Wednesday, February 27, 2013

HB3200 & the Fourth Amendment

[begin rant]

From Oregon's House Bill 3200 (Oregon's Proposed "Assault Weapon's Ban); Section 4, Paragraph 5:

(5) A registered owner of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine is required to:
(a) Securely store the assault weapon or large capacity magazine pursuant torules and regulations adopted by the department;
(b) Allow an inspector from the department to inspect the storage of assault weapons and large capacity magazines to ensure compliance with this subsection;
(c) Possess the assault weapon or large capacity magazine only:
(A) On property owned or immediately controlled by the registered owner;
(B) On the premises of a firearms dealer or gunsmith licensed under 18 U.S.C. 923 for the purpose of lawful repair;
(C) While engaged in the legal use of the assault weapon or large capacity magazine at a public or private shooting range, shooting gallery or other area designed and built for the purpose of target shooting; or
(D) While transporting the weapon in a vehicle as permitted in ORS 166.250; and
Two issues are immediately apparent here ... quite apart from the obvious Second Amendment:

  1. Subsection (b) is in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the constitution:
  2. Subsection (c)(B) requires licensing of ANYONE who works on your firearm or your magazine outside of your home.
Let's look at the text of the Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The "inspector" would need a search warrant.   This bill would place your home, where you keep your personal firearms, in the same category as an industrial environment where explosives or caustic chemicals are stored.  WTF?  A 17-round pistol magazine is as dangerous as TNT?  

As for licensing gunsmiths ... why?   Why can't my friend, who knows more about guns than I do, perform repairs on my AR15?  Or my Garand, which (if I understand the definition of "assault weapon" would also be classified as an "Assault Weapon"?  Or fix my 17-round pistol magazine, for that matter?  This is analogous to requiring that my cousin be licensed before he can fix my car under the spreading chestnut tree in his back yard.  This, in the country which once lauded "The Village Smithy"?

We don't need no stinkin' license.  This is America, dammit.
_______________________________________________________________________

Okay, so much for constitutional issues and unreasonable governmental regulation of trade.

There's one more line that I want to bring up:   Section 4, paragraph 4:
(4) A person may not register more than one assault weapon and three large capacity magazines under this section. Additional assault weapons and large capacity magazines must be disposed of in the manner specified in section 3 of this 2013 Act.
Well.  Isn't that special?

I carry three (or four) magazines for my Limited gun, and the same for my Open gun.  Different calibers, they require different magazines.  So, even though my Limited gun would NOT be an "Assault Weapon" and my Open gun MAY not be, I still can't choose which division I want to compete in because I just plain can't own that many magazines.

Don't tell me I don't "need" them;  when I shoot my Beloved Kimber at a match, I have six or eight single-stack magazines on  my belt, because when you have limited magazine capacity you often have to reload every time you move, dropping a magazine which still has ammunition left in it.  Standing Reloads are not competitive, and they are embarrassing.  Worse, when you have a jam and drop a full or almost full magazine, you "need" to have more magazines that you might have expected.

I'm a Grumpy Old Man.  At my age, I don't need the irritation of a bunch of leotard nit-wits screwing with one of the few pleasures left to me:  I can't sing, my woman is gone, and I already drink more than is good for me.  Now they want me to hang up my guns?

This whole Registration/Confiscation/Class B Felony thing pisses me off.  Who do these yahoos think they are, telling me I can't play with guns?

What a bunch of maroons.

Excuse me, I need to go replace the duct-tape wrapped around my head.  And pour myself a drink, while I cool off.

[end rant]


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

When you see the new senate bills (SB 760 (duty to retreat), SB 758 (liability insurance for every firearm owned, and cant sell to someone without ins.), SB 699 (prohibits CHL from carrying in capitol), and SB 796 (requires firing test to pass CHL) you may want to reinforce that duct tape with some rebar.

Thanks for putting to words what I have to keep to myself. I work with a bunch of "enlightened progressives" as they describe themselves. And I were to say what I wanted I'm sure I'd be seeing HR real quick.

John M.

Anonymous said...

They are the politicians chosen by the citizens of your state making these rules. They must think the people that elected them approve.

Rivrdog said...

Get a clue, folks. We are now the new Hated Class, by order of the Democratic Party. We are but one short step away from being declared Enemies of The State.

The question is, are we prepared to act like proper Enemies of The State?

Anonymous said...

Several days ago Senator DiFi is essense said that gun owners must be prepared to give up their guns, or become a danger to public safety. Elections have consequences, and this is not our grandfathers' culture we live in.Antipoda