➡ This article discusses the Firearms Access During Shutdowns Act, a proposed law that would ensure the processing of gun applications and licenses continues even during government shutdowns. The Act aims to protect Second Amendment rights from being affected by federal budget issues. The article also mentions the negative impact of government shutdowns on gun owners, such as delays in approvals and licensing. Lastly, it encourages readers to support the Act and contact their local representatives.
➡ This text encourages people to support a bill that protects our Second Amendment rights, even during government shutdowns. It suggests that we should contact our representatives, share the message on social media, and hold our representatives accountable. The text also warns that even if the bill passes, there will be opposition and the fight will continue. It ends by reminding us of the importance of staying informed and involved in the protection of our rights.

Hey everybody, welcome back to Guns N’ Gadgets, your premier source for Second Amendment news, commentary, and advocacy. If you’re new here and you love the Second Amendment, you want to learn more of what’s actually going on behind the scenes, then hit that subscribe button and ring the bell so that you don’t miss a beat. Today we’re going to dive into a critical piece of legislation that was introduced in Congress that stands up for our right to keep in bear arms, even when the lights in Washington go dark. We’re talking about the Firearms Access During Shutdowns Act, and why it matters for every one of us, and how we’ve already seen what the government does to try to play games with us.

Here’s the backdrop. When Congress fails to pass appropriations, a federal government shutdown kicks in, and many federal agencies classified as non-essential halt operations. What does that mean for gun owners? Well, during a shutdown, functions of ATF, such as short-barrel rifle approvals, suppressor transfers, import permits, licensing that can all that stuff can grind to a halt. That’s just not inconvenient. It’s a threat to the exercise of our Second Amendment rights. And for everybody out there saying, well, we shouldn’t even have to do the NFA, 100% agree with you. But this also affects licensing for FFLs, renewals of FFLs.

And for those who say we shouldn’t need FFLs either, I agree with you wholeheartedly. However, here we are. And this looks to help. That’s exactly what happened at the start of this shutdown. We went, it was like 10 or 14 days where nothing was processed at all by ATF with the excuse of the shutdown. And then when people got on to it and put some pressure on them, they magically began again. Before I jump into exactly what’s happening here, I, as one of the owners of Blackout Coffee, want to thank you for helping us donate over $150,000 to Second Amendment organizations here in America, fighting to push back the restrictions that government has incrementally put on us over the decades.

We couldn’t have done it without you. We are humbly grateful that you are joining us on this endeavor. And we’re going to continue. We’re just getting started. You can help us by ordering our coffee products with the names of Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America, because we give more than what our profit would be on those items, $2 for every item right back to those organizations. So by you buying some of the best coffee in the world, remember it’s roasted within two or three days of us sending it to you.

It doesn’t get any fresher than that. And the stuff in the supermarkets have been sitting there for weeks. Not only do you get the best fresh coffee roasted right here in the good old US of A, you’re helping these lawsuits that we all want. So BlackoutCoffee.com slash GNG. We’re humbly grateful that you are helping us with this endeavor. Thank you. So let’s break down exactly what is happening. The FBI’s NICS system, that’s the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, has historically been treated as essential in many shutdowns. So many standard background checks still go through, but always a but.

ATF’s NFA division and the import branch, the Federal Firearms Licensing Center, these can be suspended or sharply reduced. And for this shutdown, they were totally ceased. And even though the ATF director has the power and ability to make them stay operational to declare them as essential, well, that didn’t happen until people started pointing the finger and putting pressure on these people in government. Remember that I’m going to say this again. ATF falls underneath the Department of Justice. The self-proclaimed, most pro-2A DOJ in history allowed these things to come to a screeching halt, knowing they could have left them open.

Take that with whatever you want, a grain of salt or whatever, a bottle of vinegar. The result was that a law abiding Americans who have followed the rules were left in limbo, waiting for licenses, transfers, approvals, simply because Washington DC couldn’t get their heads out of there, you know what’s and keep the lights on. And that’s like, you’ve heard the term, a right delayed is a right denied. This was an example of that in the flesh. Enter the Firearms Access During Shutdowns Act. Now this was sponsored by Friend of the Channel, Congressman Ben Kline out of Virginia, and Senator Jim Risch out of Idaho.

And the bill aims to make sure that during any lapse in appropriations, agencies must continue processing firearms applications and licenses. So your Second Amendment rights are not held hostage by federal budget gridlock. As Senator Risch put it, the gut, this is this quote, the government shutdown has real impacts on real people, but it certainly should not compromise our constitutional rights. While Democrats pander to their far left base, federal agencies have stopped processing firearm applications, unjustly restricting law abiding Idahoans Second Amendment rights. My firearms access during shutdowns act that he submitted in the Senate, ensures our right to lawfully bear arms is not infringed when there is a lapse in appropriations.

And then our buddy Ben Kline in Congress and the house said quote, law abiding Americans shouldn’t lose their Second Amendment rights every time Washington fails to do its job. The firearm access during shutdowns act ensures that government dysfunction doesn’t stand in the way of lawful firearm purchases, or penalize small businesses that follow the law. I’m proud to introduce this common sense bill alongside Senator Jim Risch to ensure citizens rights are protected and lawful commerce continues shutdown or not. And then one of the organizations that’s been putting a ton of pressure on Capitol Hill when it comes to the world of suppressors.

