Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing & Record of Sale Act requires that within the first two years of its enactment, all new guns be registered and it would become retroactive after two years, meaning all firearms in a citizen’s possession would have to be registered. If passed, this legislation wouldn't only apply to guns purchased after the bill's enactment, it would apply to every gun in circulation -- even antique firearms -- because there would be no grandfather clause.
To complicate the legislation even further, every five years the firearm owner must go through a complete renewal process for each weapon owned. Failure to register just one gun in a collection, for example, would carry stiff penalties, including the confiscation of all of the owner's firearms and possible prison time for up to ten years.
Despite the liberal outrage over unwarranted government searches such as those outlined under the PATRIOT Act, this bill authorizes government searches for weapons without a warrant and creates a federal bureaucracy to oversee firearm possession and registration.
Opponents of this legislation say it will not prevent gun crimes, nor will it keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. They say the creation of a gun owner database makes it easier for government to strip citizens of their right to bear arms. For a gun-owner's perspective of HR 45, About.com's Guide to Hunting and Shooting, Russ Chastain, has an excellent article on the subject here.
Index to the 2009 Liberal Agenda:
- DC Voting Rights Act
- Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act
- Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act
- Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Improvements Act
- Employee Free Choice Act
