Category: A Victory!
President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice announced a proposed rule to change who will need a federal firearms license (FFL) to sell firearms.
The long-awaited rule was hailed by anti-gun groups like Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, and Brady United as a way of closing the “gun show loophole” and the “internet loophole.” Anti-gun organizations claim this is a step towards universal background checks, a centerpiece of the Biden Administration’s anti-gun policy.
The proposed rule is powered by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which was a law championed by Chris Murphy (D-CT) and John Cornyn (R-TX). The BSCA changed the law’s wording to describe who the federal government considers a gun dealer. The bill altered the language of Section 921(a) of Title 18, United States Code.
The BSCA changed the definition of someone “engaged in the business” of selling guns from “with the principal objective of livelihood and profit” to the ambiguous statement of “to predominantly earn a profit.” Now, the Biden Administration is exploiting that change through the upcoming rule. At the time, some Republicans who backed the law blew off the concerns that an anti-gun administration would exploit the language. The change read:
(22) The term `to predominantly earn a profit’ means that the intent underlying the sale or disposition of firearms is predominantly one of obtaining pecuniary gain, as opposed to other intents, such as improving or liquidating a personal firearms collection: Provided, that proof of profit shall not be required as to a person who engages in the regular and repetitive purchase and disposition of firearms for criminal purposes or terrorism.
The new rule will also affect those that sell multiples of the same type of firearms. This section means that anyone who liquidates a collection of Glock pistols must acquire an FFL before they can liquidate the guns. Many people collect certain guns, and this would prevent the legal transfer of those firearms without an FFL.
Unlicensed sellers who sell through “online auctions” would be required to obtain an FFL under the proposed rule. This section is a targeted shot at sites like Armslist.
These websites do not sell firearms and currently do not have to get an FFL. The new rule seems to change that. This has long been a goal of the Biden Administration, which has put out false narratives about online gun sales, such as buyers not having to go through background checks for guns purchased online. The rule reads:
“In addition, it clarifies the term “dealer,” including how that term applies to auctioneers, and defines the term “responsible person.” These proposed changes would assist persons in understanding when they are required to have a license to deal in firearms.”
“These examples are provided to clarify for unlicensed persons that firearms dealing requires a license in whatever place or through whatever medium the firearms are purchased and sold, including the Internet and locations other than a traditional brick and mortar store.”
Armslist is specifically called out in the rule. Armslist is a firearms version of “Craigslist List.” Armslist has been the target of anti-gun groups for years who keep launching and losing lawsuits against the website. Many think this is a concerted effort to hurt the website’s business by stating up to 25% of people selling on the site will require an FFL under the proposed rule. The rule reads:
“To better estimate both online and offline sales, ATF assumed, based on best professional judgment of FIPB SMEs and with limited available information, that the national online marketplace estimate above may represent 25 percent of the total national firearms market, which would also include in-person, local, or other offline transactions like flea markets, State-wide exchanges, or websites within each of the 50 States.”
The rule would make it so that anyone who rents a table at a gun show will be assumed to be in the business of selling firearms, meaning that private citizens will no longer be able to sell their firearms at any gun show.
Also, if someone advertises their firearms for sale, they could be assumed to be in the business of selling firearms, which will shut down most private sales. The rule reads:
“Based on this decades-long body of experience, the proposed rule provides that, absent reliable evidence to the contrary, a person is presumed to have the intent to “predominantly earn a profit” when the person: (1) advertises, markets, or otherwise promotes a firearms business (e.g., advertises or posts firearms for sale, including on any website, establishes a website for selling or offering for sale their firearms, makes available business cards, or tags firearms with sales prices), regardless of whether the person incurs expenses or only promotes the business informally;94 (2) purchases, rents, or otherwise secures or sets aside permanent or temporary physical space to display or store firearms they offer for sale, including part or all of a business premises, table or space at a gun show, or display case;95 (3) makes or maintains records, in any form, to document, track, or calculate profits and losses from firearms purchases and sales;96 (4) purchases or otherwise secures merchant services as a business (e.g., credit card transaction services, digital wallet for business) through which the person makes or offers to make payments for firearms transactions;97 (5) formally or informally purchases, hires, or otherwise secures business security services (e.g., a central station-monitored security) system registered to a business,98 or guards for security99) to protect business assets or transactions that include firearms; (6) formally or informally establishes a business entity, trade name, or online business account, including an account using a business name on a social media or other website, through which the person makes or offers to make firearms transactions;100 (7) secures or applies for a State or local business license to purchase for resale or to sell merchandise that includes firearms; or (8) purchases a business insurance policy, including any riders that cover firearms inventory. 101 Any of these nonexclusive, firearms-business-related activities justifies a rebuttable presumption that the person has the requisite intent to predominantly earn a profit from reselling or disposing of firearms.”
