Is It Time To Let The Gun Grabbers Win?

As could be expected, the recent shooting in Las Vegas has brought the gun grabbers out of the woodwork (or wherever they hide) to moan and bewail the NRA preventing them from enacting what they call “common sense gun laws,” while accusing anyone and everyone who isn’t in their camp of condoning murder.

This is nothing new, as they follow the leftist philosophy of “never letting a good crisis go to waste”.

The target of the gun grabbers this time is the bump fire stocks that the killer used in murdering 59 people and wounding over 500 more.

Targeting the Wrong Enemy

This device, which the ATF classifies as an “accessory” not a modification, is legal for sale over the counter to pretty much anyone. Probably even to people who can’t legally buy a firearm. It’s not a gun and it’s not a gun modification, so the ATF has seen no reason to control it.

It’s easy to make a strong argument in support of the ATF decision, because you can do the same thing other ways, without having to spend the money on a bump fire stock.

I’ve seen people accomplish the same thing using a rubber band and a belt loop. I suppose if we really put our minds to it, we could come up with a dozen such ways, none of which require spending $150 on this accessory.

On the other hand, the left has a very graphic argument in favor of making bump fire stocks illegal. Had the killer not had access to such a device, he probably couldn’t have killed as many people. Being able to mimic machine gun fire, shooting 400 to 800 rounds per minute (the rate that a bump fire allows) isn’t up to the 750 to 950 rate of a M-4, cut it’s pretty close. Close enough for the shooter’s purposes.

Granted, a trained shooter can learn to shoot the AR-15 about that fast, while being much more accurate, but by all reports, the shooter was not an experienced shooter. He apparently had no military training and he was not known to be a shooter or gun collector. He kept that part of his life secret.

 

This is Why Conventional Preparedness Wisdom is Deadly!

 

I need to say here that I’m not a fan of bump fire. But then, I was never a fan of full-auto fire, even when I was in the military. A lot of guys really enjoyed going “rock and roll” with their M-16s, burning up ammo, but I didn’t. I wanted my shots to go where I aimed and full-auto really doesn’t allow that.

As far as I’m concerned, full-auto fire is only useful for two things:

1 – suppressive fire; when you need to get the enemy to keep their heads down, so that they don’t shoot you.

2 – mass fire; if you’ve got a mob of zombies bearing down on your position  and you need to take out as many as you can as fast as  you can. Real soldiers don’t bunch up like that, knowing it makes them too good a target, but zombies aren’t supposed to be that smart.

But for the Las Vegas shooter, bump fire was apparently a good choice, He wasn’t trying to hit individual targets, just to hit as many as he can, like shooting that mob of zombies. And like the zombies, they were all bunched up, so that he could be pretty much assured that his shots would hit somebody.

So it appears that the existence and ease of purchase of the bump fire stocks did in fact have a part in generating a high body count in this case.

But does that mean they should be outlawed? Should we give up any part of our Second Amendment rights because of a crazed madman who wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, killing as many people as he could?

Leftist politicians and commentators would want us to think so. They have introduced legislation to that effect, claiming that eliminating the bump fire stock would make us all “safer” in some intangible way.

I say that’s intangible, simply because this is the only crime on record, where the bump fire stock has been used. It’s even extremely rare to find the AR-15 used in a crime, let alone fitted with a bump fire stock.

So how is eliminating the bump fire stock going to make anyone safer? Yeah, if there were a rash of crimes being committed with this accessory mounted to AR-15s, I could see that as a possibility, but not for one single crime, no matter how horrific.

But then, the left has never truly been interested in making the streets any safer for law-abiding citizens, that’s just the camouflage they use to push their anti-gun agenda. They need something to sell their ideology to the low-information voters and public safety at least sounds good.

Of course, if they were truly interested in public safety, they’d be much more interested in getting criminals off the streets, instead of lauding them as some sort of folk heroes.

Tell me how Obama talking about the “valuable work that Black Lives Matter,” (BLM) a domestic terrorist organization which uses physical violence as a means of “expression” makes anyone’s life safer. It doesn’t. If Obama or anyone else on the left was truly concerned about public safety, they would condemn BLMs methods, even if they agreed with their goals.

What They Say We Should Do…

I don’t think there is anyone who would argue the statement that “guns are dangerous.” If anything, gun owners and shooters would be the first to say that. We know how dangerous they are, which is why the first thing that any of us teach a new shooter is the four rules of gun safety.

But guns alone aren’t any more dangerous than a rock. It’s the mind behind the gun that turns it into a weapon of murder, just like the mind of the person who kills with a hammer or baseball bat. That’s the issue and the left needs to get on board with dealing with that issue.

