"Now let me be clear..."

[kgbsquirrel]

Just in case there was any remaining confusion about the paving materials in use...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/wh_now_is_the_time_full.pdf

The President’s Plan includes:
1. Closing background check loopholes to keep guns out
of dangerous hands;
2. Banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity
magazines, and taking other common-sense steps to reduce
gun violence;
3. Making schools safer; and
4. Increasing access to mental health services.

Pretty much what was expected, but here's some parts that stuck out to me.

My interpretations in blue.

• Address unnecessary legal barriers that prevent states from reporting information about those prohibited from having guns: Some states have cited concerns about restrictions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act as a reason not to share relevant information on people prohibited from gun ownership for mental health reasons. The Administration will begin the regulatory process to remove any needless barriers, starting by gathering information about the scope and extent of the problem.

HIPAA and the Privacy Act annoy me. These need to go away.


• Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system: States are a critical source for several key categories of relevant records and data, including criminal history records and records of persons prohibited from having guns for mental health reasons. The Department of Justice will invest $20 million in FY2013 to give states stronger incentives to make this data available. The Administration is also proposing $50 million for this purpose in FY2014, and will look for additional ways to ensure that states are doing their part to provide relevant information.

We're going to bribe State officials into forgetting their principles.


• Hold federal agencies accountable for sharing reliable information with the background check system: Some federal agencies also have relevant records. The President is issuing a Presidential Memorandum holding agencies to requirements that they identify these records, make them available to the background check system, and regularly report that those records are complete and up-to-date.

We're going to make a special effort to go digging through veterans medical records and other files to find any shred of an excuse to add them to the prohibited list.


• Make sure dangerous people are prohibited from having guns: The background check system is designed to keep guns out of the hands of those forbidden by law to have them. But we need to make sure our laws are effective at identifying the dangerous or untrustworthy individuals that should not have access to guns. The President will direct the Attorney General, in consultation with other relevant agencies, to review the laws governing who is prohibited from having guns and make legislative and executive recommendations to ensure dangerous people aren’t slipping through the cracks.

We're going to expand the definitions to make more people second-rate citizens.


A 2010 survey by the Police Executive Research Forum found that more than one-third of police
departments reported an increase in criminals’ use of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
since the prohibition on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons expired in 2004. To protect
law enforcement and enhance public safety, we must redouble our efforts to:

I can't say that "scary looking guns" account for less than half a percentage point of firearm use in crimes, so I'm going to say something technically correct but grossly misleading.


• Create serious punishments for gun trafficking: Today, criminals can easily buy guns from unlicensed dealers, or acquire them with the help of so-called “straw purchasers” who pass the required background check to buy guns from licensed dealers. But there is no explicit law against straw purchasing, so straw purchasers and others who traffic guns can often only be prosecuted for paperwork violations. We cannot allow those who help put guns into the hands of criminals to get away with just a slap on the wrist. Congress should close these loopholes with new gun trafficking laws that impose serious penalties for these crimes.

I want to make something already illegal more illegalerer.... pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!


• Take executive action to enhance tracing data: When law enforcement recovers a gun during a criminal investigation, they can trace that gun’s path from its manufacturer, to the dealer who sold it, to its first purchaser. This gun tracing process helps law enforcement solve violent crimes by generating leads in specific cases and can reveal gun trafficking patterns when large amounts of tracing data are combined. However, not all federal law enforcement agencies are uniformly required to trace all guns they recover and keep in custody. The President will issue a Presidential Memorandum requiring them to trace all such firearms.

Okay, time the-hell out. Wasn't there a big who-hah about the government not keeping records of who bought what guns. Oh right, it's one of the multitude of laws currently on the books. So basically you're admitting that it's all BS, and on top of that, you're going to "enhance" it by dictatorial fiat? *insert appropriate profanities here*





• Finally give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) a confirmed director: The ATF has not had a confirmed director for six years. There is no excuse for leaving the key agency enforcing gun laws in America without a leader. It is time for Congress to confirm an ATF director.

I've been derelict in my duties, but I'm going to try to spin it to make guns seem bad. Ignorance is Strength, Freedom is Slavery, War is Peace.


