The 115th Congress-Washington 2017

[Tallahassee News Station]

Stacey-Nay
Wilson-Aye!

[Imperial Esplanade]

Sen. Prejean: "Aye."

Rep. Freeman: "Aye."

[Prolieum]

House Floor-Chair

"With all votes tallied, the motion passes. The chair invites the Representative from Illinois to lay out the bill."

[Tumblrena]

Washington D.C.
United States Senate
1221
Monday
21 January
2017

María Antonieta grumbles angrily to her self, very frustrated that the bill got to a vote so quickly before there was a chance to make more amendments to make it workable. She makes a note to herself to talk to Eberhardt about this to make sure that the House could get it fixed and sent back to the Senate.

Ella Enchanted stands up and votes "Aye", thinking that it only makes sense to let the theories get equal and fair time and completely oblivious to the political implications.

[Prolieum]

Senate Floor

Sen. Amaras: "Aye!"

Sen. Kingsley "Aye."

Zipporah Hazelelponi tapped her pencil, conflicted over the bill.

[Velahor]

House Floor-Chair

"With all votes tallied, the motion passes. The chair invites the Representative from Illinois to lay out the bill."

Smith: "Mass shootings. It seems like these are on the news every day. Whether a product of gang violence, mental illness, a decaying society, or just pure depravation, mass shootings have become a weekly occurrence across America. Schools, churches, concerts, and any place where large groups gather are targeted by sick individuals with efficient murder weapons. Our Congress must do something to prevent these deaths. Martin Luther King Jr. once said 'He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.' I encourage my fellow representatives to not passively accept evil, but to vote yes on the following bill.

Safe American Firearm Evaluation and Transportation Act (SAFE-T Act)

Introduction: In memory of the 417 victims of mass shootings since 2004, and 9,000 victims of gun-related homicide every year, we recognize the epidemic that is gun violence in America. We, the Congress of the United States of America, recognize the need to prevent further lives lost by taking action while maintaining the 2nd amendment rights guaranteed in the US Constitution.

Section 1: Defines “assault firearms" as:
Semi-automatic rifles that fire rounds of .17 caliber or greater and are able to accept detachable magazines and two or more of the following: folding or telescoping stock, pistol grip, bayonet mount, flash suppressor, threaded barrels designed to accommodate barrel attachments and suppressors, and grenade launcher mounts.
Semi-automatic pistols with detachable magazines and two or more of the following: magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip, threaded barrel to attach barrel extender, flash suppressor, handgrip, or suppressor, barrel shroud, a weight of 50 oz or more, or a semi-automatic adaptation of a normally fully automatic weapon
Semi-automatic shotguns with two or more of the following: folding or telescoping stock, pistol grip, detachable magazine
Any and all weapons with “bump fire” or “hellfire trigger” features.
All weapons designed to fire 5.56x45mm NATO rounds.

"Universal Background Checks" refer to a nationally standardized database and criteria for licensure for personal gun ownership.

Section 2:
Amends the National Firearms Act of 1934 to include the previously defined "assault weapons" as a separate category of Title II weapons, subject to the same rules and regulations as weapons currently covered by the act.
Section 3:
Requires current owners of “assault firearms” to register said weapons with the BATF by 6 months after this bill’s passage
Section 4:
Institutes a national background check system for the purchase of all firearms not covered by the NFA. Allocates funds to be directed to states for the implementation of Universal Background Checks. States will be monitored for cooperation with Universal Background Checks by the BATF, and reprimanded accordingly for non-cooperation.
Section 5:
Requires that all interstate trade of firearms, both "standard" and "assault", are required to have both parties passing a background check.
Section 6:
Enforces this act by classifying non-compliant ownership of an "assault firearm" as a Class E Felony, and non-compliant sale of an assault firearm as a Class D Felony

This bill is then honorably presented to the United States House of Representatives for consideration in order to restrict ownership of dangerous weapons to improve the United States Law and is backed by Representative Nicole Tasha Smith on _____

"This bill is unique from other attempts to regulate weapons as it does not call for a sweeping ban and does not violate the 2nd amendment, but rather honors the same lines we have drawn by precedent set in the National Firearms Act to prevent weapons that are commonly used in violent crime from getting in the hands of criminals, while still allowing law-abiding citizens to own these weapons. Part of the 1st Amendment gives us the right to peaceful assembly, but unfortunately, many times in our country that people attempt to assemble peaceably, it is destroyed by someone carrying an efficient murder weapon. This bill aims to reverse that trend. Again, I encourage you all to not sit idly in the face of violence and terror, but to stand against it. Therefore, I submit this bill for consideration to the US House of Representatives."

