Bringing this forward from my old blog:

Whenever I, or others, object to “registration” or bans on transfers, or other forms of “gun control” and firearms restrictions as steps toward an eventual complete prohibition and the confiscation that such would necessarily entail, we get told we’re paranoid and “nobody wants to take your guns.”

Well, perhaps we should consider these “nobodies”:

Note: This post addresses the claim that nobody wants to take our guns. Arguments that they haven’t been successful are non-responsive and are usually intellectually dishonest. They are intended to try to convince us that pushing back against the stated desire to disarm us is unnecessary thus making it easier for the folk who clearly want to take our guns to be successful in the future.

Note 2: A common complaint is that it’s all “stuff from 20 years or more ago.” Yes, there’s a lot of old stuff here. But it’s an ongoing work and constantly being updated with new stuff, generally added at the bottom, as time goes on. The anti-gun folk have long desired citizen disarmament and they continue to desire it. The leopard, as the old saying goes, does not change its spots.

Normally I put the newer stuff at the bottom but this one, oh, this one, goes right up at the top because not only does it advocate taking guns, but also lying about it:

Joy Behar on “The View” said: “They should not tell everything they’re going to do,” Behar exclaimed. “Like, if you are going to take people’s guns away, wait until you get elected and then take the guns away. Don’t tell them ahead of time!”

Now onto the rest:

“A gun-control movement worthy of the name would insist that President Clinton move beyond his proposals for controls … and immediately call on Congress to pass far-reaching industry regulation like the Firearms Safety and Consumer Protection Act … [which] would give the Treasury Department health and safety authority over the gun industry, and any rational regulator with that authority would ban handguns.” Josh Sugarmann (executive director of the Violence Policy Center)

“My view of guns is simple. I hate guns and I cannot imagine why anyone would want to own one. If I had my way, guns for sport would be registered, and all other guns would be banned.” Deborah Prothrow-Stith (Dean of Harvard School of Public Health)

“I don’t care if you want to hunt, I don’t care if you think it’s your right. I say ‘Sorry.’ it’s 1999. We have had enough as a nation. You are not allowed to own a gun, and if you do own a gun I think you should go to prison.” Rosie O’Donnell (At about the time she said this, Rosie engaged the services of a bodyguard who applied for a gun permit.)

“Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option. Permitting could be an option — keep your gun but permit it.” Andrew Cuomo

“I do not believe in people owning guns. Guns should be owned only by [the] police and military. I am going to do everything I can to disarm this state.” Michael Dukakis

“If someone is so fearful that they are going to start using their weapons to protect their rights, it makes me very nervous that these people have weapons at all.” U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman

“In fact, the assault weapons ban will have no significant effect either on the crime rate or on personal security. Nonetheless, it is a good idea … Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic – purely symbolic – move in that direction. Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.” Charles Krauthammer, columnist, 4/5/96 Washington Post

“Ban the damn things. Ban them all. You want protection? Get a dog.” Molly Ivins, columnist, 7/19/94

“[To get a] permit to own a firearm, that person should undergo an exhaustive criminal background check. In addition, an applicant should give up his right to privacy and submit his medical records for review to see if the person has ever had a problem with alcohol, drugs or mental illness . . . The Constitution doesn’t count!” John Silber, former chancellor of Boston University and candidate for Governor of Massachusetts. Speech before the Quequechan Club of Fall River, MA. August 16, 1990

“I think you have to do it a step at a time and I think that is what the NRA is most concerned about. Is that it will happen one very small step at a time so that by the time, um, people have woken up, quote, to what’s happened, it’s gone farther than what they feel the consensus of American citizens would be. But it does have to go one step at a time and the banning of semiassault military weapons that are military weapons, not household weapons, is the first step.” Mayor Barbara Fass, Stockton, CA

“Handguns should be outlawed. Our organization will probably take this stand in time but we are not anxious to rouse the opposition before we get the other legislation passed.” Elliot Corbett, Secretary, National Council For A Responsible Firearms Policy (interview appeared in the Washington Evening Star on September 19, 1969)

“Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe.” Senator Diane Feinstein, 1993

“If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them… ‘Mr. and Mrs. America, turn ’em all in, I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren’t here.” U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes,” 2/5/95

“Banning guns is an idea whose time has come.” U.S. Senator Joseph Biden, 11/18/93, Associated Press interview

“Yes, I’m for an outright ban (on handguns).” Pete Shields, Chairman emeritus, Handgun Control, Inc., during a 60 Minutes interview.

“I am one who believes that as a first step, the United States should move expeditiously to disarm the civilian population, other than police and security officers, of all handguns, pistols, and revolvers… No one should have the right to anonymous ownership or use of a gun.” Professor Dean Morris, Director of Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, stated to the U.S. Congress

“I feel very strongly about it [the Brady Bill]. I think – I also associate myself with the other remarks of the Attorney General. I think it’s the beginning. It’s not the end of the process by any means.” William J. Clinton, 8/11/93

“The Brady Bill is the minimum step Congress should take…we need much stricter gun control, and eventually should bar the ownership of handguns, except in a few cases.” U.S. Representative William Clay, quoted in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on May 6, 1991.