By requiring more people to get FFLs, it will prevent a lot of Americans from selling guns. The secondary market has been an excellent way for those less fortunate to acquire the means of protection. Those who choose to get an FFL will be subject to unannounced warrantless inspections. These inspections have been used to revoke gun shop’s FFLs under the Biden Administration’s zero-tolerance policy.
FFL revocation is up between 350% and 500% and is currently at a 17-year high. The amount of record keeping, cost, and hostile environment created by the ATF could mean that many will not get an FFL to sell their firearms, which could be part of Biden’s plan.
The government’s argument is most criminals do not get their guns from gun dealers. That fact is true, but most criminals do not get firearms from legal transactions. Most guns used in crimes are obtained illegally through such means as theft, which means this rule will not prevent criminals from getting firearms.
“The U.S. Sentencing Commission reports that “88.8 percent of firearm offenders sentenced under §2K2.1130 [of the United States Sentencing Commission GuidelinesManual (Nov. 2021)] were [already] prohibited from possessing a firearm” under 18U.S.C. 922(g). These individuals would thus have been flagged in a background check,would have therefore been prohibited from buying a firearm from a licensed dealer after their first offense, and would not have been able to commit the subsequent firearms offense(s) if their seller had been licensed.”
There will be an exception for gifting firearms between family members. Although this type of transfer only makes up a small portion of transfers. There will be a 90-day comment period once the proposed rule is posted to the federal registry. After the comment period, a final rule will be unveiled.”
AmmoLand News is currently reaching out to those Republicans who backed the BSCA to get comments.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) used a Monday post on X to call for a buyback of AR-15s and firearms that Democrats refer to as “assault weapons.”
He also wants a ban in place to keep future AR-15s from being manufactured or sold.
Swalwell posted:
The attacker that struck the Jacksonville Dollar General on Saturday was armed with a Glock handgun and an AR-15-style rifle. Therefore, banning the rifle would not have prevented the attack from occurring.
Moreover, on October 10, 2022, Breitbart News reported FBI data showing more than twice as many people were killed with knives and other cutting tools than were killed with rifles in 2021.
Additionally, on October 11, 2022, Breitbart News pointed to FBI data showing more people were beaten to death with fists and feet in 2021 than were killed with rifles.
It is important to understand that the rifle category includes rifles of every kind: lever action, pump action, single shot, semi-automatic, bolt action, and the rifles that Democrats refer to as “assault weapons.”
The latest figures from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) show there were more AR/AK-style firearms in circulation “than Ford F-Series trucks on the road” as of July 21, 2022. The NSSF estimate, published by Breitbart News, showed nearly 24.5 million such firearms were in circulation at the time.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
———————————————————————————- Just remember that this is the same guy who was boffing a RED CHINESE SPY FORVER!
Contact with suspected Chinese spy
In December 2020, Swalwell was named in an Axios story about suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang or Christine Fang,[66][67][68] who had since at least 2012 been cultivating contacts with California politicians who the Chinese government believed had promising futures in politics.[69][70] Axios reported that Fang participated in fundraising for Swalwell’s 2014 congressional election bid, met Swalwell at events, and helped place an intern inside his congressional office.
Swalwell ended ties with Fang in 2015 after U.S. intelligence briefed him and top members of Congress on concerns that Chinese agents were attempting to infiltrate Congress. Axios reported that Swalwell was not accused of any impropriety and that officials did not believe that Fang obtained classified information from her contacts.[71] Also in December 2020, the San Francisco Chronicle quoted an unnamed FBI official familiar with the investigation as saying that “Swalwell was completely cooperative and under no suspicion of wrongdoing”.[72]
In March 2021, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy moved to remove Swalwell from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, which was tabled 218–200–3 on a party-line vote. Swalwell suggested that someone in the Trump administration may have leaked the information to the press, as he had been a vocal critic of Trump and served on two committees involved in Trump’s impeachment.[73]
The December 2020 Axios story said Fang had had sexual relations with two unidentified Midwestern mayors, but not with Swalwell, though allegations persisted he was a national security threat by being associated with Fang. Since the report, Swalwell has received death and rape threats against him and his family. After McCarthy became Speaker in January 2023, he announced he would remove Swalwell from the Intelligence committee, saying, “If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, you wouldn’t have Swalwell on any committee.” Swalwell characterized McCarthy’s action as “purely vengeance”. Intelligence Committee members are term-limited and Swalwell’s membership expired in January 2023.[74][75][76][77]
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Swalwell in April 2021. The committee wrote him in May 2023 that the investigation had been closed with no further action.[78]
“Political observers expect the Washington Post and the New York Times to carry water for Joe Biden’s Department of Justice gun control agenda. It’s surprising when the conservative National Review seemingly bends over backward to defend the weaponized agency in a poorly researched and written piece,” the National Rifle Association stated in a Wednesday release. “On August 9, National Review published an item with the confident title ‘Yes, the ATF Can Legally Regulate Ghost Guns.’ The ill-informed piece was written by a summer intern. If it was an unpaid internship, the publication got every penny’s worth.”
