TODAY HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT.
On August 24th, 1814 units of the British Army , in conjunction with the Royal Marines, came ashore in the American State of Maryland, and proceeded to capture the American Capital of Washington D.C. Once in possession of the city, as a legitimate reprisal under the laws of war, Our forces proceeded to set afire every public building in the city, including both the White House and the Congressional Chambers; sparing only the Patent Office, in the name of scientific advancement.
Given that the bicentennial of these events has recently passed, I would like to take this opportunity to assure the citizens of the United States that, in light of the deep and permanent ties that have since arisen between our two nations, it would be quite impossible for Our Armed Forces to again burn all of the governmental offices in Washington D.C. and certainly not while they are occupied.
Biden’s latest executive orders are as short-sighted and self-condemning as they are draconian. IMG NRA-ILA
SPRINGFIELD, VA –-(Ammoland.com)- Late into Friday night, Gun Owners of America (GOA) worked on strategies to counteract the Biden Russian firearms and ammunition ban. GOA gave AmmoLand News an exclusive look into how its emergency response team worked on analyzing government orders and crafts a response to what the group considers an anti-liberty act.
The first alert went out to the team shortly after 5 PM and an hour before Jared Yannis broke the news on his Guns & Gadget YouTube channel. GOA was aware of the rumor that Russian websites were reporting. Shortly after the news broke, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs, Aidan Johnston, who was on vacation, verified the information with the United States Department of State. Several members of GOA’s staff were on vacation but joined the virtual war room to understand the new rules and craft the response.
The first order of business was to read through the new ban/order to understand what it meant for gun owners. One thing that was clear is that GOA wants to understand the order before putting out a statement. When asked, the leadership of GOA stated that they would rather delay a response to a new ruling and clearly understand it than put out wrong information. The group wants to avoid a boy that cried wolf scenario, as we have seen with bills such as HR127.
Everyone’s hands were on deck at GOA. Erich Pratt led the discussion with a select group of GOA employees.
Everyone was picked for their expertise. Pratt weighed everyone’s opinion equally. People are allowed to voice their disagreements, even if it is an intern disagreeing with Pratt himself. Pratts states that he doesn’t want yes men. He wants people that can move the cause of gun rights forward, and he believes you cannot let ego get in the way of progress. Once the group grasped the weight of the new order, the group went through the given reasons for the order.
The reason given for the ban by the Biden Administration was the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. Navalny was a critic of Putin and the opposition leader in Russia. On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned by a chemical agent in Germany. Critics of the Russian state have been assassinated multiple times in the past. Western nations blamed the poisoning of Navalny on the Russian intelligence agencies. Navalny recovered from the poisoning and returned to Russian, where he was arrested and imprisoned. He is facing a sentence of two years for speaking out against Putin.
GOA analyzed the State Department’s stated reason for the ban and decided that this most likely is back door gun control by the Biden administration.
Biden has been openly hostile towards gun owners, and the idea of banning the importation of ammunition and firearms has been floated for years by anti-gun groups. The gun-rights group worked together on a statement for the membership and beyond.
That statement read: “Gun Owners of America is aware of the Biden State Department’s Notice that “[n]ew and pending permit applications for the permanent importation of firearms and ammunition manufactured or located in Russia will be subject to a policy of denial.”
“We recognize the devastating implications these sanctions would have on individual gun owners amidst a national ammunition shortage. We are currently exploring administrative, congressional, and legal avenues to respond to these new sanctions.”
“Once again, the Biden Administration’s actions are misplaced. Ending imports by licensed importers will not stop drug dealers, murderers and other assorted street criminals. It will, however, harm legitimate US businesses while driving up the cost of other ammunition due to more buyers chasing a smaller supply. It is clear to us that the intention is not to harm Russia but rather to hinder the acquisition of firearms and ammunition by American citizens.”
The meeting and strategy continued past just putting out the statement. The group decided what members of Congress to reach out to as well as a legal strategy. The content of those discussions cannot be released at this time as not to tip GOA’s hand, but the gun-rights group has a solid plan, and the conversations continued late into the night.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
There have been myths about what happens at gun shows. These myths stem anywhere from anti-gun activists to people who honestly don’t know the law. In truth, several of the sources for these gun show myths can be traced back to distorted facts. To help credit the authenticity of this article, all sources will be linked. Please note, it’s been made a point to use sources that are government agencies or that may or may not be biased towards strong gun control. Also J.S.T. Andrews is not an attorney, nor should this be taken as legal advice.
1. Myth: Anyone can Purchase a Firearm at a Gun Show. Fact: False. Licensed dealers are required to run a background check on every gun purchase. This even applies to those who are trading-in a firearm for another.
2. Myth: Most Guns Used in Crimes are Purchased from Gun Shows. Fact: False. According to the Washington Post, a staggering 1.7% of “… offenders [who] were incarcerated from crimes committed with handguns… reported… they obtained the guns…” at a gun show. In addition the National Criminal Justice Reference Service reports: “According to the latest available data, those who use guns in violent crimes rarely purchase them directly from licensed dealers; most guns used in crime have been stolen or transferred between individuals after the original purchase.”
