By Larry Keane
If President Joe Biden’s White House Rose Garden gun control announcement seemed like déjà vu all over again, it was.
The president regurgitated firearm industry fabrications while proclaiming executive orders that have significant implications for firearm manufacturers, retailers and gunsmiths. President Biden announced his nominee for Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Once again he chose someone with a known record of supporting gun control who was previously endorsed by gun control groups.
For President Biden, it’s the same gun control cycle – rinse and repeat.
Industry Attacks
The firearm industry has long-standing partnerships with the agencies charged with keeping Americans safe from criminals that break gun laws. President Biden chose again to attack the firearm industry instead of supporting those partnerships. It was a speech that he could’ve taken off the shelf from last year’s Rose Garden gun control announcement, or his earlier White House gun control remarks, or his first Joint Session Address to Congress or his first State of the Union Address last month.
The president repeated his favorite false attack on the firearm industry and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
“Look, this is incredibly rare because gun manufacturers have more immunity from liability than any other American industry, so they have never had to take responsibility for the death and destruction their products cause,” President Biden wrongly claimed. “They’re the only outfit — (applause) — they’re the only outfit in the country that is immune.”
That’s flat wrong and the president and his speechwriters know it. It is criminals committing violence who must be held responsible when they commit crimes. Lawful firearm manufacturers are responsible for any product defects. Congress specifically carved out exceptions to allow claims of negligent entrustment to proceed where allowed under state law. The law, PLCAA, simply says that these agenda-driven lawsuits can’t be brought against a manufacturer that had nothing to do with the criminal or wrongful misuse of their product.
The Washington Post, CNN, PolitiFact, the Associated Press and many more have all rebuked the president on his claim. “They are not exempt or immune from being sued,” wrote the AP. “Gun manufacturers can certainly be sued…Biden is wrong to say gun manufacturers are alone,” The Washington Post stated. These facts don’t change no matter how often the president repeats them.
Know Your History
President Biden presented himself a “student of history” but he repeated a false claim to sell more gun control, one he’d easily know was untrue if he studied the American Revolution.
“But from the very beginning, the Second Amendment didn’t say you can own any gun you want, big as you want,” the president said. “You couldn’t buy a cannon when, in fact, the Second Amendment passed.”
President Biden has been taken to task for this claim before. The Washington Post assigned him “Four Pinocchio’s” and said, “Biden has already been fact-checked — and it’s false. We have no idea where he conjured up this notion about a ban on cannon ownership in the early days of the Republic, but he needs to stop making this claim.”
American merchants and sailors – before the Second Amendment was ratified – granted “special waivers,” “allowing private individuals to act as pirates on behalf of the United States against countries engaged in war with it.” Americans were given waivers and those who owned warships often obtained cannons for use in battle. It is still legal to buy a cannon today.
Personally-Manufactured Firearms
One of the major policy changes President Biden announced will have major impacts on lawful firearm industry manufacturers and law-abiding Americans. Because of the president’s previous unilateral executive actions, a Final Rule by the Department of Justice (DOJ) would redefine firearm frames and receivers, a change that significantly alters the sale and possession of not only personally-made firearms (PFMs) but potentially other types and models as well.
SEE ALSO: Amazon Employees Supported Gun Control, Defund Police. Crime Forced Them Out.
Home-built firearms have been legal since before the founding of America. Until this new Final Rule, private citizens were able to make their own firearms, so long as they followed existing laws and they were for private possession. Anyone prohibited from purchasing a firearm at retail is also prohibited from possessing a home-built gun.
As proposed, President Biden’s new rule radically alters the manufacturing and compliance processes for manufacturers of traditional firearms, not just the making of incomplete, unfinished parts Congress has not chosen to regulate. It could turn millions of law-abiding Americans into criminals, as well as force onerous regulations on lawful firearm retailers and gunsmiths to assign serial numbers to any home-built firearm that is brought to them.
ATF Director Redux
President Biden’s first nominee to lead the ATF failed due to his paid gun control activism and his questionable and problematic professional behavior that came to light. Forced by frustrated gun control groups to do more, President Biden announced a new ATF director nominee.
“Today, to lead and support the dedicated men and women of the AFT [ATF], I am proud to nominate Steve Del- — Dettelbach — excuse me, I mispronounced your name — I just — as Director of Bureau of Al- — Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” the president announced.
The firearm industry has supported every ATF director nominee that was favorably voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and NSSF is committed to a thorough examination of Dettelbach’s record and qualifications. Dettelbach has previously stated support for bans on Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs), or AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, universal background checks, which are unworkable without a national firearm registry that is already forbidden by federal law, and extreme-risk protection orders, or so-called “red flag” laws, without protections for Due Process considerations.
Dettelbach was also a recent partisan candidate for public office, supported gun control during his campaign and was previously endorsed by the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, for his support for policies restricting Second Amendment rights.
From start to finish, the president’s Rose Garden gun control speech was more of the same. He attacked the firearm industry and repeated lies to further a gun control agenda the American people – especially more than 14 million first-time gun buyers – who are rejecting gun control by the millions.
For those watching, it was déjà vu all over again.