[Prolieum]

House Floor-Chair

"The floor is open for questioning."

[Dentali]

House Floor-Chair

"The floor is open for questioning."

Brennan: "Congress has tried an assault weapons ban before and the effects were negligible on preventing violent crime. Why should we do it again?"

[Velahor]

House Floor-Chair

"The floor is open for questioning."

Brennan: "Congress has tried an assault weapons ban before and the effects were negligible on preventing violent crime. Why should we do it again?"

Smith: "This is different. This is not a ban, this is a regulation of the point of sale and of interstate commerce, as well as a licensing program for weapons that have proven to be effective in violent scenarios. On top of that, the ban that you are mentioning, the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, was mostly ineffective due to its lack of enforcement and its grandfather clause for older weapons. The wording of this bill prevents both of those issues."

[Prolieum]

House Floor-Chair

Speaker Eberhardt caught the gaze of Representative Smith, making a rare gesture in raising his own voice in comment.

"Representative Smith, the 5.56x45mm round, specifically targeted in your bill, is the round for which the most widely owned self-defense and hunting rifle in the United States is chambered, with ownership estimated in the millions. Under the bill as written, these owners of these rifles would be forced to register their weapons, and, under the National Firearms Act, pay a tax credit of $200. Noting the significance of this cost, the prevalence of weapons of such caliber for home defense purposes in high-crime areas, the unfortunate circumstances under which African-Americans are more likely to suffer from poverty and live in a high-crime area both, and the current state of the United States prison system, given that by your bill's categorizations, these legal firearm owners who are unable to pay the $200 fine will be charged as Class E felons, do you not believe that your bill would impose a significant burden on those persons most suffering from poverty and in need of self-defense, and in doing so, discriminate disproportionately against the equal civil right of African-Americans to keep and bear arms without fear of being charged as felons under your law?"

[Velahor]

House Floor-Chair

Speaker Eberhardt caught the gaze of Representative Smith, making a rare gesture in raising his own voice in comment.

"Representative Smith, the 5.56x45mm round, specifically targeted in your bill, is the round for which the most widely owned self-defense and hunting rifle in the United States is chambered, with ownership estimated in the millions. Under the bill as written, these owners of these rifles would be forced to register their weapons, and, under the National Firearms Act, pay a tax credit of $200. Noting the significance of this cost, the prevalence of weapons of such caliber for home defense purposes in high-crime areas, the unfortunate circumstances under which African-Americans are more likely to suffer from poverty and live in a high-crime area both, and the current state of the United States prison system, given that by your bill's categorizations, these legal firearm owners who are unable to pay the $200 fine will be charged as Class E felons, do you not believe that your bill would impose a significant burden on those persons most suffering from poverty and in need of self-defense, and in doing so, discriminate against the equal civil right of African Americans to keep and bear arms without fear of being charged as felons under your law?"

Smith: "I would be open to the idea a fee waiver for families who can prove that they cannot afford the $200 registration fee and need the weapon for self-defense purposes. That can be added as an amendment to the bill, if someone would like."

[Dentali]

House Floor-Chair

"The floor is open for questioning."

"Representative Smith last year there were 267 incidents involving assault-style rifles. Including reported weapons thefts, crimes in which the guns were brandished, arrests for illegal possession and other legal interventions in which they weren’t fired. The Gun Violence Archive accounts assault-style rifles for about 2% of gun deaths and 1% of gun injuries. If your goal is safety and preventing gun violence why does your bill focus on weapons involved in such a small percentage of incidents?"

[Velahor]

House Floor-Chair

"The floor is open for questioning."

"Representative Smith last year there were 267 incidents involving assault-style rifles. Including reported weapons thefts, crimes in which the guns were brandished, arrests for illegal possession and other legal interventions in which they weren’t fired. The Gun Violence Archive accounts assault-style rifles for about 2% of gun deaths and 1% of gun injuries. If your goal is safety and preventing gun violence why does your bill focus on weapons involved in such a small percentage of incidents?"