“I don’t believe gun owners have rights.” Sarah Brady, Hearst Newspapers Special Report “Handguns in America”, October 1997

“We must get rid of all the guns.” Sarah Brady, speaking on behalf of HCI with Sheriff Jay Printz & others on “The Phil Donahue Show” September 1994

“The House passage of our bill is a victory for this country! Common sense wins out. I’m just so thrilled and excited. The sale of guns must stop. Halfway measures are not enough.” Sarah Brady 7/1/88

“I don’t care about crime, I just want to get the guns.” Senator Howard Metzenbaum, 1994

“We’re here to tell the NRA their nightmare is true…” U.S. Representative Charles Schumer, quoted on NBC, 11/30/93

“My bill … establishes a 6-month grace period for the turning in of all handguns.” U.S. Representative Major Owens, Congressional Record, 11/10/93

“I’m convinced that we have to have federal legislation to build on. We’re going to have to take one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily — given the political realities — going to be very modest. Of course, it’s true that politicians will then go home and say, ‘This is a great law. The problem is solved.’ And it’s also true that such statements will tend to defuse the gun-control issue for a time. So then we’ll have to strengthen that law, and then again to strengthen that law, and maybe again and again. Right now, though, we’d be satisfied not with half a loaf but with a slice. Our ultimate goal — total control of handguns in the United States — is going to take time. My estimate is from seven to ten years. The problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns sold in this country. The second problem is to get them all 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.”Nelson T. Shields of Hangun Control, Inc. as quoted in `New Yorker’ magazine July 26, 1976. Page 53f

“Our goal is to not allow anybody to buy a handgun. In the meantime, we think there ought to be strict licensing and regulation. Ultimately, that may mean it would require court approval to buy a handgun.” President of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Michael K. Beard, Washington Times 12/6/93 p.A1

“The sale, manufacture, and possession of handguns ought to be banned…We do not believe the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual the right to keep them.” The Washington Post – “Legal Guns Kill Too” – November 5, 1999

“There is no reason for anyone in the country, for anyone except a police officer or a military person, to buy, to own, to have, to use, a handgun. The only way to control handgun use in this country is to prohibit the guns. And the only way to do that is to Change the Constitution.” USA Today – Michael Gartner – Former president of NBC News – “Glut of Guns: What Can We Do About Them?” – January 16, 1992

“I would personally just say to those who are listening, maybe you want to turn in your guns,” Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, 2012

” 4. Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall have ninety days from such effective date to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution :

(1) Remove the assault weapon or large capacity magazine from the state of Missouri;

(2) Render the assault weapon permanently inoperable; or

(3) Surrender the assault weapon or large capacity magazine to the appropriate law enforcement agency for destruction, subject to specific agency regulations.” Legislation introduced in Missouri.2013

And you can repeat the exact same thing for Minnesota

“Since assault weapons are not a major contributor to US gun homicide and the existing stock of guns is large, an assault weapon ban is unlikely to have an impact on gun violence. If coupled with a gun buyback and no exemptions then it could be effective.” NIJ Memo on a new “Assault Weapon” Ban. 2013

“The sheriff of the county may, no more than once per year, conduct an inspection to ensure compliance with this subsection” (Warrantless searches by law enforcement?) Washington State Senate Bill 5737 (2013)

“the state of Iowa should take semi-automatic weapons away from Iowans who have legally purchased them prior to any ban that is enacted if they don’t give their weapons up in a buy-back program. Even if you have them, I think we need to start taking them,” Iowa state Rep. Dan Muhlbauer (D-Manilla) 2013

California Senate Bill 374 (Steinberg 2013) would expand the definition of “Assault Weapons” to include ALL semi-auto rifles (including rimfire calibers) that accept a detachable magazine.

SB374 would ban on the sale and possession of ALL Semi-Auto rifles and require registration to retain legal possession in the future. California Senate Bill 47 (Yee 2013) would expand the definition of “Assault Weapons” to include rifles that have been designed/sold and or equipped to use the “bullet button” or similar device.

SB47 would ban on the sale and possession of ALL those Semi-Auto rifles and require registration to retain legal possession in the future.

California Assembly Bill 174 (Bonta 2013) would ban the possession of any firearms that were “grandfathered “ for possession if registered in previous “Assault Weapons” gun control schemes.

Californians that trusted the State of California and registered their firearms will be required to surrender the firearms to the Government or face arrest. Passage of AB174 would make SB374/SB47 (above) into confiscation mandates .

