A favorite tool of anti-second amendment (2A) politicians is the standard capacity magazine ban. Notice I didn’t say “high capacity” magazine ban. Making up definitions like “high capacity” is also a common tactic of the anti-gun crowd. Remember the extremely successful (and made-up) “assault rifle”term.
A fifteen round magazine would be considered standard capacity for a handgun in most parts of the country. Had I purchased my Glock 34 somewhere other than California, it would have arrived from the manufacturer with two fifteen round magazines. Mine arrived with two ten round magazines. Magazines that come standard from the manufacturer with the handgun are standard capacity magazines.
California recently tried to ban standard capacity magazines. The ban was challenged and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a temporary injunction that halts implementation pending further litigation.
As of December 2018 it is illegal for New Jersey residents to possess standard capacity magazines. Citizens in possession of standard capacity magazines potentially face 18 months in prison, a $10,000 fine or both. That penalty is per magazine!
Ironically New Jersey gun grabbers forgot to exempt law enforcement officers (LEOs) from the ban. Technically, off duty LEOs would have to arrest one another for violating the ban as they carry off duty. This oversight provoked outrage from LEOs and the law was quickly amended. Apparently the ban endangers LEOs but not private citizens. It seems that LEOs need full capacity magazines to confront violent criminals but private citizens can protect themselves from those same criminals with substandard capacity magazines.
So far no New Jersey residents have turned in their banned magazines according to multiple NJ law enforcement sources. Many NJ residents consider the ban unenforceable. Neither the Governor’s office nor NJ police agencies have suggested how the ban will be enforced. Curiously neither the police nor the Governor’s office would rule out enforced confiscation.
So why a magazine ban? Proponents will argue that it is a common sense law, that it reduces crime and increases public safety. Most LEOs know that is nonsense. Most gun owners know that is nonsense. Criminals don’t follow gun control laws.
The real reason we see this and other gun control laws is that they are part of a bigger plan. The bigger plan is to make the second amendment (2A) irrelevant. Citizens can have the “right to keep and bear arms”. But if there is nowhere to buy guns, nowhere to buy ammunition, and nowhere to shoot, what does it matter? Politicians can claim to support the 2A while incrementally stripping away our rights.
So what can be done? You can run but you can’t hide. Many people are leaving extremely restrictive states like California for states in free America. The problem with this is that these bad laws spread like a cancer from places like California and New Jersey to other states. They even infect our laws at the federal level.
The end game is registration. The end game is confiscation. The end game is a disarmed population. What possible reason could there be for registering ammunition sales other than to build a database to be used for confiscation at some future date?
As responsible citizens we have a duty and an obligation to be engaged in our government and to create the kind of country we want. There are over 100 million gun owners in this country. We can certainly vote bad politicians out of office and get these terrible laws repealed. We just need to be involved. We need to be educated. Don’t flee states like California, rather stay and stand up for your rights. The fight is here.
If you want to keep your rights defend them by joining San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO), the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), and the National Rifle Association (NRA). Join the fight and help us restore and preserve our second amendment rights. Together we will win.
©2019 Joseph T Drammissi
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