President Obama got on TV Tuesday, January 5, 2016 to unveil his list of gun control executive orders.
In case you missed it, it was quite the show …
Obama even shed some crocodile tears as you can see in the featured picture on this post.
I wanted to share with you a summary of Mr. Obama’s executive actions and how they might affect you and your ability to defend yourself.
The good news is just hours after the President ended his television address, my local Virginia Citizens Defense League (VDCL) sent out a great analysis that I’ll share with you now.
(If you can find a local gun rights organization you can support, do it. You can be much, much, MUCH more effective at a local government level at protecting your right to bear arms.)
The Obama Administration Uses Propaganda, Half-Truths, Manipulation of Data, and Outright Lies To Push Gun Violence
Before we get into the Executive Actions, please take a look at the tweet the White House released the same morning:
This is just the first example of how politicians — and the Obama administration in particular — use half-truths, manipulation of data, and outright lies to push their propaganda of “gun violence”.
The tweet reads, “A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the internet with no background check, no questions asked.”
This quote implies that a violent felon, or anyone for that matter, can buy a gun online and have it delivered to their own home with no background check and no problem.
This is of course patently false. A complete lie.
But it’s a way of telling a lie which is supported by a thin sliver of truth (presumably for plausible deniability and defense of the lie at a later date).
Many people don’t realize that it’s perfectly legal to buy firearms online. But there are MANY rules that govern those sales …
1. You must be 18 years or older (or 21 if your state requires you to be 21 to own a rifle)
2. You cannot have the rifle shipped to you or your home address. You must locate a FFL (Federal Firearm License) dealer in your area where the rifle will be shipped to. All stores that sell guns are required to be FFL dealers, so the firearm is usually shipped to your local gun shop.
2. When you pickup your gun from your local FFL, they will perform an “FFL Transfer” of the rifle into your hands. This is the standard background check that everyone who buys a gun from a gun dealer goes through.
Therefore there is NO such thing as an “online loophole” to purchase guns online and avoid a background check. You WILL have to endure a background check to receive a firearm purchased online. Period.
The guns are ordered by you but must be delivered to a Federally-licensed gun dealer who performs all the necessary federal (and if applicable in your state, state level) background checks and handles the other legal matters before you can receive the weapon.
That’s just the start of the lies and propaganda that the White House used this week.
Now let’s talk about Obama’s Executive Actions …
The full list of Obama’s Executive Actions can be found here at the WhiteHouse.Gov website.
Important Point About Gun Death Data
One thing that’s critically important to understand is that the numbers the President used for his press release are twisted. See the explanation below:
“Before I begin my analysis, I’d like to point out that the number the President uses for deaths caused by the use (or misuse) of a firearm includes suicides (much more than half of the total) and lawful self-defense shootings by citizens and police. Should suicide and lawful self-defense be considered “gun violence?” No.”
If you ask me, including suicides and lawful self-defense shootings by BOTH police and civilians in the number of “gun violence” deaths is incredibly sneaky and misleading.
But Mr. Obama and his minions have to reach for any and every bit of leverage and twisting of the facts to support their agenda because the truth is that we do NOT have a “gun violence” problem in America and the term is made up propaganda to push an agenda to disarm the American people.
Keep that in mind.
Without further delay, here is the …
VCDL’s analysis of President Obama’s Gun Control Executive Actions:
Much of the Executive Orders (EOs) really don’t change anything, but try to put a menacing or intimidating spin on them. Others simply double-down on existing enforcement (yawn), some are bad, and one VCDL likes. Here is what they really do (or don’t do).
1. A dealer who sells guns exclusively over the internet or at gun shows is still a dealer and needs to have a license and do background checks. This is a “yawn” as it is simply restating current law and how it has always been enforced. Net effect: zero.
2. There is no specific threshold on the number of guns sold, as to what makes you a dealer. That has always been true. The BATFE takes into consideration several factors in determining if you are just a person selling a few items from your private collection or if you are trying to earn a living, or part of a living, by buying and selling guns. Here Obama tries to scare gun owners by saying that someone had been found to be in the business of selling firearms “when as few as two firearms were sold or when only one or two transactions took place, WHEN OTHER FACTORS ALSO WERE PRESENT” (emphasis mine). Here he’s obviously found some obscure cases that must have had some unusual “other factors” that made it clear the person was actually selling guns for a living, even with a small number of sales. This EO is implying that BATFE might be looking harder at people who sell guns regularly to make sure they are not really “in the business.” Other than trying to scare people by also pointing out the penalties for being in the business without a license, I don’t see this as changing the status quo on private sales at all. Net effect: zero, but meant to intimidate people into not doing any private sales.
