Following the senseless killings in Lewiston on October 25, 2023, Maine Strong has been appearing all around the state as proud Mainers rally together to support the families of those impacted. Mainers are also demanding answers from the US military, the mental health system and law enforcement for their abominable and inexcusable failures to use the tools already at their disposal and perfectly capable to have prevented this horrific tragedy. Seeing more evidence that the government will never be able to protect them, they are purchasing home and carry defensive firearms and taking training classes in even greater numbers.
What isn’t Maine Strong is the state’s supposedly “Independent” Senator Angus King’s knee-jerk gun control bill. Called the ”Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act”, it is co-sponsored by the usual gun-control zealot politicians. It shreds any sense of Constitutionality while laughing proclaiming it “Protects Americans’ Second Amendment Right”. It also misses the point that government failures should never be the basis of new gun control laws.
Here is their summary of the GOSAFE act:
The GOSAFE Act regulates firearms based on the inherently dangerous and unusual lethality of their internal mechanisms, as opposed to focusing on cosmetic features that manufacturers can easily modify.
If enacted, the bill would regulate the sale, transfer, and manufacture of gas-operated semi-automatic weapons by:
Establishing a list of prohibited firearms;
Preventing unlawful modifications of permissible firearms;
Mandating that future gas-operated designs are approved before manufacture; and
Preventing unlawful firearm self-assembly and manufacturing.
Protects Americans’ Second Amendment Right
The GOSAFE Act protects Americans’ constitutional right to own a gun based on a firearm’s established use for self-defense, hunting or sporting purposes.
The GOSAFE Act accomplishes this by including exemptions based on maximum ammunition capacity according to a firearm’s individual class: a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.
This capacity must be “permanently fixed” meaning the firearm cannot accept a detachable, high-capacity magazine that would increase the number of rounds that can be fired before reloading and make reloading easier.
Exemptions include:
.22 caliber rimfire or less firearms
Bolt action rifles
Semi-automatic shotguns
Recoil-operated handguns
Any rifle with a permanently fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less
Any shotgun with a permanently fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less
Any handgun with a permanently fixed magazine of 15 rounds or less
Limits High-Capacity Ammunition Devices
The GOSAFE Act limits a firearm’s ability to inflict maximum harm in a short amount of time by directly regulating large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
The bill would limit the number of rounds that large capacity ammunition feeding devices are permitted to carry to 10 rounds of ammunition or fewer.
Additionally, the GOSAFE Act makes conversion devices, including bump stocks and Glock switches, unlawful.
Improves Public Safety Response & Protects Law Enforcement
The GOSAFE Act will force would-be mass shooters to reload their guns more frequently — giving people time to flee and law enforcement time to arrive on the scene – while also maintaining law enforcement access to regulated firearms, so law enforcement continues to have the tools they need to respond to a mass shooting event.
Creates Optional Buy-Back Program
The GOSAFE Act will prevent stockpiling of these lethal firearms and large capacity magazines, and also ensure no one loses the value of any firearms they currently have, by establishing a voluntary buy-back program, which would allow firearm owners to voluntarily turn over and receive compensation for non-transferrable firearms and magazines as defined by this legislation.
Back on July 8th, 2019, I wrote about a previously unknown group of gun control extremists who proposed banning the semi-automatic mechanism. The idea wasn’t given much attention because it was so preposterous. In reality, it was a draft of things to come put out to see how much opposition it would attract in the real world. Guess what? It has been used by the states of Washington and Massachusetts in their definitions of so-called “assault weapons” and now it’s mainstream. As they described it at the time:
“Now, the most severe gun-related problem facing our society is the proliferation of guns containing a semiautomatic mechanism.” Their organization “is working to achieve legislation that will ban the semiautomatic mechanism in any gun sold or owned in Massachusetts. These are weapons that were designed for military and law enforcement purposes only and not for the general public. Revolvers, lever-action, pump-action, and bolt-action guns cover the full spectrum of civilian needs, whether they are hunting, personal protection, or home protection. The semiautomatic mechanism for guns has no place in civilian hands.”
Sound familiar?
The misguided Senator’s proposal would set the standard of firearm technology back to pre-1885 technology when the first semi-automatic firearm was produced.
Wrapped up in this ban would be:
Gas operated pistols, which encompasses all the AR/AK pattern and similar pistols.
Depending on the interpretation of gas-operated, even blowback pistols could be included.
Their definition of “permanently fixed” (meaning the firearm cannot accept a detachable, high-capacity magazine) would mean ZERO modern magazine fed firearms would be legal as any could be utilized with a so-called “high-capacity” magazine as well as a neutered low-capacity one.
Voluntary buy-backs, a misnomer since the government never owned your firearms in the first place, have a nasty tendency to become mandatory buy-backs.
NOWHERE in the proposed legislation does it say how they’ll be getting guns out of the hands of criminals, cracking down on their illegal use or hold those who unlawfully use them against others accountable, only restricting the rights of the law-abiding.
It’s also important to realize the glaring logic flaws in the Senator’s proposal. The false claim of “force would-be mass shooters to reload their guns more frequently” has never been shown to be true and even a cursory look at previous criminal acts reveals lower capacity magazines have been successfully used in shootings. In addition, stating a “gas-operated semi-automatic” firearm does not fall under the constitutional right to own category for self-defense, hunting or sporting purposes ignores the well documented use of firearms in this country.
While the Senator’s bill should be dead on arrival, it’s important to note the well-placed timing, post-tragedy for maximum impact. Remember the gun control mantra of “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. The tragic loss of life is simply an opportunity to progress an agenda that couldn’t get traction before.
Even if this bill could gain enough RINO votes to pass and be signed into law, it is obviously constitutionally flawed in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen’s text, history, and tradition test. But keep in mind this is ONLY with the current make-up of the United States Supreme Court. Should the court majority be flipped from the current 5-4 conservative led court either by court packing, a forced removal of a Justice, a retirement or death, this decision will most likely be revisited and reversed at the Court’s first opportunity.
The ONLY way to keep more gun control laws from being passed is to STOP electing people who will not protect our natural, constitutionally protected rights.
Senator King wants to be reelected to his third term as a Senator from Maine in November 2024. I believe it’s time for new representation for the State of Maine.
Maine deserves better.
Bob
Semi-Automatic Mechanisms – The New Assault Weapons https://oddstuffing.com/archives/577
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