Post by bazooka on Sept 3, 2019 0:35:52 GMT
Lautenberg Gun Ban
The so-called Lautenberg Gun Ban was an amendment tacked on to the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997. This was enacted in 1996, under the direction of the 104th United States Congress, banning people convicted of crimes of domestic violence from accessing firearms. It’s typically referred to as the “Lautenberg Amendment,” in reference to its sponsor: former Senator Frank Lautenberg.
The Lautenberg Amendment bans the shipment, transport, possession, ownership, and use of guns or ammo by individuals convicted of domestic violence, or who are subject to restraining orders. This law also criminalizes the willing sale or transfer of ammo or firearms to individuals convicted of such crimes.
For the Lautenberg ban restrictions to apply to restraining orders, certain requirements must be met:
Hearing: The accused must first go through a hearing – making sure that the Lautenberg restrictions will not go into effect until both parties have the chance to be heard.
Intimate Partner: The accuser and the accused must be intimate partners.
Restrains Future Contact: The accused must be restrained from harassing, stalking, or using threatening behavior toward the accuser.
Credible Threat or Physical Force: The accused must be considered a credible threat to the accuser or be barred from the use of physical force.
The so-called Lautenberg Gun Ban was an amendment tacked on to the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997. This was enacted in 1996, under the direction of the 104th United States Congress, banning people convicted of crimes of domestic violence from accessing firearms. It’s typically referred to as the “Lautenberg Amendment,” in reference to its sponsor: former Senator Frank Lautenberg.
The Lautenberg Amendment bans the shipment, transport, possession, ownership, and use of guns or ammo by individuals convicted of domestic violence, or who are subject to restraining orders. This law also criminalizes the willing sale or transfer of ammo or firearms to individuals convicted of such crimes.
For the Lautenberg ban restrictions to apply to restraining orders, certain requirements must be met:
Hearing: The accused must first go through a hearing – making sure that the Lautenberg restrictions will not go into effect until both parties have the chance to be heard.
Intimate Partner: The accuser and the accused must be intimate partners.
Restrains Future Contact: The accused must be restrained from harassing, stalking, or using threatening behavior toward the accuser.
Credible Threat or Physical Force: The accused must be considered a credible threat to the accuser or be barred from the use of physical force.
The intimate partner requirement stipulates that the relationship in question be both sexual and involve cohabitation or a child in common. When the requirements are met, a trigger is activated in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This results in the restraining order being documented in the federal database, thus prohibiting the possession of firearms.
From Minor Infraction to Lifetime Gun Ban
What is particularly concerning about this law is its constitutional basis. Even if there is a consensus that certain individuals should be disarmed, criminal matters such as domestic violence have been traditionally handled at the state and local level. Such actions go beyond the constitutional purview of the federal government and could lead to overreach.
Men, women, and children could theoretically be stripped of their gun rights due to trumped up domestic dispute charges. Minor infractions such as spanking a child could give a person a lifetime ban from owning a firearm.
What is particularly concerning about this law is its constitutional basis. Even if there is a consensus that certain individuals should be disarmed, criminal matters such as domestic violence have been traditionally handled at the state and local level. Such actions go beyond the constitutional purview of the federal government and could lead to overreach.
Men, women, and children could theoretically be stripped of their gun rights due to trumped up domestic dispute charges. Minor infractions such as spanking a child could give a person a lifetime ban from owning a firearm.
Lautenberg Ban Creates Victims
The Lautenberg gun ban’s enactment in tandem with mandatory arrest policies has arguably created a new category of “victim.”
Kenneth E. Noyes, the staff attorney and coordinator of the domestic violence project for Legal Services of Northern Virginia claimed that “A lot of times, I think arrests are being made when they shouldn’t be.”
Prior to the Lautenberg gun ban, the majority of people involved in minor altercations would just plea-bargain to a domestic violence misdemeanor. Instead of going straight to jail, they would pay a small fine and go back to their daily routine.
No Compromise Groups Stand Against Lautenberg
There have been reports from police officers, veterans, gun dealers, and people of all different backgrounds who have been disarmed for minor infractions.
In 2019, groups like Georgia Gun Owners uncovered a plot in the Georgia General Assembly where Republicans were working to pass their own version of the Lautenberg Gun Ban. This bill allegedly had the blessing of the NRA and several Republican senators were pushing it, albeit under the radar.
Many “no compromise” gun groups like Georgia Gun Owners have asserted that the Lautenberg Gun Ban at the federal level has stripped more Americans of their gun rights than any other piece of gun control legislation.
The Lautenberg gun ban’s enactment in tandem with mandatory arrest policies has arguably created a new category of “victim.”
Kenneth E. Noyes, the staff attorney and coordinator of the domestic violence project for Legal Services of Northern Virginia claimed that “A lot of times, I think arrests are being made when they shouldn’t be.”
Prior to the Lautenberg gun ban, the majority of people involved in minor altercations would just plea-bargain to a domestic violence misdemeanor. Instead of going straight to jail, they would pay a small fine and go back to their daily routine.
No Compromise Groups Stand Against Lautenberg
There have been reports from police officers, veterans, gun dealers, and people of all different backgrounds who have been disarmed for minor infractions.
In 2019, groups like Georgia Gun Owners uncovered a plot in the Georgia General Assembly where Republicans were working to pass their own version of the Lautenberg Gun Ban. This bill allegedly had the blessing of the NRA and several Republican senators were pushing it, albeit under the radar.
Many “no compromise” gun groups like Georgia Gun Owners have asserted that the Lautenberg Gun Ban at the federal level has stripped more Americans of their gun rights than any other piece of gun control legislation.