Florida Gun Control:
 
The Florida legislature passed SB 7026 a $400 million gun control measure, which will now proceed to Florida’s Governor, Rick Scott.  Here is what you need to know about the measure:
 

  • The minimum age to purchase rifles and shotguns would be raised from 18 to 21.
  • A three day waiting period would be imposed on the purchase of any firearm, with exceptions for law enforcement officers, members of the military, licensed hunters, and persons with concealed carry licenses.
  • Bump stocks would be banned.
  • Certain school personnel, other than full-time class room teachers, would be permitted to carry firearms, under certain circumstances.
  • The bill does not ban the sale of “assault weapons” or “high capacity” magazines (an amendment to do that was rejected).

 
Governor Rick Scott has not yet indicated publicly whether he will sign the measure, according to wide-spread media reports.
 
H.R. 5103: This bill, sponsored by Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL07), would expand the definition of “firearm” pursuant to the National Firearms Act (“NFA”) to include a “semiautomatic pistol chambered for cartridges commonly considered rifle rounds, configured with receivers commonly associated with rifles and capable of accepting detachable magazines.”  This would represent the first time that additional categories of firearms were added to the definition of “firearms” subject to regulation pursuant to the NFA. This expansion of the definition of “firearms” subject to regulation pursuant to the NFA illustrates the ill-conceived efforts of Congress to further restrict Second Amendment rights.  This bill would also increase the excise tax on all firearms to 20 percent (the current rates are 10 percent for pistols and revolvers and 11 percent for all other firearms) and increase the excise tax on ammunition from 11 percent to 50 percent.   In addition, it would require that these excise taxes be used to fund “gun violence prevention activity” programs, instead of the conservation programs they were originally designed to fund.  This is clearly directed at diverting excise taxes away from the conservation purposes for which they were originally enacted, and converting them into “sin taxes,” similar to those imposed on cigarettes, alcohol, and other products the government feels should not be used by anyone, regardless of the individual’s freedom to do so.
 
H.R. 5106: This bill, by Gregory Meeks (D-NY05), would require any “issuer” regulated by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to disclose “any substantial financial relationship such issuer has with any manufacturer or dealer of firearms or ammunition.” These disclosures are presumably being added to allow investors to target companies with such relationships for boycotts or other actions, including demands for mutual funds or similar investment vehicles to stop purchasing these stocks.