The entire Board of Directors and leadership team at the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, Inc. is deeply saddened by the loss of human life earlier this week in Las Vegas. We want to extend our sincere condolences to the families of those who were brutally murdered and our wishes for a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured by the heinous criminal acts which were committed on Monday.
We are outraged that certain politicians are attempting to use these criminal acts as an excuse to move forward with their anti-Second Amendment agenda. WMUR is reporting that anti-gun State Representative Steven Shurtleff is proposing a New Hampshire ban on so called “bump stocks” that allow a shooter to quickly discharge a semi-automatic firearm.
The national anti-gun agenda includes gun and magazine bans as well as a calculated move by Senator Maggie Hassan to ban “bump fire” stocks at the federal level. These politicians are claiming there is a loophole. We disagree. The fact that a murderer, who was the son of a career criminal abused such a device is no reason to prohibit its ownership and use by the law abiding. It is often said, “do not punish a child for the sins of a parent”; however, in the case of the Las Vegas murderer, the proverbial apple seems to have fallen close to the tree.
The murderers at the Bataclan Theater in gun free France were not stopped by French gun bans. The murderers in gun free England stabbed and drove over people. Murderers commit murder. Lets not react by punishing the law abiding.
Banning a benign firearm accessory will not make anyone safer, however, as Rep. Nancy Pelosi said: “They’re going to say, ‘You give them bump stock, it’s going to be a slippery slope.’ I certainly hope so…” That’s right, Nancy Pelosi wants your guns!
We reject the concept that gun, magazine or firearm accessory bans will make anyone safer. The ultimate goal of Rep. Pelosi is an Australian style gun ban. The Hassan bill is just a start!
Why does anyone want or need a bump fire stock? The answer is really quite simple, due to changes in federal law that were made in 1986, the sale and possession of machineguns which were manufactured after May, 1986 is prohibited. This law, froze the supply of “transferable machineguns” at 1986 levels. Demand has outstripped supply thus causing prices to explode. A pre-1986 M16 can sell for over $20,000. This is out of reach for most gun owners. However, many people still wish to lawfully experience the uniqueness of firing a machinegun. Enter the bump fire stock as an inexpensive, lawful solution to the problem.
We at NHFC do not believe that banning bump stocks, magazines or firearms will make anyone safer. We do not agree that prohibiting the sale and ownership of anything is acceptable. We believe a better approach would be to repeal the 1986 ban on the sale of new machineguns to private citizens. This change will drive down the prices of machineguns and probably reduce demand for the so called bump fire stock. A true machinegun is safer than a bump fire stock because a shooter using a bump fire stock must allow the firearm to move back and forth to actuate the trigger for each shot. This reduces accuracy. A shooter using a real machinegun can hold the gun tight and squeeze the trigger. A capable shooter can “regulate” a machinegun and not empty the magazine with a single trigger pull. A capable shooter can place all rounds on target. This is far more difficult with a bump stock. A machinegun is safer than a bump stock.
We also believe that federal law should be changed so that a machinegun is defined as a firearm that discharges more than 3 cartridges for a single pull of the trigger. This simple law change will remove M16A2 and similar burst fire firearms from the purview of the 1934 National Firearms Act.
Far too many people start their thinking with a false premise: “No one needs a machine gun, so no one needs an accessory that will make a semi-automatic shoot almost as fast as a machine gun.”
In a free society, that is an odd statement. Being free is not about what someone NEEDS (especially something that some legislator or nameless bureaucrat determines you NEED), but about what someone, a free person WANTS to own.
As Chicago shows every day, gun control actually makes life more dangerous for the person who is being controlled. In Chicago they have as many murders each and every month as there were in that highly unusual event in Las Vegas. Yet, the gun controllers are as quiet as church mice about that, as it is proof positive that gun control fails to make anyone, except criminals, safer.
One of the key principles that NHFC has always maintained is that gun control (including controls on parts and accessories) is worthless for stopping, or even lowering, crime. Gun control only infringes on the rights, safety, and security of good people, while handing a major tactical advantage to criminals or empowering political tyrants who wish to dominate a society.
Criminal behavior should be aggressively prosecuted.
And just when we thought things couldn’t be worse, Speaker Paul Ryan has decided to pull Hearing Protection Act from the House agenda. That’s right, Paul Ryan is siding with Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. We also have an unconfirmed report that Rep. Ryan is indefinitely postponing a vote on the Hudson Nationwide Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill. Last month a few reports came out that Speaker Ryan was looking for an excuse to kill that bill as well.
Here is what you need to do to help, right now.
Contact Speaker Ryan by clicking here. Let the Speaker know that the Second Amendment is non negotiable and you expect the bump stock ban to be defeated and the Hearing Protection Act and Nationwide Concealed Carry to pass the House without any further delays. The rights of the law abiding must not be restricted based on the actions of a criminal.
Then, contact Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by clicking here. Senator McConnell needs to hear the same message. The Second Amendment is non negotiable and you expect the bump stock ban to be defeated and the Hearing Protection Act and Nationwide Concealed Carry to pass the Senate without any further delays. The rights of the law abiding must not be restricted based on the actions of a criminal.
As a New Hampshire resident, click here to contact Senator Hassan and demand that she drop this idea of banning firearms accessories at once.
Finally, click here to find contact information for your own State Representatives and Senators and let them know that you are opposed to any restrictions on firearms, magazines, parts or accessories in New Hampshire. Let them know you are especially opposed to the Shurtleff gun accessory ban!
Thanks for your support!
In liberty,
Vice President & Training Director – NHFC