California Senate Bill 396 (Hancock 2013) would ban the possession of any magazine with a capacity to accept more than 10 cartridges. ALL currently grandfathered “high-cap” magazines would become ILLEGAL to possess and the owners subject to arrest and the magazines confiscated. (“High-cap” means a capacity that has been standard, that the firearms were designed for, since the 40’s–AK pattern rifles–or 60’s–AR pattern rifles.)

“We want everything on the table. This is a moment of opportunity. There’s no question about it…We’re on a roll now, and I think we’ve got to take the–you know, we’re gonna push as hard as we can and as far as we can.” Illinois Rep Jan Schakowsky says assault rifle ban just the beginning, ‘moment of opportunity’ and seeks to ban handguns (2013).

“People who own guns are essentially a sickness in our souls who must be cleansed.” Colorado Senator (Majority Leader) John Morse. 2013 (Cleansed? “Final Solution” anyone?)

“We needed a bill that was going to confiscate, confiscate, confiscate.” Discussion among Senator Loretta Weinberg (D37), Senator Sandra Cunningham (D31), Senator Linda Greenstein (D14) of New Jersey’s State Legislature, May 9, 2013

“No one in this country should have guns.” Superior Court Judge, Robert C. Brunetti, Bristol, CT. September, 2013

Proposed Missouri Bill to ban “assault weapons“: 4. Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall have ninety days from such effective date to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution:

(1) Remove the assault weapon or large capacity magazine from the state of Missouri;

(2) Render the assault weapon permanently inoperable; or

(3) Surrender the assault weapon or large capacity magazine to the appropriate law enforcement agency for destruction, subject to specific agency regulations.

New York sends out Confiscation letters.

“It is extremely important that individuals in the state of California do not own assault weapons. I mean that is just so crystal clear, there is no debate, no discussion,” Leland Yee, California State Senator.

Shannon Watts (head of “Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense”): “@MikeBloomberg and I want guns gone. Period. It doesn’t matter what it takes.” (Twitter, 2014).

“Upon review of all the parties’ evidence, the court seriously doubts that the banned assault long guns are commonly possessed for lawful purposes, particularly self-defense in the home, which is at the core of the Second Amendment right, and is inclined to find the weapons fall outside Second Amendment protection as dangerous and unusual.” U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake. (The “assault weapons” being described are semi-automatic weapons–meaning one shot fired per pull of the trigger–of fairly modest power, near the low end of center fire rifles.) As for the claim that said weapons are not particularly useful for home defense. I address that here.

Bill introduced in Missouri House.

NJ.com editorial boards advocates for “mandatory gun buybacks”.http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/09/nj_gun_buyback_programs.html “So do all the voluntary gun buybacks you want. But until they are mandatory, and our society can see past its hysteria over “gun confiscation,” don’t expect it to make much difference.”



“Gun Surrender” without the anonymous provision:

“We’ll take that weapon into safekeeping as a matter of practice. It’s pretty easy,” he said of the surrender process. “We are working to find ways in which we can make it easier for people to turn in weapons and firearms.”

Callers will provide their name, telephone number and address, and the reason for surrender. Once the firearm has been checked to see if it was involved in a crime police will mark it for destruction.

(So, basically, people with illegal guns, or guns used in crime, will stay away in droves. The only purpose of such a provision is to take legally owned guns from people.)

Another shooting in another “gun-free zone” (Florida requires guns on college campuses to be locked up and cannot be carried) leads to calls for gun prohibition:

“I’m talking about flat-out banning the possession of handguns and assault rifles by individual citizens. I’m talking about repealing or amending the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

Another one who clings to the “The Second only applies to government ‘militias’” creed (never mind that the first time that came up was in the Miller case in 1939 and the Supreme Court’s decision, despite the government arguing their case unchallenged, was only on the basis of whether the weapon had a militia use, not whether the deceased Miller (why his side wasn’t even presented) had been a member of a proper militia and so, given the Supreme Court’s returning to the original, plain meaning of the Second in Heller and McDonald decisions sees only one possibility (recognizing the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is apparently not on the table):

“Repeal the stupid Second Amendment.” Article in Wisconsin Gazette.

Note: Normally I reserve this page for explicit calls for gun confiscation and the author of this article doesn’t explicitly call for such. But I figure a complete repeal of the 2nd could really only be for one purpose. So I’ll allow this one. I’m not, however, going to include every such call for repeal. Let this one stand for the idea. I’ll unbend occasionally when something is egregious enough, but this page is for calls for actual confiscation.

“An advisory panel charged with looking at public safety in the wake of the deadly Newtown school shooting agreed Friday to include in its final report a recommendation to ban the sale and possession of any gun that can fire more than 10 rounds without reloading.” (Banning possession means you can’t have it. I.e. they’ve taken it whether directly or by forcing you to get rid of it yourself.)

“Let’s say that one again: A gun-free society.” From an article in The Washington Post.

