The Knox Update
From the Firearms Coalition

(Manassas, VA, January 14, 2010) I recently wrote about the need for preaching to the choir – too many of our own friends, family members, and fellow shooters are woefully uninformed about the fight for liberty. A chance conversation in a hardware store this week really brought home just how much work there is to do beyond the choir room doors. At the hardware store I got into a conversation with a fellow shopper. As conversations with me tend to do, it wasn’t long before we were talking about guns and gun laws. The fellow’s wife had joined the conversation by this time and while his reaction was troubling, her reaction was down right scary.

This was a nice couple in their 50’s, fairly conservative, into classic cars, and in the market for a .38 for home protection. They were not loony-tune lefties by any means. They also mentioned a good friend who owns many guns and reloads. The conversation rolled along smoothly until the topic of “Uzi’s and machineguns” came up. As you can imagine, it wasn’t me talking about “Uzi’s and machineguns.”

The Knox Update
From the Firearms Coalition

(Manassas, VA, December 28, 2009) Mike Bloomberg and his Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) caused quite a stir in the gun rights community recently when they released a poll declaring that gun owners and NRA members support the group’s gun control agenda. The poll was conducted by Frank Lutz’s company “Word Doctors.” The media gleefully reported the poll as indisputable fact while NRA and others cried “Foul,” pointing out flaws in the pollster’s methodology and challenging the results.

The flaws and distortions are undoubtedly real, but it is important for rights activists to carefully examine this poll to find data we can use to help our cause. In spite of its flaws, this poll demonstrates a serious failure on the part of rights groups and supporters in efforts to educate our less activist brethren. We’re not preaching to the choir enough and not getting the right messages through to them.

The Knox Update
From the Firearms Coalition

(Manassas, VA, January 7, 2009) The Federal Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit recently accepted the Second Amendment as valid grounds for reversing a conviction under the infamous Lautenberg Amendment, barring possession of firearms from anyone ever convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

That’s good news, but don’t fire up the band just yet. The actual conclusion of the 7th Circuit panel was that prosecutors had failed to effectively argue that Lautenberg does not violate the Second Amendment - which is a far cry from declaring the law unconstitutional and throwing the case out. The court reversed the guilty verdict and sent the case back to the lower court to give federal prosecutors another chance to build a better case. Included in the decision are rather detailed instructions explaining what arguments the prosecution needs to make if they wish to prevail. Like a child’s game, the court said, “You forgot to say ‘Mother may I’ so try it again – and this time say ‘Mother may I.’” If prosecutors carefully apply the lessons laid out in the 7th Circuit’s order, the case should result in another conviction that would then be upheld on appeal. On the other hand, the court also dropped a hint or two for the defense.

The Knox Update
From the Firearms Coalition

(Manassas, VA, December 2, 2009) Anyone who does not hold an FFL and sells a firearm to someone he doesn’t know well is incurring a certain amount of liability. And, a bit of bad judgment could cause trouble not just for the seller, but for the rest of the gun owning community as well. There is no question that individuals have the right to buy, sell, and trade firearms between themselves without government infringement. But there are laws on the books and failing to know and follow them is just asking for trouble. A prudent trader will take into account not only the legal technicalities, but the political environment also.

Title 18, Section 922 of the U.S. Code, the 1968 Gun Control Act, covers sales and transfer of guns. The law forbids transfers between residents of different states except through an FFL in the buyer's state. Of course it is also illegal for a federally “prohibited person” – a felon, fugitive, someone dishonorably discharged from the service, etc. – to purchase a firearm from anyone, FFL dealer or not. If the seller has any indication that the prospective buyer is a “prohibited person,” selling the gun is a crime. It is also illegal for anyone to purchase a firearm on behalf of someone else – even if that someone else could legally purchase it himself – and a seller can again be held criminally responsible if they had any indication that such a “straw” transaction was taking place.