FPC Files Opposition to Numerous Federal Gun Control Proposals Including “Extreme Risk Protection Orders,” Mandatory Reporting of NICS Denials

Washington DC, March 09, 2018 -- Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) has announced its strong opposition to a number of federal gun control proposals. This week alone, FPC has filed formal letters of opposition and sent legislative alerts on the following federal bills and issues to elected officials and staff:

S.2524 / “Extreme Risk Protection Orders”

Also known as “Gun Violence Restraining Orders,” these orders do not result in an immediate action—if there is ever any real action taken at all. ERPOs operate on the presumption that people subject to an order are voluntarily going to be law-abiding until all of their weapons are taken away from them, if ever; if someone is insane, mentally unstable, or plain evil, that is a very irrational and dangerous presumption. FPC opposes these restraining orders on practical, policy, and constitutional grounds.

S.2492 / Mandatory law-enforcement reporting of NICS denials

Mandatory reporting of NICS denials to law enforcement would create a new law enforcement nightmare, lead to likely millions of civil rights violations, put law-abiding people and law enforcement officers in danger, eliminate important case-by-case discretion, and unnecessarily burden cash-strapped public safety agency budgets.

S.2135 / H.R.4477 / “Fix NICS”

FixNICS would create new problems and bureaucracy, but offers few benefits to law-abiding Americans, gun owners, or society at large. FixNICS, as it is currently conceptualized, will result in potentially millions of Americans being reported as “prohibited” and legally ineligible, possibly erroneously, and largely based on administrative decisions, outdated federal eligibility statutes that pre-date D.C. v. Heller, and a growing list of state and local gun control laws.

H.R.4909 / S.2495 / “STOP School Violence Act of 2018”

H.R.4909 would eliminate funding for metal detectors and physical crime deterrent measures at schools. It would also mandate the creation of “anonymous” reporting systems that could be used for “swatting” gun owners, and additionally would allow for funding of gun control initiatives with taxpayer dollars. The Senate version contains similar language for an “anonymous” reporting system and subawards, but does not eliminate funding for physical security measures. 

FPC said that they are actively reviewing and writing legislative analysis, briefs, and alerts on dozens of bills and proposals, and that more are being added to their list every day. Gun owners can take action on many federal gun issues using FPC’s free Grassroots Action Tools at www.firearmspolicy.org/actions or become a member of FPC at JoinFPC.org. 

“We are working around the clock, seven-days-a-week on this awful legislation right now. It’s that bad,” remarked FPC Legislative Advocate Philip Watson. “With some Republican leadership and members not only caving but actively supporting the gun control, we expect a very tough fight ahead. Gun owners across the United States need to get very engaged and very loud about this legislation right now or they will not like what the future holds. Even so-called ‘free states’ will look a lot like California if these bills pass.” 

“This unceasing onslaught of terminally-defective legislation that would infringe civil rights concealed under the stated agenda of preventing tragedy is troubling,” said attorney Adam Kraut of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C. “While politicians continue to tout strengthened background checks, they fail to account for or provide solutions for the numerous erroneous denials that occur each year, which directly impact an individual’s ability to exercise a fundamental constitutional right. Couple that with mandatory reporting of denials to law enforcement, you have a recipe for disaster, particularly when many individuals who are prohibited were never informed they lost their Second Amendment rights.”

In addition to legal work on behalf of clients including FPC, Kraut has evaluated a number of federal proposals for “The Legal Brief,” a Web video series hosted on The Gun Collective, that discusses firearms laws, proposals, and related issues.

Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1d372a65-82df-462c-84ef-d2bb99b585a5

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ff98cda-e80c-47f5-95c6-ce9fa9ecb9a5

Craig DeLuz
Firearms Policy Coalition
916-378-5785
[email protected]