• Eliminate restrictions that force the ATF to authorize importation of dangerous weapons simply because of their age: ATF is required to authorize the importation of certain “curio or relic” firearms, and outdated regulations include all firearms manufactured more than 50 years ago in the definition of “curio or relic.” But today, firearms manufactured more than 50 years ago include large numbers of semiautomatic military-surplus rifles, some of which are easily convertible into machine guns or otherwise appealing for use in crime. Congress should get rid of restrictions that prevent ATF from changing this definition, enabling ATF to ensure that firearms imported as curios or relics are actually of interest as collectibles, rather than letting these rules be used as a way to acquire fully functional and powerful military weapons.

We want to eliminate all the economical and cheap-but-still-very-useful firearms from the market. Artificially restricting machine guns via the Hughes amendment was effective in turning them into a rich man's game, so now we're going to do it again with as many types of firearms as we can get away with.


• Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime: The Attorney General will work with all United States Attorneys to continue to ensure that every appropriate resource is focused on preventing gun violence. To this end, the Attorney General will ask all U.S. Attorneys to consider whether supplemental efforts would be appropriate in their districts, in areas such as prosecutions of people who have been convicted of a felony and illegally seek to obtain a firearm, or people who attempt to evade the background check system by providing false information.

Except for us. We're going to keep giving guns to drug cartels and Islamic fanatics.


• Provide effective training for active shooter situations for 14,000 law enforcement officers, first responders, and school officials: One of the best ways to minimize the loss of life in a mass shooting is to make sure law enforcement, first responders, school officials, and others are prepared to respond to an active shooter. The Administration will immediately expand access to federal training, and federal agencies will ensure that protocols for responding to active shooter situations are consistent. And Congress should provide an additional $14 million to help train 14,000 more police officers and other public and private personnel to respond to active shooter situations.

But this training wont actually include, you know, killing the Active Shooter, because that would mean teaching the plebes how to use guns and letting them take that into schools. And that would be bad. This training will standardize the practice of herding as many students into as small an area as possible ("lock-down") and making sure they stay there until the shooter can get around to murdering them.


There are approximately 30,000 firearm-related homicides and suicides a year, a number large enough to make clear this is a public health crisis. But for years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other scientific agencies have been barred by Congress from using funds to “advocate or promote gun control,” and some members of Congress have claimed this prohibition also bans the CDC from conducting any research on the causes of gun violence. However, research on gun violence is not advocacy; it is critical public health research that gives all Americans information they need.

I want to spend your money to push my agenda which you disagree with. Since I think you're too stupid to notice, I'm just going to lie and call it "research" when in reality I'll be using my cabinet cronies to put pressure on the management in the CDC to ensure these "studies" come out with the politically desirable result.

Obviously I trimmed out parts. If you guys want to read the whole thing the link is at the top. If you'll excuse me, I need to go take a scalding shower for the next hour.

[Scout26]

Yes, because everyone knows that drug gangs can't wait to get their hands on 91/30's, SMLE's and K98k's for their drivebys....

[grampster]

We need to ban all windows in every building in order to save one child who might fall out of one.

[AZRedhawk44]

Yes, because everyone knows that drug gangs can't wait to get their hands on 91/30's, SMLE's and K98k's for their drivebys....

SELECT dateadd(yy, -50, getdate())


That's March 7th, 1963.

That whole 50 year C&R thing is going to start becoming very interesting.  Foreign surplus FALs, AK variants, SKS's, probably a whole slew of intriguing semiautomatic service arms.  There must be at least a few nations that used Browning High Powers or CZ variants as standard sidearms between 1950 and 1970 or so.  

We're leaving the realm of the bolt action service rifle and single stack 8-shot sidearm, and moving to Vietnam era firearms being the surplus standard.


Not saying I agree with Obama.

But these surplus firearms likely to be imported in the next couple decades are closer in kinship to what we would be likely to carry if shopping new.

[Fitz]

SELECT dateadd(yy, -50, getdate())


That's March 7th, 1963.

That whole 50 year C&R thing is going to start becoming very interesting.  Foreign surplus FALs, AK variants, SKS's, probably a whole slew of intriguing semiautomatic service arms.  There must be at least a few nations that used Browning High Powers or CZ variants as standard sidearms between 1950 and 1970 or so.  