Apparently, the Las Vegas killer was mentally unstable, as pretty much all mass shooters are. As in many other such cases, his mental instability had not been diagnosed, so there was no warning of what he was planning. Had there been, he could have been stopped, before doing any damage.

For that matter, existing laws on the books would have prevented him from being able to buy the firearms that he used in the attack. That would have made a real difference.

Eliminating bump fire stocks won’t make anyone any safer. Even Dianne Feinstein admits that, and she’s the loudest voice pushing to eliminate them.

As she has before, she has introduced legislation into the Senate to follow the pattern of California and restrict our Second Amendment rights.

Video first seen on ABC News.

Yes, let’s punish honest, hard-working, law-abiding Americans for what a criminally psychotic person has done! What rubbish.

While it wouldn’t bother me personally to see bump fire stocks taken off the market, I don’t think there should be a law passed to do so.

Such a law would be impossible to enforce anyway, as it requires people who currently have them to turn them in. Without going door to door and searching people’s houses, there is no way of knowing whether everyone turned theirs in.

That’s not only absurd, it’s illegal, breaking our Fourth Amendment rights. Of course, Feinstein isn’t concerned about that.

But then, leftists never really worry about whether a law is enforceable or not anyway. Nevada passed a law requiring universal background checks for gun sales. This means that background checks have to be done in private sales, as well as when a FFL gun dealer sells one. This includes when a person dies and leaves their guns to their children.

The FBI’s NICS has already stated that they cannot and will not perform background checks for private gun sales. States do not have any right to mandate that the federal government provide services. So there is no way for gun owners in Nevada to get the background check that the law requires.

Of course, that doesn’t matter to those on the left, who are suing the governor for not implementing that law. They are claiming that he is breaking the Constitution, by not using his powers to enforce laws that the state legislature passed.

Even so, that might just backfire on them, as the courts could throw the law out, as not being enforceable. As things stand right now, it is impossible for the governor to enforce that law, so it should be thrown out.

…And What They’re Actually Aiming For

The only way that it would be possible to enforce universal background checks would be to vastly increase the size of the NICS, so that they could deal with those individual sales, or to implement universal gun registration. But the law does not allow for registration. So that can’t be done, without changing federal law.

Even if they did, it wouldn’t stop the criminals, who buy stolen guns on the black market anyway. Once again, punish the law-abiding, hard-working Americans, for what criminals do.

While Feinstein’s proposed bill doesn’t address universal background checks, it does go much farther than just eliminating bump fire stocks. As one conservative commentator put it, “This doesn’t put us closer to the slippery slope, it is the slippery slope.”

Feinstein’s bill is a perfectly crafted piece of liberal legislation. I say that because it is sufficiently vague enough to allow leftist politicians and bureaucrats to use it as a means of creating all sorts of legislation to outlaw all sorts of firearm accessories and modifications. Specifically, it outlaws any device that can increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm.

That’s actually a very broad term, able to be redefined repeatedly over time, in order to make it mean whatever bureaucrats, who are mostly Democrats, want it to.

To start with, what’s a “normal rate of fire” for a semi-automatic firearm? Even the manufacturers can’t agree on that; and does that mean for an experienced shooter or a novice? I’ve seen video of experienced shooters who can pull an AR-15’s trigger as fast as a bump fire stock can, and a whole lot more accurately.

Upgraded triggers can be said to increase the rate of fire, as they make it easier to fire faster; so can spring kits to lighten the trigger pull. Magazines holding more than one round make it easy to fire faster as well.

So do telescopic gunsights for that matter. I have an extended slide release and magazine release installed on my Glock, those both make it so that I can shoot faster, or at least reload faster, which makes it possible for me to shoot faster. I also have a laser sight and tritium night sights, both of which can be considered aids in shooting faster.

My AR-15 has a piston instead of a gas tube, another modification that makes it easy to shoot faster. I’ve also got a foregrip handle, which helps get back on target quicker, another aid in shooting faster. Then there’s the red dot sight, which is definitely faster to use than iron sights are.

I could go on and on. The point is, anything that anyone would do to modify a firearm, improving it from the original, can be considered a means of making the gun shoot faster.

So about the only thing that Feinstein’s law doesn’t make illegal are the guns themselves, holsters and slings. That’s apparently the next step in her nefarious plan.

The point is this; if we allow the left to take away any of our gun rights or to pass a law which restricts the guns we are allowed to have and the modifications we can make to them, they will just keep going.

Their goal is to take all guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens; and nothing short of that will satisfy them.