“In other words, yes, we really do want to take your guns.” Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.

“I urge President Obama to ban firearm possession in America. He is the president of the United States. He can change the country. He can do it today. I believe in him.” Opinion piece in Democrat & Chronicle, a Gannet Company (Gannet publishes a number of “mainstream” newspapers). This individual appears to be a bit weak on how lawmaking works in this country but the sentiment is there.

“I don’t know enough details to tell you how we would do it or how it would work, but certainly the Australia example is worth looking at,” Clinton said at a New Hampshire town hall on Friday. (“Australian example” is confiscation–they may pay what the government thinks is a “fair” amount, for it but the end result is that the gun is gone.)

Some older ones recently brought to my attention:

“Guns are a virus that must be eradicated.”—Dr. Katherine Christoffel, pediatrician, in American Medical News, January 3, 1994. In the 1990s Dr. Christoffel was the leader of the now-defunct HELP Network, a Chicago-based association of major medical organizations and grant seekers advancing gun control in the medical media. The name HELP was an acronym for Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan.

“Data on [assault weapons’] risks are not needed, because they have no redeeming social value.—Jerome Kassirer, M.D., former editor, New England Journal of Medicine, writing in vol. 326, no. 17, page 1161 (April 23, 1992).

“Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective way and, yes, it would require Americans who own those kinds of weapons to give them up for the good of their fellow citizens.” New York Times editorial

(Emphasis added in the above).

“Screw The NRA! It’s Time To REPEAL The Second Amendment Once And For All” This one’s a little harder to accept into this list. In the article they author claims not supporting summarily banning all firearms, but really, banning is the only justification for a repeal of the 2nd. Look, may think it’s unnecessary but the 2nd is there. Even if you don’t care for it, it does no harm unless you’re planning on banning. Therefore any call for a repeal of the 2nd Amendment is a call for prohibition and to “take your guns”. And saying that it’s not all the guns does not justify it.

“We should, that is, seek to ‘control’ access to them and their use. But even that’s not going far enough. We should get rid of them, that is, ban them. Guns create too many problems, promote too much fear, and lead to too many deaths to not consider banning them. Perhaps they were necessary at some point in our history, but let’s declare that that time has run its course.” Salon

“As a person of principle let me be very clear to any “conservatives” who troll the Kos for proof that liberals want to take away thier guns. Here you go conservatives: We liberals really do want to take away your guns and never let you have them back.“ They go into a lot of “ifs” after that, but they ring a little hollow after this bold statement.

“Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh … also provided his opinion of the Second Amendment, stating that ‘we should ban guns altogether, period.’” In a hidden camera interview.

“Needed: Domestic Disarmament, Not ‘Gun Control’ That headline pretty much says it all.

an guns. All guns. Get rid of guns in homes, and on the streets, and, as much as possible, on police. Not just because of San Bernardino, or whichever mass shooting may pop up next, but also not not because of those. Don’t sort the population into those who might do something evil or foolish or self-destructive with a gun and those who surely will not. As if this could be known—as if it could be assessed without massively violating civil liberties and stigmatizing the mentally ill. Ban guns! Not just gun violence. Not just certain guns. Not just already-technically-illegal guns. All of them. ” Article in The New Republic

“What has to go?

All magazine fed, self-loading firearms.

Yes, that means handguns too.

Yes, that includes your 4 shot Remington hunting rifle.

Yes, that includes rigid controls on police firearms.

Your 5 shot revolver can go home with you officer, your 17 shot handgun stays inside the armory of the police station. Armory, not your locker. Signed-in, signed-out, via proximity card reader, with real-time computer controls at the State and Federal levels.” Daily Kos

Note: this has now been reported to me as a satire piece. However, also note that it’s here at all from my habit of following back from secondary sources to the original source to avoid claims that the secondary source was just making it up. I didn’t twig to it’s satirical nature then because, no matter how over-the-top it was, it wasn’t over-the-top enough to exceed what extremists actually espouse (indeed, why somebody cited it in the first place). This is why “Poe’s Law” is a thing.

“We could use a President who was, like, ‘OK. Everybody turn in all your guns tomorrow by 5 p.m. After that, if I catch you with a gun then I’m sending SEAL Team Six to your house with a recent Facebook picture of you and those tanks that shoot fire that we haven’t used since Waco — Ummm — I mean since World War II.’” CNN Commentator

“Bans on the manufacture and sale of all semiautomatic and other military-style guns and government offers to buy back any rifle or pistol in circulation. It won’t solve the problem, but Australia proved that such programs can help reduce gun deaths.” NY Times writer Thomas L. Friedman (Anyone who invokes Australia is calling for confiscation.)