3. Myth: Anyone can Purchase Ammunition at a Gun Show. Fact: True. So long as they are not legally prohibited from purchasing ammo and/or receiving ammo. (Most people would know if they were prohibited.) Long guns and long gun ammunition may be sold only to persons 18 years of age or older. Sales of handguns and ammunition for handguns are limited to persons 21 years of age and older.
4. Myth: Most Gun Show Vendors are Not Licensed FFL Dealers. Fact: True(ish). The majority of dealers sell accessories including ammo, magazines, clips, t-shirts, knives, ice cream, etc. Typically, private sellers at gun shows tend to have a single table. However uncommon, there are some cases where a private seller might have 2+ tables. In addition, most gun shows will dedicate more tables to licensed FFL Dealers. Typically these dealers have anywhere from 5 to 20+ tables. Let’s use New York City’s data from their 2009 “Gun Show Undercover” report. 1% to 8.9% of the tables at gun shows are private sellers. With that being said, if every private seller had two tables, that would mean that anywhere from 2% to 18% of all tables were private sellers.
5. Myth: Gun Show Prices are More Expensive. Fact: This really depends on the gun show and its dealers. Keep in mind that the larger the gun show, the more competition there will be between vendors. Competition between firearm dealers will help lower the prices on guns. This will also depend on the location and the gun you’re looking for.
6. Myth: Gun Shows are not Family Friendly. Fact: Usually this is not the case. Most promoters actually offer a discount for children (usually under the ages of 12) and some promoters will even offer discounts for spouses! It’s even possible to attend a show that has activities for children.
7. Myth: Gun Shows are Dangerous. Fact: The largest factor in gun-related injuries at a gun show is due to accidents. However small this percentage is, it’s still an issue. There’s a reason why promoters require all guns to be zip-tied, no ammo in the firearm(s), and an empty magazine. Never been to a gun show before? Follow these gun show tips. In addition, crime is typically below the local average at and during gun shows. Think about it. There are hundreds to thousands of armed citizens all within a building or two. Not to mention the Law Enforcement Officers, active military, retired military, concealed carry trainers and NRA trainers that all attend the show.
8. Myth: Gun Shows Cause an Increase in Gun Violence
The National Criminal Justice Reference Service reports:
Self-defense is the most commonly cited reason for acquiring a gun, but it is unclear how often these guns are used for self-protection against unprovoked attacks.
Fact: False. Gun sales are at an all time high and gun crimes are dropping.
This is actually relatively inconclusive on all accounts. Most reports on this issue gather from relatively small pools of data. Not to mention the majority of these reports do not decipher between gun-related defense and gun-related deaths (Take this report from NEBER.org as an example).
Fact: Gifting a firearm is not uncommon within pro-gun families. According to the ATF: “Mr. Smith asks Mr. Jones to purchase a firearm for Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith [then] gives Jones the money for the firearm.” This is not gifting. If “Mr. Brown goes to buy a firearm with his own money to give to Mr. Black as a present…” this is considered gifting. “However, you may not transfer a firearm to any person you know or have reasonable cause to believe is prohibited…”
Even with the Supreme Court Ruling on June 16th, 2014, gifting is still legal. Using someone else’s money to purchase a firearm and then giving them said firearm is illegal. This is even true if they could legally own a firearm.
A federal law banning the “straw” purchase of guns on behalf of others applies even to transactions where the person who ends up with the weapon could have legally acquired a firearm…
Fact: There are lots of stipulations to this. Basically, a firearm has to be mailed (UPS or FedEx) to a licensed FFL dealer.
Example: A gun show attendee purchases a firearm from a private seller and wants it shipped out-of-state. The firearm needs to be shipped to a licensed FFL near the purchaser’s desired location.
Breaking: Biden Administration Bans Importation of Russian Guns and Ammo
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- On 20 August 2021, the U.S. Department of State released a fact sheet announcing Russian firearms and ammunition importation will be banned for a minimum of 12 months starting 7 September 2021. From state.gov:
New sanctions imposed today under the CBW Act include:
Restrictions on the permanent imports of certain Russian firearms. New and pending permit applications for the permanent importation of firearms and ammunition manufactured or located in Russia will be subject to a policy of denial.
The ban is listed as a sanction pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons (CBW) Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, over the supposed Russian use of the “Novichok” chemical agent to poison Aleksey Navainy.
Navainy was poisoned in August of 2020. He has been critical of the Putin regime in Russia. This is the second round of sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States over the Aleksey Navainy incident. The first round of sanctions did not ban the importation of Russian ammunition or firearms.
The Department of State announcement says “New and pending permit applications” … “will be subject to a policy of denial”. The implication is applications that have already been approved will not be revoked.
If that is correct, shipments of ammunition and firearms from Russia which have already been approved will be allowed to enter the United States and be sold.
It is unclear how long supplies in the pipeline will last.
The announcement is likely to rekindle the ammunition bubble for calibers commonly imported from Russia, such as 7.62×54, 7.62×39, 5.45×39, 5.56×45, and even match grade .22 ammunition.
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About 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 retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