We're leaving the realm of the bolt action service rifle and single stack 8-shot sidearm, and moving to Vietnam era firearms being the surplus standard.


Not saying I agree with Obama.

But these surplus firearms likely to be imported in the next couple decades are closer in kinship to what we would be likely to carry if shopping new.

Precisely why I plan on getting my C&R back. A lot of really cool stuff is gonna end up C&R soon

[HankB]

That whole 50 year C&R thing is going to start becoming very interesting.  Foreign surplus FALs, AK variants, SKS's, probably a whole slew of intriguing semiautomatic service arms.  

How many milsurp FALS will not have an upper cut for the auto sear? Likewise, how many milsurp AK variants do not have FA capability? C&R won't allow for the import of FA milsurps. 

[Fitz]

How many milsurp FALS will not have an upper cut for the auto sear? Likewise, how many milsurp AK variants do not have FA capability? C&R won't allow for the import of FA milsurps. 

Couldn't importers, in the case of AKs, render them SA before sending them over?

[slingshot]

Make sure dangerous people are prohibited from having guns: The background check system is designed to keep guns out of the hands of those forbidden by law to have them. But we need to make sure our laws are effective at identifying the dangerous or untrustworthy individuals that should not have access to guns. The President will direct the Attorney General, in consultation with other relevant agencies, to review the laws governing who is prohibited from having guns and make legislative and executive recommendations to ensure dangerous people aren’t slipping through the cracks.

Most all of this we have heard in the media.  But this one in particular bothers me ALOT.  Refer to the bolded text above.  All people can be dangerous or untrustworthy given the right circumstances.  If this was placed in legislation, it would be an open door to eliminating access to any firearm legally for many many people.

[cosine]

Couldn't importers, in the case of AKs, render them SA before sending them over?

If this is so, you guys are making me feel less bad about missing out on the heyday of cheap bolt milsurps. 

[Nick1911]

Couldn't importers, in the case of AKs, render them SA before sending them over?

I would think so, similar to how importers added a thumb safety to the TT-33's prior to import.

Doesn't take long to TIG a small hole in sheetmetal closed and grind it flat.

[dogmush]

Pretty sure that falls into the "once a MG always an MG" thing.

That's why we get Parts kits and torched recievers

[AZRedhawk44]

I'd be fine with a full FAL parts kit, minus receiver.

I'm sure some enterprising plastics aficionado could print something right up.

[Boomhauer]

Couldn't importers, in the case of AKs, render them SA before sending them over?

Negative. Once it's a FA reciever it's always a FA reciever so no way. Plus the barrel import ban bullshit they instituted means the only legal import option for most of us is going to be a suitably cut up reciever and barrel.

And I doubt there are many more if any FAL kits to be had. DSA had the last STG58s and such and many of the more "enlightened" countries are destroying them rather than see them taken elsewhere...that stuff's heyday was in the '90s and very early 2000s.

[HankB]

I'd be fine with a full FAL parts kit, minus receiver.

Up until . . . what, maybe 8 or 10 years ago? . . . FAL parts kits were common and cheap.

[roo_ster]

Up until . . . what, maybe 8 or 10 years ago? . . . FAL parts kits were common and cheap.

Haven't cruffled or run the other milsurp stuff in a while.  What is available cheap these days?

[AJ Dual]

Haven't cruffled or run the other milsurp stuff in a while.  What is available cheap these days?

Nagants, 91/30's and M44's. That was about it, and now even those are all gone in the panic.

Everything else was small boutique loads of rifles from here and there, or smaller lots of the stock various importers or distributors held back, like Yugo Mausers etc. to sell for more later on. Some Mannlichers and K31's are still around, partly due to the more rare ammo so they alwys sold slower, but they're not cheap, $350 or more.

"Factory refurb" what's left of the milsurps as "snipers" and then selling them for 3-10x the price has gotten popular. More folks seem to be putting a toe in the water of playing at the "Mitchell's Mausers" game. Namely, take what's left, make it pretty, sell for a ridiculous markup.

I've been seeing a load of Chinese M44's suddenly come out. I think someone sat on those for a rainy day, unless this kind of stuff can still come in from China.