NWV News - Media Ignores White House Ban On Military Surplus Guns

MEDIA IGNORES WHITE HOUSE BAN ON MILITARY SURPLUS GUNS

By NWV News Writer Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
September 3, 2013
© 2013 NewsWithViews.com

With the national -- and most local -- news organizations breathlessly covering President Barack Obama's slow march to war against Syria, he managed on Thursday to find time to perform what he believes is his primary duty: not disarming Bashar al-Assad's or the al-Qaeda rebels killing and maiming innocent Syrians, but disarming law-abiding Americans and US businesses who sell firearms, according to a number of firearms legal experts and police advisors.

The White House surprised the so-called "gun lobby" with two new executive actions, that include a measure that targets the import of military surplus weapons which is the raison d'être of many gun collectors in America, former police firearms instructor Jeff Kingridge told NewsWithViews.com.

"Without evidence of one case in which a legitimate military gun collector's firearms purchased from a military-surplus store were used in a homicide, our current president has taken it upon himself to pass laws that are constitutionally questionable with input from congress, said Kingridge.

"Vice President Joe Biden was chosen to make the announcement about the new rules, which Obama added to the list of actions the White House already determined the president may take without congressional approval," he added.

Obama's gun-control measures by fiat are the president's reaction to Congress declining to pass any gun control legislation in the aftermath of mass-shooting including Newton, Conn., school massacre.

“This administration should get serious about prosecuting violent criminals who misuse guns and stop focusing its efforts on law-abiding gun owners,” said National Rifle Association spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam.

“Requiring background checks for corporations and trusts does not keep firearms out of the hands of criminals,” Arulanandam noted. “Prohibiting the re-importation of firearms into the U.S. that were manufactured 50 or more years ago does not keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.”

“This administration should get serious about prosecuting violent criminals who misuse guns and stop focusing its efforts on law-abiding gun owners,” he added.

Meanwhile, in President Barack Obama's hometown area, the sheriff of Cook County, Ill., which includes the adopted hometown of Obama, Chicago, according to Fox News on Sunday, embarked on his latest program to reduce violence and crime in the Windy City and its suburbs: disarming people living in his jurisdiction, police firearms expert Hadley Beecham told the Law Enforcement Examiner.

The Democratic Party's Sheriff Thomas Dart created a task force of deputies he's charged with seizing firearms from several thousand gun owners who have had their right to own firearms revoked.

According to Beecham, the state of Illinois requires residents seeking to purchase firearms for sport or protection to obtain a Firearms Owners Indentification Card (FOID) in order to qualify as a legal gun buyer. Gun sellers are required to verify the identity of all buyers and the authenticity of their FOID.

"After the Illinois State Police officials notify Sheriff Dart's office of revocations of FOIDs, his special team of 'gun grabbers' is dispatched to confiscate the firearms and ammunition of the now illegal gun owner," Beecham explained.

The police and sheriff's deputies allow those whose FOIDs have been revoked to voluntarily surrender their rifles, handguns and shotguns. However, Sheriff Dart claims that as many as 3,000 Cook County residents have so far not surrendered their revoked Firearm Owners Identification Card, or FOID, which is required.

Under the management of devoted Obama supporter, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, city cops regularly conduct 'dragnets' to gather revoked FOID cards and take guns from the owners, but there wasn’t a big push to do the same thing in the suburbs until now, Dart reportedly told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“The system is broken,” the sheriff said. “The system revokes cards, but the guns are of no consequence. . . . Our strong hope is that we will eliminate tragedies.”

However, not all sheriffs and law enforcement executives feel the same was as Dart, according to an Examiner news story.

A growing number of the nation’s law enforcement officials are already refusing to partake in unconstitutional actions ordered by the federal government or state politicians.

For example, in February, the sheriff of Linn County, Ore., sent a preemptive letter to Vice President Joe Biden announcing his intention to refuse to enforce federal regulations “offending the constitutional rights of [Linn County] citizens.”

According to his letter to Biden, Sheriff Tim Mueller will also prohibit his department’s “enforcement of any unconstitutional regulations or orders by federal officers” within his jurisdiction.

And it's not only sheriffs who are openly opposing new gun regulations: Several state legislatures have passed laws preventing local law enforcement officers from enforcing unconstitutional laws such as federal gun-control laws including Utah, South Dakota, Tennessee, Idaho and others.

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Recently, Kentucky and Wyoming introduced similar firearms legislation.

"The Constitutional County Sheriff’s Association is in the process of publishing a list of the Constitutional County Sheriffs in individuals states who have taken an oath to seriously refuse to enforce laws that violate the Constitution such as gun laws being proposed by President Barack Obama and members of both houses of the U.S. Congress," according to Keith Broaders, the administrator for the CCSA.

"Every Sheriff is required by law to take an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. This is not just a suggestion, it is the duty of the Sheriff to enforce just laws and refuse to enforce laws that are not," according to Broaders.