Smith: "According to data gathered by the FBI and leading criminologists, 62% of mass shootings in the last 30 years have been conducted with weapons that would fall under the category that the SAFE-T Act would restrict. This bill targets mass shootings...not suicides, accidental firings, hunting accidents, or single-victim shootings, which are included in your 2% and 1% statistics."

[Tallahassee News Station]

"Are mass shootings much more of a deadly problem in America than in all our peer countries who have much more sensible gun control restrictions in place?" -Jared

[Velahor]

"Are mass shootings much more of a deadly problem in America than in all our peer countries who have much more sensible gun control restrictions in place?" -Jared

Smith picks up a large posterboard sitting next to her.

"This, my friends, is America vs. the world from 1966-2012. America has had more mass shooters, and has more guns. Guns are the X-axis, mass shootings are the y-axis. That's us in the top right corner, every other country with over 10 million people is in the bottom left corner."

[Dentali]

"Are mass shootings much more of a deadly problem in America than in all our peer countries who have much more sensible gun control restrictions in place?" -Jared

Smith picks up a large posterboard sitting next to her.

"This, my friends, is America vs. the world from 1966-2012. America has had more mass shooters, and has more guns. Guns are the X-axis, mass shootings are the y-axis. That's us in the top right corner, every other country with over 10 million people is in the bottom left corner."

Brennan: Thats a terribly designed graph

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

De Nieto: "How would your measures reduce mass shootings?"

[Dentali]

"Are mass shootings much more of a deadly problem in America than in all our peer countries who have much more sensible gun control restrictions in place?" -Jared

Smith picks up a large posterboard sitting next to her.

"This, my friends, is America vs. the world from 1966-2012. America has had more mass shooters, and has more guns. Guns are the X-axis, mass shootings are the y-axis. That's us in the top right corner, every other country with over 10 million people is in the bottom left corner."

Brennan: "A study last year by the Congressional Research Service found that from 1999 to 2013 assault rifles were used in 27 percent public mass shootings, which it defines as the killing of four or more people in a relatively public place. Dating back to 1982, the rate is 24 percent. So again why are we focusing on the minority if your goal is to reduce mass shootings?"

[Velahor]

Smith picks up a large posterboard sitting next to her.

"This, my friends, is America vs. the world from 1966-2012. America has had more mass shooters, and has more guns. Guns are the X-axis, mass shootings are the y-axis. That's us in the top right corner, every other country with over 10 million people is in the bottom left corner."

Brennan: "A study last year by the Congressional Research Service found that from 1999 to 2013 assault rifles were used in 27 percent public mass shootings, which it defines as the killing of four or more people in a relatively public place. Dating back to 1982, the rate is 24 percent. So again why are we focusing on the minority if your goal is to reduce mass shootings?"

Smith: "We can go back and forth on the numbers, but that is utterly meaningless. Again, the research I cited has the criteria of their being at least four victims, not including the perpetrator, the crimes were carried out by two or less shooters, and they occurred in a public place.
Your data also deals with different sample sizes and years viewed.
But either way, whether the number 24 percent or 27 percent or any other number you come up with, or if it is the greater than 60% total that I found in the FBI research, the fact is that the law prevents a significant amount of the perpetrators from committing these crimes.
Also, the number of shooters who used these weapons is an irrelevant statistic when compared to the number of people on average killed in mass shootings when assault weapons are used versus when "standard" weapons are used. Assault firearms are more effective killing machines, and when one is used in a mass shooting, more people die than when a regular firearm is used."

[Velahor]

De Nieto: "How would your measures reduce mass shootings?"

Smith: "Several ways. The bill institutes a Universal Background Check system, keeping those who are violent felons from owning the weapons that are most commonly used in these attacks.
'But what if someone else buys the gun for them' is a commonly asked question when we talk about preventing those prone to crime from owning guns. This law aims to prevent that by requiring gun owners to pay a transfer fee, and criminalizes possession of an assault firearm not registered in your name."

[Dentali]

Brennan: "A study last year by the Congressional Research Service found that from 1999 to 2013 assault rifles were used in 27 percent public mass shootings, which it defines as the killing of four or more people in a relatively public place. Dating back to 1982, the rate is 24 percent. So again why are we focusing on the minority if your goal is to reduce mass shootings?"

