Bill Carter

Carter's Country Outdoor Stores

Houston

September, 2003

GUN RIGHTS ON A ROLL?

The national media has reported that “Gun Rights Are On A Roll” and there is quite a bit of positive news out there for the firearms industry and gun owners.  Over 30 states have followed Texas’ lead by passing legislation that protects the firearms industry from municipalities’ frivolous lawsuits. Governors in Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico have all signed laws requiring local authorities to issue concealed carry permits.

The U. S. House passed H.B. 1036 by a two to one margin that protects firearms manufacturers, distributors and dealers from lawsuits that seek to hold our

industry liable for criminal acts with guns.  However, the Senate version, S.B. 659, is meeting a lot more resistance with some senators threatening a filibuster to stop the bill.

We should savor all the good news but not become overconfident, because the gun ban groups have not given up on their agenda to sue, hassle, pass anti-gun legislation and pressure our regulators to issue rulings that put Gun Dealers’ and Gun Owners’ freedom in harms way.

Case in point is the ruling by BATFE that classifies or demonizes gun dealers by the number of traces they receive in a one-year period.  The BATFE continues to draw the line between good gun dealers and crime gun dealers at over 15 gun traces that have been in the market place 3 years or less.  This ruling fails to take into account the total number of guns sold by the FFL.  Obviously a dealer who sells or transfers 10,000 guns a year will have more traces than the dealer who sells 100 guns a year. 

Even more troubling is the recent strategy of the gun-ban lawyers of bringing the battle to gun dealers and gun owners by the Freedom of Information Act requests that threaten our privacy with release of trace and purchase records.  If the gun-ban lawyers succeed the floodgates will open.  BATFE trace and purchase data will be used in courtrooms all over our country.  If you, the gun owner, ever wondered what happened to that handgun you sold at a Gun Show, news of its travels may be coming to a courtroom near you.  It does not take a crystal ball to see where this is headed.  If the anti-gun groups can sue the gun industry for criminal acts of third parties, they can certainly sue you, the gun owner, too.

Now is our chance to take the battle out of the courtrooms of activist judges and put it back before our elected legislators where it belongs.

You can count on your Texas Gun Dealers Association and the NRA grass roots clout to oppose this very real threat to gun owners’ rights.