While correct in its analysis of why the National Review is wrong, what’s really surprising is that the NRA is surprised at all. The publication has been a haven for collaborationist right “Vichycons” since its inception and has never shied away from advocating for more compromises on the right to keep and bear arms than even Wayne LaPierre. And by its veterans, not just by its interns, who arguably do what they’re told.
Without ever setting out to do it, I have over the years compiled many examples of NRO (National Review Online) outrages that in no particular order include:
Advocating for Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, the jurist who said:
“The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that there is no individual right to own a firearm. The Second Amendment was designed to allow states to defend themselves against a possibly tyrannical national government. Now that the federal government has stealth bombers and nuclear weapons, it is hard to imagine what people would need to keep in the garage to serve that purpose.”
Bragging about praise from Charles Krauthammer, the “moderate liberal/independent conservative” who wrote:
“The Brady Bill’s only effect will be to desensitize the public to regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.”
And:
“Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic, purely symbolic move. … Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.”
Savaging a Second Amendment lawsuit many of us “non-compromisers” found promising and were working to promote and then reneging on their commitment to allow for a rebuttal by an attorney with Supreme Court experience.
Advocating for importing more immigrants, just like the anti-gun “pathway to citizenship” Democrats are counting on.
Giving a home for years to insufferably “moderate” David French, and promoting his insanely self-contradicting contention that “Gun-violence restraining orders (GVROs) make us all safer while empowering the individual and protecting liberty.”
“Conservatives must finally recognize something that’s very depressing and very important: the conservative intellectual movement in America didn’t just fail. It aided and abetted the Left for money. The Left bought off the Right’s leading conservative intellectuals. And its think tanks. And its “flagship” magazines. This is not hyperbole or conjecture. I’ve got the receipts. Until conservatives understand the depth and breadth of that betrayal, they won’t have any chance of rebuilding that movement out of the ashes any time soon.”
Defending state restrictions on bearing arms as a “federalism” issue and dishonestly (and snarkily) arguing that restrictions on abuses of a right are equivalent to restricting the right itself.
Declaring, “Liz Cheney undertook a stunning act of political courage [when] She voted to impeach President Trump…”
Falling for “Baby Steps toward a Workable Middle Ground on Guns”:
“[W]e gun-rights advocates should take this opportunity to meet the other side more than halfway, as they have moved more than halfway in our direction.”
All this should surprise no one who has been paying attention for a while, because the founder of National Review, William F. Buckley, was also an idiot on the right to keep and bear arms who wrote:
“Pass Brady Bill More As Symbol Than Deterrent To Crime … It is hard to know how an imposition of that nature seriously deprives us of the right guaranteed under the Second Amendment.”
What’s harder to know is why any gun owner who believes in rights as articulated by the Founders would give defeatist and wrong-headed frauds the time of day, let alone be influenced by their equivocations. The battle for the soul of the Republic is existential, and freedom will never be won by listening to tepid apologists for infringements such as these.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
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A 54-year-old woman living just outside of Tucson, Arizona didn’t really want to have to shoot a neighbor to tried to force entry to her residence, but the man didn’t give her many options. Living by herself, she didn’t have anyone else to help her repel the would-be intruder. She did have a handgun, though, and he availed herself to the great equalizer.
The would-be intruder, a 42-year-old registered sex offender named Jayson Magrum, apparently didn’t care that she’d gotten her gun and told him to stop. Maybe he didn’t think she’d use it. She even fired a warning shot as he tried to crawl in through a window. Even after the shot, Magrum reached in and tried to disarm the woman.
That’s when she shot him. At point-blank range, the pistol proved itself as a great equalizer, ending the attack. The sex offender collapsed after a few more steps and will re-offend no more.
KOLD/Gray News has the story . . .
A convicted sex offender was shot and killed by a woman while trying to break into her Arizona home last week, officials said.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said 42-year-old Jayson Magrum died in the Aug. 11 shooting at the home in Three Points, just outside of Tucson.
According to the sheriff’s department, Magrum was trying to break into a woman’s home. She told him to leave, but he did not stop.
Officials said the woman then grabbed a gun and fired a warning shot. Magrum then tried to disarm her, and he was shot and killed.
Fox10 Phoenix had some additional details:
The incident happened just after 2 p.m. on Aug. 11 near Garvey and Pyle Roads. Investigators say 42-year-old Jayson Magrum tried to break into a 54-year-old woman’s home. The woman was home alone and yelled at Magrum to leave, but he allegedly continued to try and break into the home.
