Monday, January 31, 2011

Rep. Laura Richardson(NSD-CA, no surprise) thinks she

and the other politicians are very special; from her HR367:
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from knowingly carrying a firearm in, or within 250 feet of an entrance to or exit from, a building or structure, or at, or within 500 feet of, any other place, where a Member of Congress is performing an official and representational duty or engaging in campaign activity as a candidate for federal, state, or local office, if there are visible at such distances signs which clearly and conspicuously state that a Member will be present and the time the Member will be present. Specifies exceptions, including pursuant to the express written permission of the Member or the chief of police of the locality involved.

Requires a 10% reduction in funds a state would receive for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a fiscal year if the state fails to have in effect by the specified compliance date laws and policies that similarly prohibit individuals from knowingly possessing firearms near a venue at which an elected or appointed state or local official is performing an official and representational duty or campaigning for public office.

Part of the findings includes "Fear of gun violence at events where elected representatives are performing their official or representational duties has a chilling effect on our democracy." If you were driving down the street in front of a building where a Congressman was campaigning and you had a loaded firearm in your car, you would be in violation of this law if it were to be passed.
As I recall, this was the kind of bullshit thrown out with the 'not having a gun within 1000 feet of a school' law some years back; the fact that if you lived within that distance of a school or were driving by you could be arrested for having a gun was properly declared idiotic. And this really goes into the idiotic category, PLUS the threat of "If you don't pass a state law that does the same for state/local officials, we'll take money away from you".

No Lawyers has a roundup of the Good, Bad and Ugly current legislation affecting firearms, including HR308 from McCarthy, on which bill SiH has a breakdown of how it's pretty much a total ban on any magazine OF ANY KIND that holds more cartridges than the gun bigots like. Including actual antique firearms who have a nasty 'high-capacity' tube magazine.

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