I'm thinking I need a lathe and mill as part of my Freedom21 program.
They'll be banning that next.
Remember back a few years ago when one of the Westford Selectman wanted to pass a town ordinance that banned "assault weapons" - within the town limits of Westford?
There was quite a bit of pushback there - a HUGE town meeting - etc.
I took a different tack - and noticed that quite a few people were posting on the Westford Patch in the comments section about the bill , with a few people in there that seemed to be rabid supporters of it - and I saw some indication that the town police were monitoring the comments.
So I decided to point out a few things:
1) The licensing structure in MA allows a person with a Class A LTC , to buy what YOU are classifying as an "assault weapon". So practically speaking - even if you go around town and gather up ALL of the rifles that are calling "assault weapons" , there is NOTHING preventing any license holder from just going out and buying another one. Furthermore - because of FEDERAL law - I can travel up to NH and buy a rifle there as well. And since there is NO requirement for a NH dealer to inform MA that a MA resident bought a rifle there (most of the shops near the border at least check to see that MA residents have a license in my experience) - there would be NO way for the town of Westford to know if somebody just went to NH and bought a rifle there - and failed to file the FA-10.
So - the point here is: the ONLY way you're going to remove all the avenues that people can get around your new rule , is to REVOKE any and all LTC licenses issued to Westford residents. That means any abused women in town who have an LTC because they want a pistol to protect themselves from abusive ex-husband , or any business owner that needs to protect himself or his business - is now shit out of luck. Pretty sure you're going to get multiple lawsuits out of that one. And maybe a dead abused ex-wife or two.
2) Transportation thru town. The ordinance prohibited transportation thru town. I KNOW FOR A FACT - that multiple tractor trailer trucks travel down Rte 495 on a regular basis - carrying the exact firearms you want to prohibit. Are Westford police going to patrol Rte 495 to prevent this? Are you going to go after people who pull of to use the gas stations and restaurants at the Westford exit - because they were traveling down Rte 495 and happened to be passing thru? That is what you're proposing.
3) Manufactured weapons. It seems the aim of this ordinance is to fully eliminate so-called "assault weapons" in the Town of Westford. Here's some advice on what you'll have to do - to REALLY enforce that. You'll have to search every single house in the town. Let me explain. It is perfectly feasible for somebody to build one of these weapons in a basement shop. I in fact know somebody who built an AK-47 FROM A GARDEN SHOVEL. If you are at familiar with the war in the Middle East - you would know that the Pakistani border is littered with gunsmith shops full of Pashtun tribesmen hammering out AK-47 parts in the dirt. So - if you TRULY intend on banning this class of firearms - you're also going to have to ban lathes, and mills, and drill presses and a whole assortment of other tools. Otherwise you will not only be leaving behind the means to produce these weapons - but you will actually be ENCOURAGING it - because you will have remove the previously legal means of doing so thru commerce.
4) Other weapons. Again - I know this FOR A FACT. Many wars - up to and including Desert Storm - has as part of their legacy soldiers bringing home war trophies. This was prevalent in WW2 and Korea, probably less so in Vietnam and Desert Storm , but it still happened. What does this mean? It means you will have to SEARCH EVERY HOME IN TOWN - to make sure there are weapons hidden away in walls, in attics or basement rafters - which may have been left there from veterans long since passed - or passed on to relatives , siblings, friends, or children. Again - I'm telling you flat out that I KNOW FOR A FACT that this has happened. I have friends that are in possesion of WW2 era military firearms - that were built with parts removed from factories during that era by people who worked there.
I'm not posting anything here I believe to be untrue. I'm telling the cold hard reality of what you'll have to do - if this bill is being undertaken with any degree of honesty. If you truly believe that removing these weapons will achieve some sort of safety against what you call gun violence - you MUST DO THESE THINGS. Otherwise this entire bill is a virtue signaling joke.
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Now I have no way to prove anything. But the whole thing quietly died down and went away. I am somewhat familiar with how "politics" really works. Which is why I posted all that shit.
I think what really needed to happen there - was that the police chief - or some critical number of officers needed to go "oh shit - we're phucked" - and Mr. AntiGun Bill got a good talking to behind the scenes and the whole thing went away.
Just my two cents.
Pretty sure that a similar thing needs to happen here. The politicians need to get a good talking to.
Maybe some National Guard armories need to get emptied out or something like that - just to make the point. But somebody needs to talk to Sheila Jackson Lee and tell her she's about to actually CAUSE that civil war she's so worried about.