“The female armed herself with a handgun and fired a shot out of a window to attempt to scare the male away,” the sheriff’s department said.
Magrum allegedly reached inside the home and tried to take away the gun. The woman then opened fire, shooting Magrum.
Magrum collapsed in the driveway and died at the scene
Once again, a successful defensive gun uses brought to you by the Founders and the right to keep and bear arms. The only thing that stops bad people with evil in their heart is a good guy or good gal with a gun. That is all.
“One year from now – Israel will be the first country to have partial laser protection. In two years there may be complete protection,” said Yuval Steinitz.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israel’s ground-breaking laser system experiment carried out in the south of the country by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development (DDR&D, or MAFAT in Hebrew) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
(photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Israel will have partial laser defenses by this time next year, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems chairman Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio on Sunday.
“One year from now – Israel will be the first country to have partial laser protection. In two years there may be complete protection – against missiles, shells, rockets, or anything else. This will protect us both in the South and in the North,” said Steinitz.
Israel’s push for laser air defenses
This past February, senior Defense Ministry official Brig.-Gen. (res.) Danny Gold said Israel’s air-defense lasers, when fully deployed, will be able to shoot down the drones Iran has been sending Russia to use against Ukraine.Speaking at the Artificial Intelligence conference at Tel Aviv University at the time, the MAFAT [Directorate of Defense Research & Development] director said his ministry was working on developing “the next generation of using lasers.”
He talked about multiple successful tests destroying rockets “with a very sophisticated laser-weapons system…. We have done the same for mortars, rockets and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles], like the Iranian UAVs they are sending to Ukraine. The same concept of UAV, we can shoot them down.”
In February 2022, then-prime minister Naftali Bennett proclaimed that Israel’s ability to use lasers had progressed significantly and could be operational much sooner than people had expected.
BORDER Police officer checks a unit at a laser system aimed to intercept incendiary balloons, near the Gaza border. (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)This past January, outgoing IDF chief of staff Aviv Kohavi told The Jerusalem Post, “The laser-defense system is truly great news. It will be both land- and air-based. I do want to be cautious regarding timeframes. In another two years, we expect to deploy systems along the Gaza Strip border to test this tool’s effectiveness.
“It has worked very well in field tests. If this experiment works – and we continue to integrate and enhance the laser-defense system over two years – we will move as fast as possible to deploy it across the entire North. I cannot commit to a specific number of years. I don’t want to be optimistic and I also don’t want to be pessimistic.”
Kohavi added, “I know that there has been great progress over the last three years, and we invested a lot of money in this. We defined the laser-defense system as having multiple benefits that we would need to invest a lot in. I am happy that it has progressed so much.”
FN America has announced the release of the striker-fired FN 510 MRD and 545 MRD optics-ready big bore pistols.
With dimensions just slightly larger than an FN 509, these two big bore pistols are ideal for users who want to carry with a lot more stopping power.
The pistols feature 15+1 rounds of 10mm or .45ACP at the ready, a target-grade 6-pound trigger pull with crisp break, and the company’s patented optics mount that enables enhanced accuracy, making them the perfect tool for personal and home defense.
In response to customer feedback on the FN 510 and 545 Tactical, the FN 510 and 545 MRD feature a flush-fit, 4.1-inch barrel housed within a machined steel slide with front and rear cocking serrations for ease of manipulation. The barrels are cold hammer-forged with a recessed target crown to extend accuracy and a polished feed ramp to ensure reliable feeding of the majority of commercially available loads in both 10mm and .45ACP.
The MRD slide is equipped with FN’s patented Low-Profile Optics-Mounting System that accepts all major optics footprints and enables consumers to direct-mount nearly any optic in minutes with the included hardware while a set of fully adjustable blacked-out iron sights co-witness with most optics and are to provide a clear sight picture, allowing the user the focus on the red dot of the optic.
The ergonomics and contouring of the 15-round grip frame deliver balance to the slide. The included backstraps can be installed to adjust the fit in the user’s hand to deliver a natural point of aim and dampen felt recoil, especially in 10mm. This is coupled with three distinct grip textures that all play a role in anchoring the pistol to the hand.
SPECS
• Chambered in 10mm Auto or .45 ACP
• 4.1-inch flush-fit cold hammer-forged barrel for states that restrict threaded barrels; compatible with FN 510 or 545 Tactical barrels
• 15-round standard capacity with option for 10-round capacity for restricted states; compatible with FN 510 and 545 Tactical extended magazines
• FN Low-Profile Optics-Mounting System with co-witness, blacked-out iron sights
• Target-grade trigger with approximately 6-pound break
• Ambidextrous controls
• MSRP: $919
For full specs on the FN 510 MRD and 545 MRD, visit FNAmerica.com.
