"Ghost Guns" - Anti-Gun Rights Lawmakers Again Reveal Their Ignorance - Or Perhaps Their Dishonesty

Sen. Kevin de Leon holds up a "Ghost Gun" - that
isn't a gun at all!

Well the anti-gun crowd has a brand new phony cause: "Ghost Guns".  These new "Ghost Guns" can supposedly be printed out on a 3D printer and are completely undetectable in metal detectors.  Wow, we need to get busy and ban these things ASAP.

There's only one problem: They should be called "Ghost Guns" because they do not now, nor will they likely ever, exist.  That's right, they want to ban something that the laws of physics and chemistry already ban.  A functional firearm cannot be built without enough metal to easily be detected on any security officer's metal detector - not to mention the ammo, which also must be made of metal.  

If all of this sounds familiar, then you're old enough to remember the 1980s - when the revolutionary Glock pistol was introduced.  As soon as the anti-gun crowd heard about a 'plastic gun" they went bananas.  Of course, every Glock (and every other polymer framed pistol has many metal parts.  It has to - because metal is they only thing that can stand the pressure inside of a gun at the time of firing.  That logic mattered little and a federal law was quickly passed banning undetectable firearms.  It was just renewed for another 10 years - and as far as the NRA is concerned, it's a non-issue - because there are no guns affected by such a ban, nor are there ever likely to be any!

That's not good enough for Sen. Kevin de Leon, he wants California to require a background check before people make guns that are banned by federal law.  To prove that they exist, he held one up for the press - none of whom noticed that it is missing a few important parts - like, for instance a barrel.  It also does not have a bolt, bolt carrier, firing pin, and a magazine - all of which must be made completely or partially out of metal.  What he held up was not a functional gun - and without a great deal of metal it can't be made into one.  He counted on the press either being too ignorant to notice, or being willing to go along with his deception.

If you have now figured out that there is something else going on, you are right.  This is not about non-existent ghost guns, it's about the fact that it is legal for a law abiding citizen to make his or her own rifle or shotgun for their personal use - even in California.  He is concerned that criminals and the severely mentally ill - who are banned from owning guns - might be doing this, so he wants to pass a law to stop them.  Yes, you read that correctly.   Sen. Kevin de Leon thinks if we just pass a law, people who know they are not allowed to even hold a gun, but really want one, will obey it.  

He also somehow thinks that our current laws are not enough.  So, let's consider what happens if a prohibited person is caught with a firearm.  Well, under current law, a prohibited person caught with a gun results in the gun being seized and the prohibited person going to prison.  If Sen. de Leon's bill pass, well the gun will be seized and the prohibited person will go to prison.  That's right - nothing at all changes in regards to prohibited persons - unless you think someone prepared to break a bunch of laws will be stopped if we pass just one more.

Background checks may make some sense when a person buys a gun from a dealer - or even from a private party.  At least there is a chance of preventing a prohibited person from buying a gun in the legal market, and perhaps arresting them for trying.  But when it comes to homemade guns, well criminals can still make them, as can the mentally ill.  Since, as we have seen, these people can already be arrested for merely holding a gun, this bill does nothing in regards to felons and the mentally ill.

So, why does the senator want to pass this law?  Simple: He cannot stand the idea that a law abiding citizen can make their own gun without government knowledge or permission.  That and that alone is the only thing that his bill will change.  It's a shame that he cannot be honest enough to say so.

But, as is so common with gun control advocates, he prefers to lie.

President Obama Does Something Right On Guns

Today, the president did something right on the issue of guns. He took action to ensure that the states submit accurate and timely information on both mental health commitments and felony convictions.

Frankly, we should be asking why the administration didn't do this a year ago.  I think the reason is obvious: They were afraid it might actually work, thus weakening the case for more gun restrictions.  This is something that both gun control AND many gun rights groups have been pushing for.  It's one of the few areas of common ground.

First, mental health issues have been at the center of all of the recent mass shootings the gun control advocates has been using to justify more restrictions on sane, law abiding people.  If we are going to have background checks, it is in everyone's interest that they actually work.  That begins with an accurate database.  We have been trying to get an accurate database since Virginia Tech - when the NRA called for an accurate database before gun control groups did. A law was passed, but it still didn't happen,   We need to get it done.  All mental health commitments and felony convictions should be entered.

The next step is to make sure that when someone acts out in such a way that the average person thinks they may be a danger to others or themselves, that they actually are sent in for evaluation.  As quick as CA law enforcement is to 5150 people, how the Gifford's shooter (I will not use his name) had 20+ law enforcement contacts, many for bizarre behavior, and was NEVER be sent in for evaluation is beyond me.  If there legal barriers to this, the states should be encouraged to remove them.  If he had been, Rep. Gifford's might not have been shot and many others might be alive and unhurt.  Remember that a federal disability does not attach until there is a LEGAL commitment.  Dues process is required.  Given this, I don't have a problem with this action, and in fact, it is probably within the statute and the Constitution.

Going beyond what the administration did today, President Obama could order ATF to both actively enforce the law by arresting those who attempt to buy firearms illegally by lying on the 4473 form AND begin notifying state and local authorities so they can bring state charges or, in many cases, simply violate their parole or probation.  It is absolutely absurd that the administration's official policy when a prohibited person attempts to by a firearm is to do nothing beyond simply stopping the sale - leaving them free to buy a gun on the black market. The president could have done this, but he didn't - one wonders why not?

Finally, Congress needs to fund, and the president needs to sign, a bill funding the process for restoration of gun rights contained in the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986.  This would enable someone with a commitment or conviction which is many years in the past to petition to have their rights restored.  This is simply the right thing to do if we are going to step up enforcement.

I don't trust the president - but that does not mean that everything he does is wrong, or aimed at stripping us of our gun rights.