We have American Suppressor Association and the president and executive director Knox Williams said quote, we applaud Congressman Klein and Senator Risch for standing up for millions of law abiding gun owners and defending Second Amendment rights in the midst of this democrat led shutdown of the government. Now the firearm access during shutdowns act would codify in statute that while the unconstitutional NFA registry remains in place, government shutdowns cannot be used to punish gun owners. For too long, lawful firearm and suppressor owners have faced unnecessary delays and uncertainty every time Washington fails to do its job.

The American Suppressor Association helped lead the fight to get NFA inspectors back to work during the shutdown. And we stand firmly behind this critical legislation to protect and preserve American Second Amendment rights. And then there’s Larry Keene, the Senior Vice President of National Shooting Sports Foundation, who said NSSF applauds Senator Jim Risch for his leadership on the firearm access during shutdowns act to ensure the firearm industry can continue to fully serve law abiding Americans during government shutdowns. Their Second Amendment rights and the constitutionally protected firearm commerce that makes the exercise of those rights possible must not be held hostage by Congress’s inability to keep the federal government open.

Open, open. So what specifically does this legislation do? Well, it’s not very big. It’s like five bullet points. It doesn’t change who may lawfully possess a firearm or create new classes of prohibited firearms. What it does is deem the processing of these applications, transfers, licensing and import permits as essential functions for the purpose of a shutdown. It forces agencies to open certain doors and to keep them open. So in short, when Washington goes dark, your rights don’t turn off. That’s the bottom line. Now, why is this so important right now? Because we just saw one of the longest, actually, was still in it, the longest federal shutdown in US history.

I thought it was going to end this morning, but it doesn’t look like the Democrats are on board yet. And the disruption to the lawful commerce of firearms was real. And this isn’t hypothetical. Dealers, importers, manufacturers, suppressor owners all experienced delays and lost revenue. The legislative fix is straightforward, common sense and rooted in principle. The Second Amendment is not contingent on timely appropriations. The firearm access during shutdowns act is supported by, like I said, NSSF, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, the American Suppressor Association, and even the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation.

So let’s talk about the broader implications for you, the law abiding gun owner. If you’ve ever waited for a suppressor’s, you know, tax stamp, or an SBR and SBS approval, a license renewal, or an import permit, imagine that weight stretching indefinitely because an agency is closed for lack of funding. While they still take taxes from us, by the way, this is part of a bigger fight. The left loves to exploit chaos and gridlock. They count on confusion, delays and setbacks. If your paperwork is stalled, they say, well, you’re already waiting. Why do you need more guns? That’s a trap.

We don’t need any bureaucratic paralysis to become the new normal for our rights. When we say shall not be infringed, we mean shall not be held hostage by broken processes as well. Here’s a call for action for you. First, if you live in Idaho and Virginia, or any state with senators who are now saying they are supporting this bill, call them call their offices, tell them that you support the firearms access during shutdowns act as well. And you want them to get this thing passed. Second, regardless of where you live, take this legislation as a template, contact your Congress folks and senators and tell them to support the legislation.

And third, spread this video, share this word with your friends, use your social platforms. Let’s mobilize because it’s not just about this bill. It’s about reinforcing the principle that our rights are not conditional on Washington’s functionality. Now, a quick historical sidebar. You know how I love history. The founders refused to create a federal government that could shut down and deny us rights. The idea that our ability to keep and bear arms would depend on whether appropriations passed is absolutely absurd. It contradicts the very logic of a rights-based constitution. If your rights hinge on whether the federal government chooses to fund rights enforcing agencies, then you really don’t have for us to have privileges.

Let’s also talk risk here. Even if this bill passes, it won’t be the end of the fight. Opponents will argue that it’s about gun chaos or lack of oversight. They’ll claim that any government shutdown should hamper even lawful transfers. That’s where you and I step in. We stay vocal. We hold our representatives accountable daily, sometimes reaching out to them, hit them on their Twitters, their social media. They love being on there. We’ll hold them accountable there too and push for clarity, push for transparency, and push for safeguards because when you see a delay, you demand a reason.

When you see an application stuck for months, you don’t shrug your shoulders. You dig in. In closing, this legislation is a critical step forward to protecting our Second Amendment rights that are often tweaked and held against us when the government comes to an impasse. It’s common sense. It’s pro-freedom. It’s pro-commerce. Yes, we don’t need it. This whole structure is unconstitutional. When we’re trying to do that, we have to do that in the courts. Little chunks at a time. You’re not going to have any judge in this country that’s going to say all of it’s gone immediately.

They’re just never going to do it. That is a pipe dream. I have that dream too, but it’s just a dream. Now, the Firearms Act says during shutdowns act says we are open for business. Rights still apply. No budget delay. No shutdown exception. We also saw this on a bigger scale during COVID, if you remember. They forced every business to shut down and GOA during Trump’s first term was able to get him to realize that the Second Amendment was on hold and he immediately deemed all businesses around the Second Amendment, gun shops, manufacturers, et cetera, to be essential businesses.

Thus, they couldn’t be shut down because they did it. Now they tried it. They did it already. So that was on the national level. Everything was shut down. So don’t forget. Don’t ever forget. New York seems to have forgotten. All right, Patriots, if you found this video valuable, smash the like button. Leave your comments down below. I really want to hear your thoughts on this. You think this kind of legislation helps the situation, even though the situation shouldn’t exist. And of course, share this with your 2A network. I’m Jared, the host of Guns and Gadgets.

Stay armed, stay free, stay informed, and I’ll see you on the next one. Take care. [tr:trw].

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