Gun Grabbers Continue Their Gun Grabbing Ways In NC And Illinois

One thing the gun grabbers keep telling us is that they do not want to take away our guns, they just want to make things “more safe”. Yet, they keep going after the rights of law abiding citizens, rather than after criminals. Starting off with the Greenville Reflector out of North Carolina

State bill misfires on safety, takes aim at gun owners

Under the guise of preventing mass shootings, North Carolina lawmakers tried to chip away at the Second Amendment this week.

State Rep. Christy Clark, D-Mecklenburg, called a Thursday press conference at the General Assembly to introduce the Gun Violence Prevention Act, a grab bag of restriction that range from the ineffectual to the unconstitutional.

Among other provisions, the bill would require all gun owners to purchase firearm liability insurance, ban the sale or possession of bump stocks and trigger cranks, raise the age to purchase so-called assault weapons from 18 to 21 and require permits for the purchase of long guns in addition to handguns.

Insurers could pay damages to victims of accidental shootings and may also pay legal costs for insured gun owners who fire a weapon in presumed self-defense and face criminal prosecution or lawsuits. Some gun owners choose to buy insurance for their own peace of mind, and the National Rifle Association partners with an insurer to sell NRA-branded policies.

Proponents compare firearm insurance to car insurance. But operating a motor vehicle on public roads is considered a privilege, while keeping and bearing arms is a constitutional right. Government can and already does impose more restrictions on driving than owning a gun.

Unsurprisingly, this is being pushed only by Democrats

Many North Carolinians — and indeed, most gun owners — are sympathetic to reasonable reforms such as enhanced background checks, but this bill is no common-sense compromise. The insurance requirement is a gargantuan government power grab that misfires on curbing gun violence and instead takes aim at law-abiding Tar Heels.

Fortunately, its chances in the Republican-controlled General Assembly are nil. That should give little comfort to the many Democrats who own guns for hunting and home protection and would rightly bristle at an insurance mandate.

The House Democratic Caucus and N.C. Democratic Party must abandon this paternalistic push. Claiming to represent the disadvantaged can’t be reconciled with a bill that would make poor people pay a premium in order to lawfully own a gun. Don’t they deserve to feed their families through hunting and keep handguns to defend those families from intruders?

Laws like this do not affect criminals, only the law abiding. Yes, some idiots who were otherwise law abiding do dumb things, and they should be punished. Why are the rest of us being punished?

And from Illinois

Illinois Lawmakers Pushed Back-Door Gun Control 7 Times — In 16 Days

SB 337 was passed in the previous legislative session but was placed under a procedural hold to avoid a possible veto from outgoing Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. It was signed into law by newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on January 17, 2019, in spite of study data that suggested such a move might not even make the state safer.

This creates, among other things, a backdoor gun registry, and makes it easier for the state to deny anyone from become a firearms dealer.

SB 107 was introduced on January 24, 2019, and seeks to restrict the sale of semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic handguns and even some shotguns by designating them as “assault weapons.” The legislation, which has not yet made it through committee, also seeks to ban several components and accessories as well.

There is no grandfathering. Weapons would have to be turned in within 300 days, or an exemption filed. Think they would be approved? Bans shotguns that hold more than 5 rounds. Bans sale of all weapons that can hold more than 10 rounds in a magazine.

HB 0888 was introduced on January 24, 2019, and amends the process by which Illinois residents must obtain Firearm Owner ID (FOID) cards. According to the text of the bill, all residents who wish to apply for a FOID card must surrender to the Illinois State Police a list of all social media accounts. (snip)

HB 1467 was introduced on January 29, 2019, and would create a registry for any Illinois residents engaging in the sale of ammunition — including sales between private individuals.

The common thread is restricting the rights of law abiding citizens, while avoiding any penalties on actual criminals. Plenty more at the link.