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This is the fourth of the series, you can see the rest here.

HR 257 – Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2009
To prevent children\’s access to firearms.
Sponsor : Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D – TX18)
Co-Sponsor : NONE

Current Status : Referred to the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security (2/9/2009)
Full Text

Summary:

The title itself should sum this one up, and give a pretty good indication of the liklihood this is going to do a damn bit of good.  We all know how well simply telling a child they can\’t have something works.  Just look at how well that works with alcohol and drugs!  Mostly this bill is a load of crap, but there are a few minor redeeming qualities.

To start out with this bill raises the age limit for buying a handgun from 18 to 21, and prevents anyone under 21 from possessing an semiautomatic assault weapon and/or a large capacity ammunition feeding device.  The amusing part here is that, contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as an \”assault weapon\”.  It simply does not exist, it\’s a term made up by liberals by which they mean \”a gun that looks extra scary\”.  It\’s also a bullshit term, because when liberals do attempt to define it they end up with a list that is self-contradictory and lacking in any consistent criteria.

Plus please define \”large capacity\”.  Personally when I\’m on the range I LIKE a large capacity magazine…saves me the hassle of having to reload all the time.  I came here to shoot, not to reload.  And if I\’m in a situation where I need to use a firearm in self defense, there is no such thing as large capacity.  I treasure every single bullet in that firearm.

Moreover simply banning them isn\’t going to be effective.  What are you attempting to accomplish??  Keeping them out of the hands of gang-bangers?  There are already laws against that but they don\’t work.  It\’s almost as if criminals don\’t care what the law says….weird I know.  Not to mention the sheer stupidity of this concept.  An 18 year old can be drafted, join the military, vote, gamble, buy porn, etc but he can\’t be trusted with a firearm???

This bill also prohibits keeping a firearm in even an unloaded state, if there is ANY chance of a child getting access to it.  So basically you can keep a firearm for self-defense until you have kids.  But once you bring your pride&joy home, you are not allowed to protect them.  It\’s absolutely stupid and darn near impossible to enforce, unless someone actually does use one to defend their kids….then you\’re gonna lock up the victim.  Brilliant move there.

Like I said, there are a couple redeeming qualities, although they are a duplication of effort at the expense of the taxpayer.

First, it allows the AG to provide grants to local law enforcement to provide gun safety programs for kids.  And it also asks school districts to participate in said gun safety programs.

Ok first of all gun safety programs already exist, and are funded by private industry.  Probably the best is the Eddie Eagle program run by the NRA.  An excellent program from young children that teachs kids about firearms without attempting to give them nightmares.  No reason to force the taxpayers to pay for what is a redundant program.

I do like the idea of asking school districts to participate in gun safety programs though.  In my opinion, it is irresponsible to not teach your children about firearms, whether you own one or not.  There is the possibility that they may come in contact with one….whether it be at a friends house or finding one somewhere.  They need to know how to handle the situation intelligently and safely.  In my opinion it ranks right up there with swimming lessons as a necessary skill to teach your kids when they are very young.

Overall this bill is absolutely worthless and needlessly hampers the use of firearms by otherwise responsible adults for no net benefit.  The few redeeming features of this bill already exist without asking the taxpayer to foot the bill.  Ask your legislator to do whatever they can to kill this bill.