Are you going to let them do it?

This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.

Written by

Bill White is the author of Conquering the Coming Collapse, and a former Army officer, manufacturing engineer and business manager. More recently, he left the business world to work as a cross-cultural missionary on the Mexico border. Bill has been a survivalist since the 1970s, when the nation was in the latter days of the Cold War. He had determined to head into the Colorado Rockies, should Washington ever decide to push the button. While those days have passed, the knowledge Bill gained during that time hasn’t. He now works to educate others on the risks that exist in our society and how to prepare to meet them. You can send Bill a message at editor [at] survivopedia.com.

Latest comments
  • I aM reminded of the analogy of the kids drag-racing on main street late at night. One loses control of his car and dies in the resulting crash. The city council responds to the public outcry to “do something to protect our kids,” by lowering the speed limit on main street from 35 to 25 mph.

    • So many analogies so few listeners on the other side.
      You are correct, old shooter. The analogy is well stated.

  • Its all about disarming the citizens so the govt can do what they please. False flags are getting sickening. We need to start from scratch and get this insane govt OUT of our lives. So sick of the insanity.

  • “We the people” are diligently and resolutely working to get government off our backs and restore a government of, by, and for the people which has been insidiously taken from us over the last 104 years by implementation of the 10 main planks of the communist manifesto, beginning with the formation of the federal reerve in 1913. “we the people” abruptly awoke to this plot last november and put a man in the white house who can lead us back to a restoration of the america we once were. In november 2016 we won and the communists lost and america is coming back in all it’s glory. The land of the free and the home of the brave. america the beautiful.

  • Help us in cali. You may think thats not us….
    What happens here comes to your nieghbourhood soon.
    Think not???? Thats funny because you can get medical marijuana in over 10 states that probably laughed and said “not here”

  • Its clear Feinstein doesn’t know enough about this issue to introduce legislation outlawing bump fire stocks. If you think she’s on the right track, think again. Such modifications to ANY of our bill of rights will only restrict Americans as a whole. Modifications do nothing to “Fix” or address the issue of who is pulling the trigger. THAT, is the real problem. Until we put our emphasis on healthcare (mental), we will continue to see these horrific events. More people, more problems. We can’t take away every product that can produce an explosion, nor can we take everyone’s car away because there are those who are killed with one. The problem is real. The issues are many but they are here to stay. Healthcare, brain chemical imbalance, should be our focus to help those who don’t know how to express or control their anger.

  • Bryan Jensen The commies have their panties in a wad like a spoiled rotten child right now. They are in panic mode. I wouldn’t put anything past them right now. The things like vegas will continue until we have all these people in prison. and take all their assets to rebuild our republic..

  • This is a typical reaction from the left ,”NEVER LET A GOOD SITUATION GO TO WASTE” Omuslime never did and neither has Fienstien,this liberal bitch wants to disarm every American, I am sick of these lying low live’s want only the government to have arms that way they don’t have to fear when we decide we have had enough of their planed take over with the UN and The New World order , as for me thy will never take my gun and ammo with out finding out just how well armed and well trained I am, you see I paid good attention to what Uncle sugar taught me about guns and explosives, so screw you and your bill bitch

  • I’m a retired cop in Southern California. 23 years on the job. Only twice did I run into someone legally in possession. They rest of them were criminals. I live in Utah now and many carry legally. I feel a lot safer, and I am one who has been victimized by gun totors on and off duty. Thank you for your article.

  • I am a woman who is a conservative Libertarian, and darn proud of it. I am a legally permitted and registered gun owner and I am committed to preserving the 2nd amendment. I believe that our right to keep and bear arms is what keeps other nations from trying to take over our nation. It also gives those who would do their dirty-work from within our government cause for concern.

    I can’t find out when the Democrats actually turned into Communists. Did it happen slowly like their beloved evolution, did it come with the Obama administration, or were they always secretly communists?

    I see all of these headlines that say, ” Trump is single handedly destroying all of the things that the Obama administration implemented”. I say, “Great!” Barack obama was not a president, he was an insidious monster working day and night to destroy our beautiful country. Even after getting him finally out of the oval office, he is still working to subvert our government. I only hope that Donald Trump can get this tough job of dismantling Obama’s dirty-work done in the short period of time he has left in office.

    • Laura B, I am so glad you asked that question. I have the factual answer for you. Communism has been gradually taking over our country since tne formation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. It was the first of the 10 planks of the communist manifesto and since then the remaining 9 have been implemented. Look up the “10 planks of the communist manifesto” on line and it describes exactly how they have insidiously implemented them over the last 104 years.. If Clinton had been elected instead of Trump she would have put a fifth communist on the Supreme Court to join the other four and the 2nd amendment and with it the rest of our Constitution would have been gone. The only reason I can think of for so many Democrats being communists is they tend to be socialist minded which is a logical precursor to communism.

