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REPORT: Proposed Regulation Could Cost Gun Industry $2 Billion

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A proposed firearm regulation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could cost the U.S. gun industry $2 billion dollars, dozens of manufacturers told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Around 80 gun makers cautioned McConnell in a Saturday phone call that the ATF’s move to re-classify weapons with pistol braces would have a sizable financial impact on the industry, the Free Beacon reported, citing several members of the conversation.

Pistol braces, designed to stabilize a shooter’s arm for one-hand firing, allows a buyer to obtain a rifle-style weapon with a short barrel length without a $200 tax fee and waiting period that a traditional short-barreled rifle would, according to Gun News Daily.

Reclassification of the devices may make those in possession of weapons with pistol braces owners of short-barreled rifles, which are illegal to own without the proper registration and paperwork under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The move could criminalize between 3 and 4 million gun owners in addition to the $2 billion price tag projected by manufacturers, according to the Beacon.

Jamin McCallum, founder of Palmetto State Armory, one of the leading manufacturers of AR-15s, predicted a $150 million loss if the ATF followed through with the regulation. McCallum also insisted that inaction by Republicans to stop the agency may have a deleterious effect on the Georgia runoffs. (Read more from “REPORT: Proposed Regulation Could Cost Gun Industry $2 Billion” HERE)

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Smith & Wesson Sues State Over ‘Anti-Second Amendment Agenda’

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A leading firearms manufacturer alleges New Jersey is engaged in an “unconstitutional fishing expedition” to try to curtail gun rights by using a new tactic: false advertising claims.

In a federal lawsuit filed in New Jersey on Tuesday, Smith & Wesson claims New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has tried everything in his power to stymie gun sales, and that he is now sifting through decades of company advertisements and marketing materials in an extra-legal attempt to restrict the right to bear arms.

In October, Grewal filed administrative subpoenas seeking evidence of fraudulent advertising from the gun manufacturer. The subpoenas request documentation related to advertisements that claim firearms make a home safer, an untrained homeowner could use a Smith & Wesson firearm safely and effectively to defend his home, and whether guns enhance one’s lifestyle.

“The Subpoena presents no legitimate inquiry into any purported fraud, and instead targets mere opinions and other protected statements allegedly made by Smith & Wesson,” the company claims. It seeks a court order enjoining the subpoenas and declaring them unconstitutional.

Citing 248 million results in Google searches of “do guns make you safer” as proof that many Americans believe firearms make them safer, Smith & Wesson says New Jersey’s false advertisement subpoenas should be a dead-end legal theory. (Read more from “Smith & Wesson Sues State Over ‘Anti-Second Amendment Agenda’” HERE)

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Biden Already Orchestrating Campaign Against 2nd Amendment

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. . .There’s no doubt that the Democrat intends to move against traditional firearms owned by millions of Americans, but most expected it to be after Jan. 20.

However, the Washington Examiner reports Biden already has released a statement stating “gun violence is a national health crisis.” . . .

“Every year, more than 30,000 people die from gun violence across America — a statistic we would associate with war in a far-off place,” claimed Biden. He apparently was copying a comment from twice-failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that included suicides in its total. . .

Fox News reported Jennifer Dillon, who previously was Biden’s campaign manager, has called for “mandatory buybacks” of guns.

“We are actually the only campaign with a plan … that supports mandatory buybacks of weapons of war,” she stated at the time. “An assault weapon ban is very, very important, and we need to have it. But that only takes weapons of war off the streets in the future. It does nothing for weapons of war that are currently out there.” (Read more from “Biden Already Orchestrating Campaign Against 2nd Amendment” HERE)

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New York Woman Facing 25 Years in Jail Over Fake Guns

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A New York woman is facing weapons charges after the NYPD stormed her home and seized at least 22 guns from her apartment.

Members of the NYPD raided Elizaveta Zlatkis’ home in 2019 and discovered the “guns.” A later investigation found that 21 of the 22 firearms were not real.

Analysis from the department showed that all weapons were either inoperable or fake, and Elizaveta Zlatkis has said that she lends the fake weapons to rappers and producers to use in music videos or other artistic productions.

She faces a possible 25-year prison sentence. According to the Forest Hills Post, NYPD officers “acting on a tip” raided Zlatkis’ home and discovered the cache of weaponry in her apartment. (Read more from “New York Woman Facing 25 Years in Jail Over Fake Guns” HERE)

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Prosecutor Booted From McCloskey Gun Case

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The circuit attorney for the city of St. Louis has been disqualified from prosecuting Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a local couple facing felony charges after defending their home with weapons when protesters marched through their neighborhood in June, according to reports.

The content of some campaign fundraising emails by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner infringed on the McCloskeys’ right to receive a fair trial, Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II ruled Thursday, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Gardner’s emails suggested that by charging the McCloskeys in July, she appeared to have “initiated a criminal prosecution for political purposes,” the judge wrote, according to the newspaper. (Read more from “Prosecutor Booted From McCloskey Gun Case” HERE)

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Federal Agents Raid Company That Makes Gun Parts

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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Thursday raided a popular gun component manufacturer under suspicion that the organization was selling firearms without mandating background checks.

Polymer80, one of the nation’s leading sellers of unserialized gun components and DIY firearm kits, was suspected of illegally distributing and manufacturing guns and failing to conduct background checks, according to The Wall Street Journal. The ATF raided the Nevada business, despite 80% receivers, which the corporation primarily sells, being legal and not considered firearms, according to the government body’s website.

