Ammoland by by Harold Hutchison 1/31/2020
While many Second Amendment supporters look over how laws will affect them, the fact is gun laws don’t just hit gun owners. The Federal Firearms Licensees – the gun dealers and manufacturers – also can be targeted by legislation that can infringe on the Second Amendment, or which can help protect Second Amendment rights. One such piece of legislation that does the latter is S 1778, the Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2019, introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham.
Graham’s bill (co-sponsored by a number of other Second Amendment champions in the Senate) does two things: First, it ups the maximum sentence to 20 years in prison, not ten, for stealing from a FFL. Second, it also adds mandatory minimum sentences depending on whether the theft from the FFL is a burglary (three-year minimum) or a robbery (five-year minimum). In theory, these are good ideas. Tough sentences can be a deterrent, especially when word gets out about those who get hit with them. This was proven during Project Exile in Richmond, Virginia.
That said, as is the case with the STOP Straw Purchases Act, the question is whether these laws will actually be used. There is reason for Second Amendment supporters to believe these will be used. Between 2014 and 2018, ATF reported that there were 2,404 burglaries and 153 robberies of FFLs. According to the ATF, there were 1,075 indictments for stealing from FFLs between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2017.
More:
https://www.ammoland.com/2020/01/below-the-radar-federal-firearms-licensee-protection-act-of-2019/