  • With few excepts, automatic firearms are illegal for civilians to own in the US. “Accessories” that convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic firearms are a way of circumventing the law. People who circumvent the law are criminals. People who buy and sell ways to circumvent the law are criminals. We need fewer criminals at large. Let’s put criminals in prison where they belong. Let’s keep automatic weapons out of the hands of criminals and homicidal maniacs. I say this as someone with a concealed carry permit, who carries every day and believes that every law-abiding, mentally healthy, responsible adult should be able to possess a lawful firearm if they so desire. Automatic firearms are just not lawful firearms for civilians. No reasonable person, not living in a war zone, has a lawful need to possess an automatic firearm for self-defense

    • The bump stock does not make a semi-automatic rifle into an automatic rifle. When I heard the sound of the Vegas shooter’s weapon firing, i immediately knew it was not a full automatic because I have heard and fired fully automatic weapons in the marine corps. He was shooting around half the rate of fire of an M16. I have witnessed people performing bump fire years before there was a bump fire stock. All the bump fire stock does is make it easier to keep the muzzle from waving widely during bump fire as opposed to a rifle without this accessory. You forget, that the BATF reviewed this device and ruled it was not an illegal modification. since they are the administrators of such laws, they stated it is legal, it breaks no law. So for you to say the makers of these devices circumvent the law, you are factually incorrect, and by calling them criminals you commit slander, which is a breach of the law as well. Just because you don’t wish to prepare for the same eventuality that our founding fathers prepared for, that being to throw off the mantle of tyranny from their backs, only shows you to be foolish.

      • Well said brother.
        ignorant gun grabbing libtards commies will one day wake up and smell the gunpowder exhuming from my muzzle.
        usaf 3707 ces veteran and 2nd amendment supporter to the death.
        don’t tread on me.

  • 59 dead 527 injured 124 of 180 injured came to the hospital’s Level Two trauma center with single and multiple gunshot wounds Two off-duty officers killed 200-300 number of bullets heard, according to witnesses 10-15 minutes of gunfire, according to witnesses 9 rounds of gunfire per second by Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock 24 shots in 9 seconds by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen (49 dead, 53 wounded) 22,000 concert attendees at Route 91 Sunday 10:08 p.m. (local time) gunfire began 108 fire personnel on the scene to help 64 years: Gunman Stephen Paddock’s age 80 miles from Paddock’s home in Mesquite, Nevada, to Las Vegas 19 rifles (at least) found in gunman’s room 10 suitcases brought into gunman’s hotel room over a period of time 18 firearms (at least) found inside gunman’s home in Mesquite, Nevada 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel: Where Paddock unleashed barrage of bullets from 400 yards stood between the hotel and concert stage 40,000 concertgoers at three-day Route 91 Harvest festival 273 mass shootings in 2017 as of Oct. 2

    With numbers like this in one event it is imperative that the American Citizens see something being done to stop this type of massacre. I too am a concealed carry permit holder and I do carry my firearm—this would have accomplished nothing in the LV shooting—we would have been helpless to fight this particular battle. It is time for all Americans to work together to stop this carnage. Calling someone a communist solves nothing and frankly shows a lack of understanding of the term to do so—if getting rid of this one accessary lessens the possibility of this happening by 1% then it is worth going through the process (which average citizen needs such a thing anyway) and I am sure every family member of those lost in this shooting would agree. Unlike most of the average citizens in America I realize that the “they are going to take your guns away” is a political ploy used to scare people into voting the way they want them to, and I’ll admit this particular ploy is used by all parties. However, those of us who know the law and how things work realize that to take away your guns there would have to be a total takeover of the American government such as a hostile dictator and then using force (and the way things are going I am not so sure this will not happen!), because the process of changing the constitution is a complicated one, requiring approval by both bodies of Congress and approval in 2/3’s or 38 of our 50 states, and you and I both know that would be an almost impossible task.

  • Your comment, quoted in part……….: “‘However, those of us who know the law and how things work realize that to take away your guns there would have to be a total takeover of the American government such as a hostile dictator and then using force”

    Absurd to think that it is so difficult and would be nearly an impossibility? Don’t kid yourself.
    It almost became a reality under OBAMA…….CLINTON..

    • I Believe that I am more afraid of this happening today than i have ever been before, so i do not kid myself and i am prepared as well.

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