“179 (a) Notwithstanding Code Sections 16-11-115 and Code Section 16-11-116, any person

180 who possesses any assault weapon or large capacity magazine on July 1, 2016, shall have

1801until October 31, 2016, to accomplish any of the following actions without any prosecution

182 under the law:

183 (1) Modify such assault weapon or large capacity magazine to render it permanently

184 inoperable or such that it is no longer an assault weapon or large capacity magazine; or

185 (2) Surrender such assault weapon or large capacity magazine to the Georgia Bureau of

186 Investigation for destruction pursuant to this part.

187 (b) Notwithstanding Code Section 16-11-115 and Code Section 16-11-116, any person

188 who relocates his or her residence to this state and who possesses an assault weapon or

189 large capacity magazine or who comes to possess such assault weapon or large capacity

190 magazine through probate shall, within 90 days of establishing such residency or the

191 closing of such probate, modify such assault weapon or large capacity magazine to render

192 it permanently inoperable or such that it is no longer an assault weapon or large capacity

193 magazine or surrender such assault weapon or large capacity magazine to the Georgia

194 Bureau of Investigation for destruction pursuant to this part”

“Given that even micro gun control measures will be effectively blocked by the NRA and its allies, and that promoting mini measures as potentially effective is misleading, progressives may as well go for the big enchilada: Call for domestic disarmament.”

“If I could I would take all the guns in America, put them on big barges, and go dump them in the ocean,” says Walker in the above video from the Oregonian. “Nobody would have a gun. Not police, not security, not anybody. We should eliminate all of them.” Multnomah County Circuit (Oregon) Judge Kenneth Walker

Just passed by the Oregon State House of Representatives (and note that it’s a Senate Bill, so at least some form has passed both houses):

“SECTION 2. (1) A law enforcement officer or a family or household member of a person may file a petition requesting that the court issue an extreme risk protection order enjoining the person from having in the person’s custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing or receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, a deadly weapon.

…

SECTION 6. (1) Upon issuance of an extreme risk protection order under section 2 of this 2017 Act, the court shall further order that the respondent:

(a) Within 24 hours surrender all deadly weapons in the respondent’s custody, control or possession to a law enforcement agency, a gun dealer or a third party who may lawfully possess the deadly weapons; and

(b) Within 24 hours surrender to a law enforcement agency any concealed handgun license issued to the respondent under ORS 166.291 and 166.292.”

So basically any any law enforcement officer or disgruntled family or household member, on their word alone, can strip someone of their rights. Doesn’t even require review by qualified medical personnel. Someone with no qualifications in the field can simply say “I think…” and boom, rights gone. This whole “due process” before stripping someone of their rights seems to be forgotten.

According to Bret Stephens, Op-Ed Columnist for the New York Times: “There is only one way to do this: Repeal the Second Amendment.” Elsewhere in the article, regarding “buy-backs” he says: “Nor will it do to follow the “Australian model” of a gun buyback program, which has shown poor results in the United States and makes little sense in a country awash with hundreds of millions of weapons. Keeping guns out of the hands of mentally ill people is a sensible goal, but due process is still owed to the potentially insane. Background checks for private gun sales are another fine idea, though its effects on homicides will be negligible: guns recovered by police are rarely in the hands of their legal owners, a 2016 study found.” (So exactly how is he expecting to get those guns he fears so much out of private hands? Outright confiscation? Depriving people of their property without either due process or fair compensation, the two protections guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. Well, if you’re going to eliminate one of the Bill of Rights, it’s just as easy to eliminate others while you’re in there, right?)

Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama “‘We are nibbling around the edges instead of proposing bold, meaningful solutions,’ Pfeiffer wrote. His suggestions included implementing a national gun registry, mandating ‘smart-gun technology,’ and rolling-out a buy-back program similar to Australia’s.” “Similar to Australia’s” IOW, manadatory confiscation with whatever the government decides is “just compensation.”

Boston Globe Columnist David Scharfenberg in his article “Hand over your Weapons” concludes with: “Ultimately, if gun-control advocates really want to stanch the blood, there’s no way around it: They’ll have to persuade more people of the need to confiscate millions of those firearms, as radical as that idea may now seem.” (In the article he talks about a buyback, at about $500 each of some 60 million guns. Only 60 million is a conservative, very conservative, estimate of gun owners. The number of guns in private hands is upwards of 300 million, that too a conservative estimate, so at $500 each, that would cost $150 billion dollars.)

Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsome tweeted:

“It’s been 5 years since 20 first graders were shot dead at Sandy Hook. Since then:

14 killed in San Bernardino

49 killed in Orlando

58 killed in Vegas

26 killed in a Texas church

Enough.

We have a message for the @ NRA: If you hurt people, we ARE coming for your guns.”

(Note that four of those five locations were “gun free zones”. There is a reason for that.)

Sorry, some of your guns have got to go….I’ve heard your arguments against all that I’ve said here, but the body count of innocent people keeps getting higher no matter how many ‘good guys’ have guns” (Actually, violent crime is down. The “higher body count” is in places where the good guys are forbidden from bringing their guns, but, of course, the bad guys don’t care.)