The investigation focused primarily on the company’s “Buy Build Shoot Kit,” which includes an 80% finished handgun frame and the components necessary to assemble that frame into a complete Polymer80 handgun, according to WSJ, which cited an ATF warrant. The agency determined that the set sold together meets the definition of a firearm and thereby would require a background check for purchasing, WSJ reported.

(Read more from “Federal Agents Raid Company That Makes Gun Parts” HERE)

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Gun Lawsuits Flood in After Barrett Supreme Court Confirmation

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Gun-rights activists have filed a slew of new cases in hopes Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court will lead to an expansion of gun protections.

Groups like the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and National Rifle Association have filed numerous federal cases against restrictive gun laws across the country with the intention of taking as many as possible to the Supreme Court. They hope to not only strike down restrictive laws in places like Massachusetts, California, and New Jersey but also further clarify the reach of the Second Amendment. New rulings, they believe, could change American gun laws forever by forcing judges in lower courts to a formal standard of review in Second Amendment cases.

“We started this process and planning as soon as Trump nominated [Barrett],” Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, which has already filed half a dozen new cases in recent weeks, told the Washington Free Beacon. “And, of course, as soon as she was confirmed, we started ramping it up to make it happen.”

“The lawsuits you’re seeing are part of a long-term strategic litigation,” Adam Kraut, director of legal strategy for the Firearms Policy Coalition, told the Free Beacon of the group’s recent surge in suits. “The confirmation of Justice Barrett, who seemingly would provide a fair analysis, is something that was part of the analysis that went into the timing of it.”

The Supreme Court has been reluctant to take on gun-rights cases since striking down local and state gun restrictions in the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010) decisions. Justices have only ruled on one Second Amendment case in the past decade and declined a slate of new suits in June. The confirmation of Barrett, who experts view as friendly toward broadening Second Amendment protections, has given activists hope. The NRA filed Mazahreh v. Grewal on Tuesday to challenge a restrictive New Jersey gun-carry law that allows officials to deny permit applications to the vast majority of residents. (Read more from “Gun Lawsuits Flood in After Barrett Supreme Court Confirmation” HERE)

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Web Searches for Ammo ‘Reloading’ Surge Amid Election Chaos

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By WND. While Barack Obama was president, gun sales across the nation surged, largely because of citizen concerns over gun-control measures.

But sales back then were nothing compared to the more than 17 million weapons purchased already this year. The demand has emptied the shelves of some gun stores and ammunition is scarce.

Florida State University sociologist Benjamin Dowd-Arrow said in a Los Angeles Times report it was because of several factors in addition to worries about gun control.

He cited the COVID-19 pandemic, the riots in response to the death of George Floyd and the presidential election season.

Joe Biden, the Democrats’ pick for president, has proposed collecting billions of dollars from gun owners in taxes on the weapons they already own. And some of his advisers have threatened what amounts to gun confiscation, calling it “mandatory buy-backs.” (Read more from “Web Searches for Ammo ‘Reloading’ Surge Amid Election Chaos” HERE)

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Google Searches for ‘Reloading Ammo’ Explode Amid Nationwide Shortage

By Zero Hedge. Americans are panic searching again. This time it’s not where to buy toilet paper online, but instead learning more about reloading ammunition as the virus pandemic and social unrest has sparked shortages of ammo and guns.

Ever since the first round of virus lockdowns that began in March, ammunition prices have surged because of unprecedented demand. Some of the hardest bullets to find this past summer, that is, if one wanted to purchase bulk, as we noted in April and August (see: here & here), was 9mm.

And, of course, a shortage and skyrocketing costs for factory-loaded ammunition forced many Americans to investigate alternative options in panic hoarding bullets. (Read more from “Google Searches for ‘Reloading Ammo’ Explode Amid Nationwide Shortage ” HERE)

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Proposed Biden Gun Tax Could Top $34 Billion

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American gun owners could face tens of billions of dollars in new taxes to keep the guns they already own under Democrat Joe Biden’s gun ban and tax plan.

At least 20 million rifles and 150 million ammunition magazines would be caught up in the sales ban and registration scheme Biden touted on the campaign trail, according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) report. The new taxes would cost Americans more than $34 billion, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

NSSF told the Washington Free Beacon the sheer number of affected guns and magazines could pose a significant problem for Biden’s gun-control plans.

“I think if [Biden and his team] were smart, they would look at those numbers and get an idea of where America stands on gun ownership and gun rights,” NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said.

Biden wants to ban new sales of AR-15 rifles and similar firearms as well as any ammunition magazine holding more than 10 rounds—sizes that come standard on most modern rifles and handguns. He would pay some owners to surrender the affected guns they legally own and force everyone else to register the guns under the National Firearms Act. The proposal would require owners to pay a $200 tax stamp for each item. (Read more from “Proposed Biden Gun Tax Could Top $34 Billion” HERE)

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Poll: Support for Gun Control Falls to Lowest Since 2016

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A Gallup survey released Monday finds Americans’ support for stricter gun control laws has fallen back to the lower levels witnessed in 2016.

According to Gallup, support for more gun control has fallen seven percent since last year alone. Americans’ overall support for more gun control stands at 57 percent, down substantially from the 67 witnessed in 2018, and way down from the 78 percent support seen in 1990.

The demographic breakdown for Gallup’s survey shows non-gun owners are the driving force between the gun control support that exists. . .

A look at political party affiliation is just as telling. Gallup shows that 85 percent of Democrats support “more strict” gun controls while only 22 percent of Republicans do so. (Read more from “Poll: Support for Gun Control Falls to Lowest Since 2016” HERE)

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