Feinstein Uses Brady Bill Anniversary to Push for
"Universal Checks"
Posted on December 5, 2013
Last Saturday was the 20-year anniversary
of President Bill Clinton's signing of the Brady Act into
law, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) used
the occasion to urge readers of the San Jose Mercury News to go along with
requiring background checks on private transfers of firearms.
A "groundbreaking gun-safety
law," she called the Brady Act. "Background checks on gun purchases
work," she said. Repeating a false
claim that earned President Obama Three Pinocchios from the Washington Post's
Fact Checker earlier this year, Feinstein said that background checks should be
imposed "on the estimated 40 percent of gun transfers made between private
parties."
Gun control supporters have certainly
changed their tune in one respect, at least.
When the Brady Act was being debated in
Congress, gun control supporters opposed the idea of a National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
They instead insisted on a waiting period on handgun purchases from
dealers.
The reason was simple. They were alarmed
at the rate at which Americans were buying handguns. In the 1970s, the Brady
Campaign, then known as the National Council to Control Handguns
(NCCH), breathlessly declared, "There are now 40 million handguns owned by
private individuals in the United States--about one gun for every American
family. At the present rate of
proliferation, the number could build to 100 million by the year 2000 (which
isn't as far off as you think). The
consequences can be terrible to imagine--unless something is done."
(Emphasis in the original.)
They hoped that a waiting period would
slow down handgun sales, and believed that slowing down handgun sales had to
occur, if they were to ever stand a chance of convincing the American people to
go along with handgun registration.
In 1976, the leader of the NCCH told The
New Yorker magazine that "The first problem is to slow down the increasing
number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second problem is to get handguns
registered. And the final problem is to
make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition--except for the
military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and
licensed gun collectors--totally illegal."
In 1993, Congress temporarily authorized a
maximum five-day waiting period on handgun purchases from dealers. But, to gun control supporters' chagrin at
the time, mandated the establishment of NICS--an instant background
check--within five years. Barring
misidentification of a prospective purchaser, a firearm purchase could take no
longer than a few minutes to complete!
The Brady Campaign, which fought against
NICS with everything it had, adapted to its defeat, however. It now calls NICS checks "Brady
checks" and says they should be conducted on even private transfers of
firearms.
Again, the reason is simple. Once all transfers of firearms go through
NICS, gun control supporters will be in position to demand that all records of
approved NICS checks be retained for an extended period of time, not merely 24
hours, as provided for in current law.
The late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) proposed legislation to extend
the records retention period several years ago, in fact. The next steps would be to retain the records
permanently, and to require that the records include the make, model and serial
number of all firearms transferred in conjunction with the checks.
The anti-gun "media watchdog" group
Media Matters, funded by George Soros, scoffs at the idea that requiring
"universal checks" would lead to registration. A national gun registry is prohibited under
federal law, they say. The reality is, however,
if gun control supporters become the majority in Congress, they could change
the law at the drop of a hat.
Gun control supporters' ulterior motives
aside, there are plenty of other reasons "universal checks" will not
have the desired effect in reducing crime.
According to Justice Department studies, people in prison for gun crimes
have mostly acquired their firearms by theft, on the black market, or from
family and friends. Furthermore, criminals who are prohibited by law from
possessing firearms, and who therefore cannot pass NICS checks, already defeat
the system by having straw purchasers buy guns for them. Finally, according to the U.S. Department of
Justice, "universal checks" will not work without requiring gun
registration.
As for slowing down handgun sales,
Americans have bought about 60 millions handguns since Brady/NCCH sounded its
false alarm several decades ago. And
indeed, Americans now own the 100 million handguns that NCCH predicted.
For the record, the nation's murder rate
is at nearly an all-time low.
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne
Feinstein is a U.S. Senate
senator, married to Richard C. Blum,
and a member of the Alfalfa Club.
Note: Richard
C. Blum is married to Senator Dianne Feinstein,
and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank), the Harlem Children's Zone,
the Robin Hood Foundation, Media Matters, and the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
George Soros
is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open
Society, was a contributor for the American
Bridge 21st Century, and a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone.
Kathleen
Kennedy Townsend is the chair for the American Bridge 21st
Century, and a trustee at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Lee H.
Hamilton is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and a member of the Homeland
Security Advisory Council.
Raymond
W. Kelly is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory
Council, and the commissioner for the New York
City Police Department.
Michael
R. Bloomberg was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone,
a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, is the New York (NY) mayor, a co-chair for Mayors
Against Illegal Guns, and a member of the Alfalfa Club.
Dianne
Feinstein is a member of the Alfalfa Club,
married to Richard C. Blum, and a U.S. Senate senator.
Outrage of the Week: Do as I Say,
Not as I Do--NY Elitists Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg Think Their Safety is
More Important than Yours
Posted on November 22, 2013
Madeleine
K. Albright is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was the president for the Center for National Policy.
John
Brademas was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a director at the Center for
National Policy.
Daniel
R. Glickman is a director, Congressional Program for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was a director at the Center for National Policy.
Michael
D. Barnes is a director at the Center for National Policy, and was the president for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
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