CNN “analyst” Kirsten Powers wants to ban semi-autos and handguns:

“‘I want it let you respond to what Kirsten said earlier about the AR-15 and semiautomatic weapons, pointing the blame at them,’ Tapper asked. ‘I don’t think you agree?’

“‘Well, is the answer to ban them?’ Ham asked.

“’Yes,’ Powers responded.” (See link for what she says about handguns.)

Editorial at Portland Press Herald: “We need to stand up to the NRA and push for what is so desperately needed: a complete ban on firearms.” Doesn’t get any more clear than that.

Minnesota Bill Introduced 2018: “Expand the definition of an “assault weapon” to include many semiautomatic pistols, rifles or shotguns and makes possessing them a felony, with the exception of some that were legally registered before February 2018. Those owning a grandfathered assault weapon must undergo a background check, renew their registration annually, and use them only on their property or at a shooting range. Such weapons could not be sold or transferred, only surrendered to law enforcement for destruction.” Even ignoring the “possessing” part the inability to transfer makes it a ban with delayed enforcement.

East Lansing School District has made an official resolution which includes: “Whereas, no civilian should ever be allowed to purchase, possess or use a weapon of mass destruction, including but not limited to automatic and semi-automatic guns, nor be allowed to purchase, possess or use any magazine, clip or other tool designed to deliver rapid-fire ammunition without the need to reload;” (That’s the vast majority of all firearms in American and pretty much anything but single-shot firearms.)

“Kerry Picket, Sirius XM Patriot: ‘Now some would argue that then guns and ammunition would only be available to those with money, those who are wealthy. And that those who are in the lower classes as far as financial terms are concerned would not be able to afford such weapons. Tell me about that.’

“Congressman Danny Davis (D-Ill.): ‘Well I would be just as pleased if neither group were able to get them [guns]. So what I am saying is it doesn’t pose an issue for me because I would like to outlaw them altogether. I am saying I would like to make it where nobody except military personnel would ever have access to these weapons. So it wouldn’t bother me that one category of people couldn’t get them even if the other one was willing to pay the high price for them. Then we use that money for services that are needed and people could make use of them.’

“Picket: ‘So rich people only could own firearms?’

“Congressman Davis: ‘So if rich people could only get firearms then only rich people would be able to pay the price. And if that could prevent some people from getting them, I would want to prevent all people from getting them. But if rich people were willing, and would continue to pay the high price then I’d be happy that we kept the other group from getting them.'” Audio of interview included at this link.

An article at VOX.COM: “Realistically, a gun control plan that has any hope of getting us down to European levels of violence is going to mean taking a huge number of guns away from a huge number of gun owners.”

House Bill effectively a delayed ban on the vast majority of firearms in the US: “The bill prohibits the ‘sale, transfer, production, and importation’ of semi-automatic rifles and pistols that can hold a detachable magazine, as well as semi-automatic rifles with a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds. Additionally, the legislation bans the sale, transfer, production, and importation of semi-automatic shotguns with features such as a pistol grip or detachable stock, and ammunition feeding devices that can hold more than 10 rounds.” By banning the transfer they are, in effect, creating a delayed ban. As soon as the current owner of a covered firearm (most of those in the US) dies or otherwise is unable to keep the firearm it cannot be passed on to someone else–like ones heirs. That gun is then gone and no more can replace it.

Daryl Fisher (A Democrat candidate for Sheriff in Buncombe County NC): “Any weapon that is designed for use by the military I think we should ban. You’ve heard people say you have to pry my gun from my cold dead hands. [shrugs] OK.” (Up front about willing to kill to take people’s guns.) What is interesting to note is that while my 1893 Argentine Bolt Action (an antique, old enough that it’s not even regulated by the ATF), my Mosin Nagant rifle, and various other bolt actions, including the extremely popular Remingtin 700 have been used by the US and other militaries, that AR-15 is not (the similar appearing M-16 and M-4, both having full auto or “burst” fire that the AR-15 lacks, are different beasts).

Going back in time a bit, to a bill Senator Diane Feinstein introduced in 2013. “‘The purpose is to dry up the supply of these weapons over time,’ Feinstein said. ‘Therefore, there is no sunset on this bill.'” After all, ending transfer of the firearms means that when, for whatever reason (including eventual death) a person cannot own their existing weapon it has to be surrendered. A slow confiscation over time is still a confiscation.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif “In a USA Today op-ed entitled ‘Ban assault weapons, buy them back, go after resisters,’ Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., argued Thursday that prior proposals to ban assault weapons ‘would leave millions of assault weapons in our communities for decades to come.'”

