A Democrat representing Michigan's 15th State House District has introduced legislation to further restrict gun rights in the state.
House Bill 6544 which was introduced earlier this month seeks to ban so-called “assault weapons”, and force those who already own such firearms to register them – and reregister them every five years.
The criteria that the bill's author uses to define a firearm as an “assault weapon” are as follows:
“(i) A pistol grip or thumbhole stock.
(ii) Any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the nontrigger hand.
(iii) A folding or telescoping stock.
(iv) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned, but excluding a slide that encloses the barrel.”
Per a statement released by his office, Representative Pepper shared the following reasoning for authoring such legislation:
“I clearly promised when I took office that gun safety — meaning keeping citizens safe from guns that have a primary purpose to kill people, safe from the lawless use of guns, and safe from guns being in the hands of people who lack the training, mental capacity or maturity to properly handle them — would be a legislative priority for me. I have always stressed that people should be free to go to the grocery store or the theater or their children's graduations or any public space without being intimidated by the guy in camo lurking over there with an AR-15 slung across his shoulder. These bills are but the first step in making Michigan safer.
“If the federal government won't reinstate the automatic weapons ban that drastically reduced gun violence in the '90s, then it's time we take it into our own hands. I look forward to hearing how new leadership in the House next term will accomplish the long-term policy goals we have all worked so hard to push forward in the minority.”
Michigan isn't alone in trying to enact such legislation. Similar legislation also received consideration in Illinois this week. President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for such a ban at the federal level, despite the assault weapons ban that was in place from 1994 to 2004 not yielding tangible results.
As noted by the National Rifle Association's Institue for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA):
“A 2004 U.S. Department of Justice-funded study of the 1994 “assault weapons” ban found that, “relatively few attacks involve more than 10 shots fired.” The study went on to add, “it is not clear how often the outcomes of gun attacks depend on the ability to fire more than 10 shots (the current limit on magazine capacity) without reloading.”
Representative Pepper is currently serving his first term in office after being first elected in May of this year. His district encompasses the city of Dearborn. His bill has been introduced and gone through a first reading.
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Which part of “Shall not be infringed” does the a**hole not understand?
It’s not that he doesn’t understand. It’s that he simply doesn’t care.
From what I’ve just read, no of that is an assault weapon. An assault weapon is fully automatic. One can micky mouse any semi automatic as an assault weapon.
Exactly.
Mike – there ain’t no such thing as an “assault weapon” – see Art Agnos for the origin of that wholly made up term. An ‘assault rifle’ HAS a specific military definition (term invented by Hitler no less) and can be either full auto or select fire.
josh sugarmann (look him up if needed) was responsible for conflating the two terms with the specific intention of confusing folks.
I feel this assault weapon ban is nothing more than getting into position to completely control the lives of honest law abiding citizens, no matter what state they’re in. Any rifle, shotgun, pistol or revolver can be an assault weapon. So what comes next? Bolt action? Lever action? pump? Perhaps muzzle loaders. those fascists now running our country want to abolish the Second Amendment that was created in the Bill of Rights so Americans could protect themselves from a totalitarian government. A government like we now have. The idiotic morons who voted those Nazis into power would do well to study a little American history.
You have guns taken away, then you have the digital dollar scheme by the government. You Have Totally Introduced TYRANNY!!!
In Canada banning so called assault weapons is thew frist step in banning everything and their Prme Minstere Trudeau next delaring “We dont want to go to war wiht the provinces”
The use of the terms “assault weapon” and “automatic weapons: used to characterize semiautomatic weapons is a deliberate lie. The use of specific features to classify a semiautomatic rifle as an assault or automatic rifle is like not distinguishing between two sporty red cars that do not perform to reach the same top speed. If a car that can go 180 mph were to be banned, should another car that can only reach 110 mph be classified the same by law.
Again, there is ZERO reference to function in the “definition”. NOTHING here distinguishes a fully automatic rifle from a BB gun.
Steven – you will never see any anti-gun person relating an actual definition since to do so would limit them. IIRC nadler (might have been another CONgress critter) recently said when someone tried to pin him down ‘it’s whatever we say it is’. That way they can make any firearm ‘fit’ their (non)defined definition any time they want to.
The small minded dude from MI who is introducing a law to, in effect, curtail the rights of the second amendment, along with those of like mind. Across the country they would be well advised to keep your mind open, and do some research on second amendment. You, and anyone who follows you, will accomplish NOTHING if your dumb bill passes, but cause more of your citizens to run to more friendly states.
Th SCOTU exists to protect America freom Laws trhat rune contrary to the Constitution. When will elected official go to jail for passing such laws?
CLEARLY totally clueless re guns and AR-15s in general.
The twit probably thinks AR means “Assault Rifle” instead of the make “Armalite Rifle”…
Thus proving they’re too stupid to comprehend what an assault weapon is.
Sounds like one of the VP’s rambling-on definitions. Truthfully, I’m not sure what an “assault weapon” is. I would think something more along the lines of a Patriot missile?
People seem to forget, I continue to wonder why, that elections have consequences.