While We Weren’t Watching [Reader post]

While we weren’t watching, a new bill has been introduced into the House.

Bobby Rush-IL has introduced HR 45 on 1/6/2009. Currently, there are no co-sponsors and the bill has been referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

And here it is.

Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 – Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.

Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.

Prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions; (2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act; (3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours; (4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.

Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.

Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse; (2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and (3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.

Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.

He wants to penalize people to require licensing for firearms. This includes precludes the free transfer of firearms. This would require all firearm sales to go through a licensed dealer. Even private party sales.

Lose or have your gun stolen? Report it in 72 hours or face jail time.

Move? Well, you now have to report that move to the government.

And while the media and the people are paying attention to the horrendous “stimulus” package, this has been completely ignored.

It is the beginning of control. However, if you look at these statistics, you have to wonder where the world will be with people like this trying to “save” us.

All data is for 2005, unless noted. Here’s the leading causes of death from the CDC.

Heart disease: 652,091
Cancer: 559,312
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 143,579
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 130,933
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 117,809
Diabetes: 75,119
Alzheimer’s disease: 71,599
Influenza/Pneumonia: 63,001
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 43,901
Septicemia: 34,136

For firearms, there were 30,964 deaths. These include all forms of death.

Out of those 30,964 deaths, 17,002 were suicides. Note that is over half of all deaths caused by firearms.

There were 13,962 homicides. These were intentional.

There were 789 deaths related to firearms considered unintentional. This would be accidental discharge, children playing with firearms, etc.

Now, here’s the striking part. You cannot regulate suicide. If the firearms weren’t available, you would have to assume that most of those suicides would have been completed using other means.

As for homicides, you have to conclude the same. While not quite as easy and expedient, the majority of those killings would still be committed.

And then we get to the crux of the argument. Those 789 people who lost their lives in 2005 due to unintentional accidents. Not all would be children.

So, look at the figures up above. Those account for 1,819,881 deaths. Then there’s transportation deaths of 47,894. Deaths by Poisoning: 32,691. Deaths by Alcohol: 21,081.

The total number of deaths was 2,448,017.

They want to regulate guns because of 789 accidental deaths. Those deaths, while each tragic, represents so few deaths compared to the other leading causes.

So the question is, where does big brother end? If they are willing to remove the rights for “our good”, then why isn’t the government taking on the responsibility of the other causes of death. At what point will the government manage caloric intake and mandate exercise, as those are two contributing factors Diabetes and Heart Disease.

Where is their outrage over people’s decisions to take their own lives in their own hands?

And where is the outrage of this attack on the Second Amendment?

I, for one, will be calling my representative early next week to state my displeasure. We must not let them take more rights away while they continue to reward failure.