Deerfield, IL bans possession of “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines” with a $1000 per day fine if residents fail to comply. As of this writing (June 20, 2018) they have two weeks to turn them over or. This isn’t just a 2nd Amendment issue, but a 5th Amendment (“nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law”–and simply passing a law saying you can’t have it doesn’t qualify as “due process”).

Editorial in the Houston Chronicle claims “Every Gun is an Assault Weapon” (and thus should be banned): “But as long as we continue to condone personal firearms of any shape or size, we’ll remain trapped in a brutal, heart-breaking version of ‘Groundhog Day.'”

NBC News reported: “WASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman [ed: Eric Swalwell, D-CA] has proposed outlawing “military-style semiautomatic assault weapons” and forcing existing owners to sell their weapons or face prosecution, a major departure from prior gun control proposals that typically exempt existing firearms.” And when challenged on possible armed resistance to such a mandatory “buy back” (which would violate both the 2nd and 5th–deprive of property without due process of law) said that the government has nukes. Yep, suggested (and even as a joke?) nuking American citizens who resist his gun confiscation proposal.

Former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg as reported in the Aspen Times: “Bloomberg claimed that 95 percent of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he said.

“‘These kids think they’re going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed,’ Bloomberg said. ‘They just don’t have any long-term focus or anything. It’s a joke to have a gun. It’s a joke to pull a trigger.'” Anti-gun and racist all in one.

One of many proposals in Virginia (including “Red Flag Laws” which deprive people of property without due process): “Delegate Kathy Tran and Senator Adam Ebbin will patron legislation to ban the sale, purchase, possession, and transport of assault firearms in the Commonwealth. The bill also modifies the definition of assault firearm to any firearm that is equipped with a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition.” This basically, would immediately render the vast majority of handguns illegal, affecting millions of law-abiding gun owners.

Hawaii State legislature passes resolution calling for the repeal of the 2nd Amendment:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to propose and adopt a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution pursuant to article V of the United States Constitution to clarify the constitutional right to bear arms; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Congress is requested to consider and discuss whether the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution should be repealed or amended to clarify that the right to bear arms is a collective, rather than individual, constitutional right; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Members of the Hawaii congressional delegation, and the Governor.

This, of course, is meaningless drivel without 2/3 of the House, 2/3 or the Senate (or a convention called by 2/3 of the States) and 3/4 of the State legislatures. But this list isn’t about how successful they are at taking guns, but the desire–want to take your guns. And, given that the courts have (wrongly, IMO) allowed many restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms without its repeal, the only reason to call for its repeal is as a prelude for complete prohibition.

And we just knew that the Freshman Congresswoman from New York Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez would “weigh in” on the subject: “You know, instead of training children, teachers, houses of faith, & concertgoers to prep for being shot, we could just:

-Pass Universal Background checks ( # HR8!)

-Disarm domestic abusers

-Mandate safe storage

-Ban bump stocks, semiautos, & high cap mags designed to kill people”

(Never mind that a number of those things are already law.)

And Eric Swalwell is at it again:

“I’m not calling for confiscation. What I’m saying is we should invest in the buyback, that we should restrict any weapons that aren’t bought back to gun clubs, hunting clubs, shooting ranges. Keep them there, where it is safe, not on our streets. And if you are caught, just like, if you were caught with drugs or anything else, they have probable cause to go into your home and you have one of these weapons, yes, you’d be prosecuted.” (You have to turn them in, if you don’t we’ll come search your home and you’ll be prosecuted for having them…but it’s not a confiscation. Yeah. Right.)

California bill would expand “red flag laws” for “temporary” gun confiscation: “AB 61 would expand this to include school employees such as guidance counselors and teachers as well as the employers and co-workers of a subject.” Anyone who decides, for whatever reason, that they think you’re a “danger” can have armed men come to your house and take your guns. Due process? What due process? Oh, if you’re lucky, and you can find a friendly judge, and spend enough money on lawyers you might get them back later. Maybe. Oh, filing a false affidavit is a misdemeanor but how do you prove that the person filing the affidavit didn’t believe you were a threat? The only criteria is that they have to claim to believe you were a threat, not provide any actual evidence that you are.

Senator and Presidential hopeful Cory Booker wants sweeping gun and magazine bans and thinks folk who do not comply should be thrown in jail.

Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison, when questioned on, if certain semi-automatic rifles are so dangerous as to be banned, why allow people who already have them to keep them if they pay a fine and register them responded. “Maybe we’ll just have a confiscation and you won’t have to worry about having to pay a fine.”

Democrat Congressional Candidate (NY-27) Nate MacMurray tweeted: “YEP. I’M COMING FOR YOUR AR15 You heard me. No apologies.”