Larry Keane is Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association.
I’d like to report to ATF that about ten years ago I bought a Remington Rolling Block Rifle, a No. 1 Action in 7mm Mauser caliber. This gun has no Serial number on it, but is deffenately was not a ghost gun or home made. Please record this and keep track of it, we sure do not want this to ever get into the hands of a Democrat or dangerous criminal.
Also, I have a custom made 1911, semi- auto copy of a Colt 1911 service handgun. This firearm is made out of stainless steel, is in 9mm caliber, and has a 6″ bull target barrel and receiver slide. It also has a beautiful set of red, Cocobolo grips on it. The reason I had this particular gun made up was that I spent 3 years in the Marine Corps Infantry and carried a standard 5″ service 1911 hand gun in .45 ACP cal. The thing was loose and terribly not accurate at all. plus the .45 ACP round was really way too loud and it hurt my ears when I fired it. Granted I did manage to shoot two enemy soldiers with it and they did drop dead away, but they were only 6 feet from me and I had no confidence in the thing for it being able to hit anything further away.
In my last year in Vietnam I got ahold of a .357 Ruger Blackhawk, single action revolver. That is what I used and felt far better with, as it was so accurate and dependable.
The new custom stainless, 6″, 9 mm, 1911, is a beauty. Very, very accurate, no slop at all and only cost me $800 for all parts. Anyway although there is no serial number on it just know it resides at my Company headquarters, along with the blank serial numbered Remington Rolling Block rifle and about 110 other shotguns, rifles, and handguns. Tell ATF all this and they are located at my Company Dragonslayers.com
We are a wildfire hand tool manufacturing company and we specialize in training private home owners and federal, state, and local fire departments how to protect their own homes with fire. against terrorists.
We advocate all people who live in wild fuels to learn how to use our “Universal Wildfire Blueprint” to be ever ready to defend their homes from wildfires, and also be always armed, because there really are bad people out there because our society does not have serious laws about it being wrong to use a firearm in a crime, and all that.
Why don’t you dream up a law to have Congress pass to have all really bad guys get thrown into my Marine Corps, brain wash them into being effective killers and drop them in to attack our enemies and fight for freedom and the right to come back into the society. Lord knows illegal bad guys and the types could really cause a big problem for the invaders over in Ukraine.
troop
Look, Beavis biden is not running the three ring circus and either is Mr hanky slumbama. The big money boys are, like soros, Bloomberg, gates…etc. Biden can’t even remember who wiped his ass last he took a dump. So this whole bullshit attempt to disarm America is fruitless. Our country has fallen to the evilness of Babylon 21 st century. The constitution is our right….i.e. 2nd amendment to keep and bear arms. There’s always going to be government tyrannical politicians like the ones we have nowadays who want more power over the citizens. Take for example China those people disappear and become organ donors if they buck the system. Keep your firearms, use them properly and vote out these nimrods that run the country and if the new so called leaders don’t perform boot them out. Keep doin it until they get the message that they work for the citizens, not illegals, criminals or other anti usa individuals that would see our country fall. Slumbama, the Great shit talker, said he was going to fundamentally change the USA. He started it, Trump attempted to stop it, then the evil leftist got him out. The country will not be saved if people don’t get off their asses and get back to God. The Father has lifted the security blanket and evil has taken over. It will take a miracle to restore the country. True American citizens keep your firearms use them safely for your pleasure and protection. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
UndecideddogBlue, I’ll bite, yes most cannons were privately owned back then. What’s your point?
This type of ban wil do nothing to reduce gun violence. The shooter apparently bought the firearm legally which infact was illegal because he was a convicted felon. Who did the background check required by law. The parties responsible are the city, state, county and federal officials that failed to do the background check. Rules and laws are useless if officials fail to follow them. Those that failed to follow the laws should be charged as being complicit with facilitating this shooting and prosecuted the fullest extent of the law. There are plenty of laws banning the transfer of firearms to a felon. Should be 5 years in prison for all involved and life in prison for the shooter. Don’t punish all firearm buyers in the future for mistakes and failures of the people responsible for not flowing the rules and laws. This is not a oligarchy and the 2nd amendment is there because they knew that an armed population cannot be ruled by single ruler. As Russia is finding out in the Ukraine and our founding fathers experienced with the British.
Weren’t most cannons in early America privately owned? Especially before the US had a regular standing army? Blacksmiths made cannons and muskets alike but now manufacturers have to be licensed. That was the era of the well regulated militia, which has been replaced by a standing army. Archaic readings of the second amendment fail to consider that it was written in an era before the standing army, often failing to see that it is clearly a collective right and not an individual right. The President is right that even upon inception, the second amendment was subject to regulation.
Well, HIMdogBlue, nice try at furthering your gun-control advocacy. The very first line of your comment gives away a very important clue…….“Weren’t most cannons in early America privately owned?“ And even the third line…… “Blacksmiths made cannons and muskets alike but now manufacturers have to be licensed.“ The rest of your comment is just left-wing dribble.
Bluedouche woke/turd get lost with your liberal bullshit. Dude you’re a f’ing clown.