Smith: "We can go back and forth on the numbers, but that is utterly meaningless. Again, the research I cited has the criteria of their being at least four victims, not including the perpetrator, the crimes were carried out by two or less shooters, and they occurred in a public place.
Your data also deals with different sample sizes and years viewed.
But either way, whether the number 24 percent or 27 percent or any other number you come up with, or if it is the greater than 60% total that I found in the FBI research, the fact is that the law prevents a significant amount of the perpetrators from committing these crimes.
Also, the number of shooters who used these weapons is an irrelevant statistic when compared to the number of people on average killed in mass shootings when assault weapons are used versus when "standard" weapons are used. Assault firearms are more effective killing machines, and when one is used in a mass shooting, more people die than when a regular firearm is used."

Brennan:"... No.... Firstly you never gave your data, your sample sizes or metrics, hence my comment on your terrible graph, its not labeled at all or has cited sources. So how was I supposed to know your sample sizes sources or any information?"

"Secondly the specifics certainly do matter, heck last year 37,000 people died in car crashes, we could stop all deadly car accidents in the country today if we made the speed limit 5 miles per hour universally, but we don't because of the burden it places on citizens. The number of people harmed by assault rifles, and the total number of incidents need to be statistically significant enough to warrant placing such a massive burden on legal and responsible gun owners."

[Velahor]

Smith: "We can go back and forth on the numbers, but that is utterly meaningless. Again, the research I cited has the criteria of their being at least four victims, not including the perpetrator, the crimes were carried out by two or less shooters, and they occurred in a public place.
Your data also deals with different sample sizes and years viewed.
But either way, whether the number 24 percent or 27 percent or any other number you come up with, or if it is the greater than 60% total that I found in the FBI research, the fact is that the law prevents a significant amount of the perpetrators from committing these crimes.
Also, the number of shooters who used these weapons is an irrelevant statistic when compared to the number of people on average killed in mass shootings when assault weapons are used versus when "standard" weapons are used. Assault firearms are more effective killing machines, and when one is used in a mass shooting, more people die than when a regular firearm is used."

Brennan:"... No.... Firstly you never gave your data, your sample sizes or metrics, hence my comment on your terrible graph, its not labeled at all or has cited sources. So how was I supposed to know your sample sizes sources or any information?"

"Secondly the specifics certainly do matter, heck last year 37,000 people died in car crashes, we could stop all deadly car accidents in the country today if we made the speed limit 5 miles per hour universally, but we don't because of the burden it places on citizens. The number of people harmed by assault rifles, and the total number of incidents need to be statistically significant enough to warrant placing such a massive burden on legal and responsible gun owners."

Smith: "For my graph, which by the way doesn't include words so the people sitting in the back aren't straining to read it, the data for it is from a University of Alabama study and from the International Small Arms Survey."

"And the specific numbers do matter. So when we talk about specific numbers: what percentage of mass shootings would need to be carried out with assault rifles for you to say enough is enough? Because I truly believe, even if 100% of every gun death in America was because of assault rifles, you'd still oppose any legislation, because party loyalty, the NRA lobby, and ideology is more important to most gun control opponents than cold hard facts and data."

"And to address your analogy, its more like this. Two medications cause adverse side effects. Do we compare the number of people who used the first compared to the number who used the second? It may be helpful, but the most important data is the number of people who were effected by each drug. And therefore, logic comes into play. Its a lot easier to kill more people with an assault rifle than a gun with a bolt action. Facts are facts."

[Prolieum]

House Floor-Chair

"The Representative from Connecticut will be reminded to phrase all statements in the form of a question during the questioning period."

[Prolieum]

Senate Floor

Hazelelponi, conflicted still over the bill, still not favoring it as it was, ultimately cast her thoughts back to her meeting with Esperanza, and her suggestions. She didn't have the chance to talk to her about this directly now, but it seemed like something that she would have suggested, to try to, what did she call it? Act like a cultural conservative. This really sounded like that.

She would probably regret this-but she trusted Huerta's political instinct a whole lot more than her own.

"Aye."

[Prolieum]

Senate Floor-Chair

"With all votes tallied, the measure passes, to be referred to the House with the recommendation that it be passed."

"The floor is open to motions."