The gun control debate continues

The Biden administration is, once again, busy trying to deprive honest American citizens of their Second Amendment rights. You may have heard that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has recently issued a new regulation redefining what a “gun dealer” is. If allowed to stand, this redefinition will effectively kill a private citizen’s ability to sell a firearm, even to a family member, unless they become licensed as a Federal Firearms Dealer.

The regulation has been finalized and was set to go into effect until over twenty states’ Attorney Generals banded together to file a lawsuit against the government charging: first, that the regulation is unconstitutional, and second, that the BATFE overstepped its authority to make such a regulation. As I understand things, the regulation is on hold pending the final outcome of the lawsuit.

As I said earlier, if this regulation is upheld in a court of law, you will no longer be able to, among other ways, rent a table at a gun show to sell your unused or unwanted firearms unless you first obtain a federal firearms license. You can’t sell a firearm to your neighbor either. This includes even if all you want to sell is a single firearm.

Gun shows, for instance, are a big deal in Alaska. I personally know of a couple of instances where a friend had a high-powered hunting rifle for sale at a gun show. In one instance, the seller was moving out-of-state and had no use for the large caliber rifle. A second example involved the seller no longer needing the high-caliber rifle because he didn’t anticipate ever needing it for hunting here in Alaska in the future. Both of these examples involved the sale of a single firearm and, if the new BATFE regulation stands, would have required both sellers to have obtained an FFL prior to making the respective sales. Otherwise, they would have committed a federal felony violation.

I just read another report about yet another attempt to restrict a law-abiding American citizen’s gun rights. The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has issued an interim final rule that makes permanent a freeze on firearms and ammunition exports. So how does that affect the average American citizen? If you are planning an overseas hunt or competing in a shooting match and you are taking a firearm(s) and ammunition with you, there’s a whole new maze of legal paperwork you will be responsible for.

In addition to having to comply with an Export Classification Control Number for each type of firearm so the firearm can be tracked, you will also have to have a firearms export license to travel with personal firearms in specific countries. Among other further potential requirements being considered include a time limit of how long you could have your personal firearm out of the country on your trip.

Many Alaskans do travel out of the country to hunt. I’m not sure of the specifics, but simply crossing the border into Canada for a waterfowl or caribou hunt might get you sideways with this regulation.

On a positive note, I stumbled across a report titled, “Gun Violence Statistics 2024: A Comprehensive Look at the Data” published this past April. In this report, the author, Cassandra McBride, presents several items which strongly support the private ownership of firearms in this country.

Here are some talking points from the report: The United States has more than eight-two million lawful gun owners. Fifty-three percent of the twenty-one states with restrictive concealed carry laws have violent crime rates higher than the national average. Fifty-five percent of states with a violent crime rate below the national average have permit less carry. Between 60,000 and 2.5 million citizens use a firearm for self-defense each year.

Further, forty percent of criminals convicted of a crime while possessing a firearm were already prohibited from carrying a firearm. A 2018 study shows that sixty-eight percent of those convicted of a crime while in possession of a firearm were convicted felons. The U.K. and Australia have a higher rate of homicides per firearm than the United States.

On a related note, in 2022, Wyoming had the least firearms-related homicides (17) and more firearms per person than any other state. The number of American citizens who support strict gun control has declined since 1992 (fifty-six percent in 2023 verses seventy-eight percent in 1990).

The sad fact is that the federal government doesn’t care about your safety. They want to control how you can live.