one way or another. Gun registration = gun confiscation = and you locked up in a gun control concentration camp.

Richard Lewis Kemp

Shall not be infringed,what part of those words do they not comprehend.to infringe means to limit,to take away, to violate.gun control has nothing to do with safety in any way,it is about power and control, without gun owning Americans the thugs you morons call law enforcement would be killing people frequently,and that is what the government wants mark my words when guns are outlawed every activist every American that voices anything against the state or government will be dragged into the streets and shot just like in other countries, the only difference between America and Russia and China is America… Read more »

Kenneth Hammer

To the leftists, rule of law is only an impediment to the Utopia they think they are creating. These things never end well, but as it has been said many times before, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

Dennis L Coates

Guess the demoRat from new Jersey want to ware cement cloths

JDC

There was an article published 11/15/18 in the WA Post op-ed page and re-posted in the WSJ and at the author’s blog post at https://jenzamzow.com/gun-control-washington-post entitled “How to come together on Gun Control” on her blog post. (Changed to “Why we can’t come together on gun control” for the post. I’d encourage you to read and comment on the site. Right now both posts are pro-gun rights and both respectfully written. The author’s main point was that to further restrict guns, and gun ownership we just needed to “listen to each other.” I wrote this in response: Interesting view, obviously… Read more »

MagicDave

Hear! Hear! Very well stated!

Russell Halford

Well said. I couldn’t have said it better myself. A fracturing society needs mended; not controlled.

Dale A DeBoer

They need to go work on climate control…

Wild Bill

@DAD, And let the” they” begin with you. Turn down that thermostat to 50. Sell that car and lawn mower. Most of Asia, India, Mexico and South America are doing nothing about climate or even pollution. America has cleaner air than Europe.

mick

the thing is, this bill also bans the advertisement of all said parts.. so goodbye 1st and 2nd amendment rights !!!

JDC

When defending the 2A it is important to paint it in the context of its parallels to the other Amendments. What if we required a background check and licensing to attend church? Same for public speech? Assembly? 2A is already the most infringed upon of the God given rights and should be portrayed as such. They aren’t teaching civics (only “social justice”) these days, so most people don’t understand the problem with restricting YOUR rights, because they don’t understand it restricts THEIR rights eventually.

Wild Bill

@JDC, You bring up an excellent point. And the elitists have been changing the definition of “Rights” or more properly “what a Right is”, over the last hundred and twenty years, too!

Robert J. Lucas

Stop these Hoplophobics, Socialism>Communism>Gun Control=Disarmament=Extermination… The anti-gun movement is well represented and financed by the dysfunction ally unworldly. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance, and it behooves all vigilant lovers of liberty to know and be able to recognize the various types of arms prohibitionists and understand their differing but equally dangerous motives. Acquiring knowledge of one’s foes is the first step toward defeating them. We must never forget that a threat to private firearms ownership is a threat to all freedoms. The inalienable and fundamental right to keep and bear arms which is enumerated by (but predates) the… Read more »

Richard Revoir

Well said Robert J Lucas !!

Mike S.

I like the phrase “Holocaust Insurance”. I think I’ll print up a few stickers for the doors to the gun safe… That’s a turn of phrase that will have the commie leftists’ heads spinning as they try to find a way to argue with you. Just sayin’.

Patriot guy

That wpuld be a great idea! Print up a lot of them to sell at gun shows.

Daniel

The Liberals want to disarm Americans because they are afraid of us.
We think for our selves and are willing to protect ourselves not rely on the Government.

Wild Bill

@Daniel, DNC = Disarm Nice Commoners.

James

The anti keep chipping away at our Rights.

Wild Bill

Only tyrants work to disarm their people. If some person or organization is working to disarm some other group of people … then you can draw a conclusion.

Drew G

I grew up and spent 40 year’s living in New Jersey. I finally “escaped” to the Midwest ten year’s ago. The difference in attitudes towards guns couldn’t be more stark and I tell all my new friends out here that CA, NY, NJ, CT, MA and other far left, liberal, gun control states blame all there gun problems on the southern and mid west states loose gun laws. I tell them, these states are demanding federal gun control laws in order to take away your guns and 2nd Amendment rights. In these liberal states, gun owners are a huge minority… Read more »

RicksterAR

Drew G , lucky you. You escaped NJ , so you are one of the lucky. I am rooted in N.Y and not happy for it. Moving is not an option for me. I have to say , you can not judge a book by its cover , nor can you possibly think every person in the above mentioned ” liberal states ” is anti second Amendment. I hate what our elected officials are doing to my state , and the other states you mentioned. Those of us that truly stand for our constitutional rights , can not , should… Read more »

Drew G

Hey Rick, I sympathize with you having to live in NY, believe me. But if you read my post, you would see I never said “everyone in these states”, rather I stated “the majority in these states” are gun control proponents. If that wasn’t the case, you and the others in these states, NY, NJ, CT, MA, CA, wouldn’t be in the mess you are with all these anti 2nd Amendment regulations. The politicians in your state, and the others, are able to push this garbage thru the legislature because of the strong support for it. I’m sorry. That’s just… Read more »

Mike G Smith

They do anything and everything they can to take our weapons…it is always these bleeding hearts wanting to do some shallow deed…they don’t believe in it…if they did they wouldn’t have armed guards…if the world at large declared itself peaceful…I would laugh and say “no you still can’t have my guns”