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I got this from my mother who belongs to Mensa, a group with high IQ's but not necessarily any common sense:
A message (the merit of which is obvious) from Bruce Parisi, Lake County Indiana Libertarian Party chair, and Chicago Mensan:
> > Don't Arrest Kerry in Shotgun Incident, Gun-Law Expert > Says > > A Gun-law expert Alan Korwin is calling for calm in the > national uproar over John Kerry's possible serious gun violations > during a recent photo op in Racine, W.V. > > The national clamor over the Democratic presidential > candidate, who took possession of a Browning semiautomatic shotgun > outside his home state, reflects a problem with the laws and should > not be used to arrest and prosecute the man, Korwin says. > > A gun crossing state lines is heavily regulated thanks to > John Kerry and his ilk. > > "There are so many charges Kerry might face," according to > Korwin, who has written seven books on gun laws, including the > unabridged plain-English federal guide "Gun Laws of America." > > 1. Taking ownership of the shotgun gift, if he doesn't > already have a valid Massachusetts Firearm Identification Card, could > subject him to a two-and-a-half-year prison term in his home state. > Since he has claimed publicly he owns firearms, chances are he has > this critical piece of paper, Korwin says. > > 2. Bringing the firearm back to Massachusetts, if he > received it from a private party, would be a federal felony under the > 1968 Gun Control Act (five years in prison, $5,000 fine, 18 USC §922). > > 3. The only exemption that would allow him to bring it > into his home state requires that he obtained it in a face-to-face > transaction with a federal firearms licensed dealer (FFL). A private > gift would not qualify. > > 4. If Kerry did get it from an FFL, he would have had to > personally fill out and sign a > 4473 form, required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and > Explosives (BATFE), before the gift was given, under penalty of > federal felony. > > 5. If Kerry did not personally undergo a "NICS" instant > background check before the transfer from an FFL, he would have put > the person conducting the transfer in some legal jeopardy, though the > law contains a loophole that probably would save Kerry from additional > harm (the dealer, not the recipient, suffers from failure to do the > NICS check). > > While gun lobbyists are inflamed that Kerry introduced a > law that would outlaw this particular type of sporting shotgun and gun > gifts in general, it is a good thing the law has not passed yet, > because then it might be too serious a problem to simply ignore. > > Korwin says that calls to indict Kerry are premature and > "most certainly overkill. John Kerry should receive the same lenient > treatment any other citizen deserves when innocently violating these > complex and non-intuitive rules." At least give him a chance to > explain, Korwin pleads. > > Unfortunately, federal authorities from BATFE have been > known in the past to be inflexible in their enforcement of even minor > technical violations (note that none of these felony violations > involve a victim or any sort of harm). > With widely circulated evidence, in the form of photographs of Kerry > in obvious possession of the firearm, he could find himself subject to > the long arm of the law. > > More importantly, Korwin says, "Some of these laws are > just foolish, putting honest citizens at enormous and unjustified > risk, and are so complicated that even a presidential candidate and > his staff cannot figure them out."
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