3. Requiring everyone in an NFA trust to have a background check. This will have ZERO effect on crime, as criminals are NOT setting up trusts to buy NFA items! No one has been killed with a lawfully owned machine gun since the 1970s, when a police officer murdered his wife with one. This is simply a waste of time – doing something just to do something. Net effect: all those who are part of an NFA trust must have a background check.
4. Push for states to include more mental health data. Virginia has been doing this for a long time, predating the Virginia Tech massacre. Net effect: no effect on gun owners generally and no effect for Virginia gun owners at all.
5. More NICS employees will be hired to make NICS checks quicker and available 24/7, which is fine with VCDL as it will make it faster to buy a gun through a dealer. Net effect: positive because of quicker gun purchases.
6. Centralize tracing bullets used in crime. Net effect: zero for gun owners.
7. Step up investigating those who are illegally selling guns over the internet. Net effect: zero for gun owners.
8. Clarify that dealers are to notify the police about the loss or theft of guns. Net effect: zero for gun owners and zero for gun dealers, who already do this anyhow.
9. Direct U.S. Attorney’s Office to renew domestic violence outreach efforts. This requires coordination with state and local police on domestic violence crime. BUT it also requires coordination with “community groups focused on domestic violence.” I do not trust giving such “community groups” special treatment by the government. Net effect: no real change for gun owners.
10. Get information from the Social Security Administration on mental health issues for the purpose of disqualifying some people from owning a gun. Net effect: this is DANGEROUS, as it can strip people of their right to own a gun WITHOUT DUE PROCESS. A very tiny minority of those with mental health issues are dangerous. Just because you let someone else balance your checkbook doesn’t mean you should not be able to own a gun, but that’s what Obama is doing. Obama is casting a huge net for the purpose of catching what actually boils down to a handful of people.
11. Change HIPAA laws to allow states to share “certain” information from a person’s health records. Net effect: this is DANGEROUS, as it can strip people of the right to own a gun WITHOUT DUE PROCESS. No cookie cutter, bureaucratically controlled, examination of a person’s medical records should be used to strip someone of any of their rights without DUE PROCESS!
12. Encourage the development of “smart guns.” If there is a market for “smart guns,” they will be developed with or without government help. Hint: if police, government agencies like the Secret Service, or the military don’t want smart guns, then they probably are not going to be successful. Net effect: none for gun owners, just government wasting more tax dollars on another boondoggle.
In Summary, Two of Obama’s Executive Actions Are Concerning. The Rest Are Paper Tigers …
The sharing of people’s health records and the Social Security Administration data is definitely concerning.
As pointed out by VCDL, these efforts could easily be used to deny people their right to own guns without due process.
What can you do to stop the President’s decrees?
The Gun Owners of America (GOA) writes:
” … Gun Owners of America will be working with legislators on Capitol Hill to “defund” the president’s unlawful orders. This is the preferred “short term” approach because these no-funding provisions can be attached to “must pass” bills that the president will sign. Stay tuned for future alerts to this effect.
Third, GOA and its foundation are pursuing swift legal action. We have already fought battles like this — and won.
For example, GOA was recently involved in the legal defense of Bob Arwady in Houston, who was wrongly accused of dealing in firearms without a license — and he was acquitted by a jury. You can read more on this case here.
Lastly, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) introduced legislation last month to that declares that any executive action by Obama that infringes upon the Second Amendment rights of all Americans “shall have no force or effect.”
This is a good bill (S. 2434), and we will pursue it if we think there is any chance of pushing it past a presidential veto.”
So keep your eyes and ears open, and look for ways to fight any future gun control. Join the NRA, the GOA, and any local groups in your area (like the Virginia Citizen’s Defense League is for Virginians).
Hopefully, you already realize that “gun control” doesn’t work. But in case it’s still not clear …
Please be sure to read why the term “Gun Violence” is simply propaganda and there is no gun violence problem or “epidemic” in America.
Also, read why guns are SAFER than the prescription drugs your doctor prescribes you.
And finally, you can see why more Obama gun control will not make us safer.
Please share this article with anyone who is concerned about the President’s new gun control executive orders.