Democrat Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson: Williamson, an author and an activist by trade, proposed the following: enacting universal background checks, closing “the loopholes,” outlawing the AR-15, banning bump stocks (which have already been banned), putting serial numbers on bullets and… “When we outlaw them [ARs] there will be so many millions on the street, so we need to stop selling the ammunition. We need to stop producing the ammunition for the AR-15,” she explained. No word on which of the many calibers which AR pattern rifles have been chambered for are to be banned.

Democrat Presidential Candidate Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, when asked how, under his Presidency, the government would take semi-automatic firearms containing certain cosmetic features (common called “assault weapons”) from gun owners responded: “I want to be really clear that that’s exactly what we are going to do.” The candidate later shared that quote on Twitter, adding: “We need to ‘buy back’ every single assault weapon.” Mind you you can’t buy “back” something that you never sold in the first place, but that’s a minor point. The main one is that exchanging some modest sum of money that you simply declare as a “fair value” in a mandatory “buy back”–“sell” the gun back or go to jail–is confiscation pure and simple. The money does not change that. And, to be quite blunt, we can go back to basic economics. A “fair value” is one where the parties to an exchange mutually agree to make the change without coercion. The fact that he has to make it mandatory, bringing government coercion to play, to even get a small fraction of the guns turned in, demonstrates that it is not a “fair value.” Confiscation pure and simple.

Novelist Jim Wright (normally I wouldn’t bother with “some guy on twitter” but with a published novelist with more than 100,000 followers, I’ll include him here): “Here’s the thing America: we ARE coming for your guns.”

The new Virginia Legislature as of this writing (November 2019) has just offered the first of what I’m sure will be many updates to this list (long enough I’ll actually use block quote here so you can get the full impact)t:

§ 18.2-308.8. Importation, sale, possession, etc., of assault firearms prohibited; penalty.

A. For the purposes of this section:

“Assault firearm” means:

1. A semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 10 rounds;

2. A semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the rifle; (iii) a thumbhole stock; (iv) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand; (v) a bayonet mount; (vi) a grenade launcher; (vii) a flare launcher; (viii) a silencer; (ix) a flash suppressor; (x) a muzzle brake; (xi) a muzzle compensator; (xii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting (a) a silencer, (b) a flash suppressor, (c) a muzzle brake, or (d) a muzzle compensator; or (xiii) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (xii);

3. A semi-automatic center-fire pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 10 rounds;

4. A semi-automatic center-fire pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a thumbhole stock; (iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand; (iv) the capacity to accept a magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip; (v) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the pistol with the non-trigger hand without being burned; (vi) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; (vii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting (a) a silencer, (b) a flash suppressor, (c) a barrel extender, or (d) a forward handgrip; or (viii) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (vii);

5. A shotgun with a revolving cylinder that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material; or

6. A semi-automatic shotgun that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock, (ii) a thumbhole stock, (iii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the shotgun, (iv) the ability to accept a detachable magazine, (v) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds, or (vi) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (v).

“Assault firearm” includes any part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert, modify, or otherwise alter a firearm into an assault firearm, or any combination of parts that may be readily assembled into an assault firearm. “Assault firearm” does not include (i) a firearm that has been rendered permanently inoperable, (ii) an antique firearm as defined in § 18.2-308.2:2, or (iii) a curio or relic as defined in § 18.2-308.2:2.

B. It shall be is unlawful for any person to import, sell, possess or transfer the following firearms: the Striker 12, commonly called a “streetsweeper,” or any semi-automatic folding stock shotgun of like kind with a spring tension drum magazine capable of holding twelve shotgun shells , manufacture, purchase, possess, or transport an assault firearm. A violation of this section shall be is punishable as a Class 6 felony.

This eliminates a huge number of very common rifles, shotguns and handguns in common use, most of these “assault firearm” features have little to no influence on criminal use (exactly how many criminal bayonet attacks have there been in the past decade or so). Note that there is no grandfather clause. If this passes, anyone who owns firearms with those characteristics has to either surrender the firearm, destroy it, or transfer it out of state. A taking of private property without either due process or just compensation (5th Amendment violation.

Former Vice President and Democrat Presidential Candidate Joe Biden: “Why should we allow people to have military-style weapons including pistols with 9-mm bullets and can hold 10 or more rounds?” Not allow people to have literally the most common caliber handgun in America?

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace defends Joe Biden’s stance on guns: “I understand that Republicans will say that Joe Biden wants to take away your Second Amendment rights,” Wallace added. “The only problem with that is, Biden has made it clear over and over [that] he’s not interested in taking away Second Amendment rights, he’s interested in taking away weapons of mass destruction like assault weapons.” Right. Putting semi-automatic rifles (possibly the best home-defense weapon one can get) on the same footing with nukes, bio-weapons, and poison gas. One “bang” per trigger function in the same class as a B83 Nuclear Bomb? Go home, Chris. And note that one just. above. this. one. Biden’s on record as wanting to eliminate pistols in the most common caliber in the world?

“But nobody wants to take our guns?”