Lexington, MA wants to ban semi-autos? Article 34 being introduced on 3/21/2016

[sellersm]

http://investmentwatchblog.com/here-we-go-lexington-massachusetts-now-faces-semi-automatic-gun-confiscation/


“They are now advocating for the government to seize legally owned firearms from the town’s residents.The town of Lexington utilizes an annual town meeting to set policy, bylaws and approve things like the town budget. The residents do not vote directly; instead they have approximately 200 “town meeting members” who vote in representation of their constituents.
One such town meeting member, a Harvard professor named Robert Rotberg has taken it upon himself to enact, what he hopes will be “a movement against assault weapons that would capture the state and therefore maybe explode to reach the country.”
He has seized upon the recent ban enacted in Highland Park, IL, and has modeled his own ban, almost copying the language verbatim. Filing it to the town meeting warrant as Article 34.”
http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/23/the-gun-grabbers-are-coming-lexington-massachusetts-now-faces-semi-automatic-gun-confiscation/
“Town of Lexington Voting To Ban Commonly Owned Firearms & Magazines
The town of Lexington will vote on Article 34 at town meeting beginning on March 21, 2016.”
http://goal.org/lexington-alert.html
Ironically, this is where the 1st revolutionary war started.

Seems legit, as below is the content of Article 34 as taken from here:http://www.lexingtonma.gov/sites/lexingtonma/files/uploads/2016-atm-stm2016-3-warrants-final_3.pdf


ARTICLE 34 AMEND GENERAL BYLAWS - GUNS (Citizen Article)To see if the Town will vote to amend Chapter 97 of the Code of the Town of Lexington (PublicConduct) by adding a new Section regulating the manufacture, sale and possession of firearmswithin the Town, or act in any other manner in relation thereto.(Inserted by Robert Rotberg and 9 or more registered voters) DESCRIPTION: This article would prohibit the manufacture, sale, ownership, orpossession of assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines in the Town ofLexington.

Related article: http://goal.org/lexington-alert.html

[TFOGGER]

My crystal ball shows them passing this, then spending millions of dollars and a dozen years attempting to defend it in court. And even if they manage to somehow survive that gauntlet, they won't be able to enforce it, and someone will get killed during an attempt to enforce it.

[Rucker61]

It will be interesting. The 7th upheld the ban because making people feel safe is more important than upholding rights. Since then, however, the 4th overturned a ban, using strict scrutiny in their review.

[WETWRKS]

But but but...I keep being told that no one is going to take our firearms away from us...

[Rucker61]

But but but...I keep being told that no one is going to take our firearms away from us...

Don't read the text of H.R. 4269, then.

[vossman]

Don't read the text of H.R. 4269, then.

Thats kind of scary. Doesn't look like theyre gonna take your gun but you sure cab buy anymore. Dicks!

[Bailey Guns]

Obviously, it's not good news. But I don't see "confiscation" in there anywhere. Does anyone else? Even prohibiting possession does not equal confiscation.

[HoneyBadger]

The irony is strong here... I would almost enjoy watching this pass, only to rouse the colonists into a [peaceful] revolt.


Otherwise there is this.
http://iowafc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Concord-AR.jpg

[sellersm]

Obviously, it's not good news. But I don't see "confiscation" in there anywhere. Does anyone else? Even prohibiting possession does not equal confiscation.

The word isn't in the Article, the devil will be in the details of how they intend to implement this part:

DESCRIPTION: This article would prohibit the manufacture, sale, ownership, or possession of assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines in the Town of Lexington.

[HoneyBadger]

Reminds me of this:

Boston – National Guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed by elements of a Para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw.

Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement.

Gage blamed the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices. The governor, who described the group’s organizers as “criminals,” issued an executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government’s efforts to secure law and order.

The military raid on the extremist arsenal followed wide-spread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed assault weapons.

Gage issued a ban on military-style assault weapons and ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early this month between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms.

One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that “none of these people would have been killed had the extremists obeyed the law and turned over their weapons voluntarily.”

Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance from heavily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding the government’s plans.

During a tense standoff in the Lexington town park, National Guard Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of the right-wing extremists.

Eight civilians were killed in the ensuing exchange.

Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for the civilian deaths. Before order could be restored, armed citizens from surrounding areas had descended upon the guard units. Colonel Smith, finding his forces over matched by the armed mob, ordered a retreat.

Governor Gage has called upon citizens to support the state/national joint task force in its effort to restore law and order. The governor also demanded the surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack against the government troops.

Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have been identified as “ringleaders” of the extremist faction, remain at large.

[Bailey Guns]

The word isn't in the Article, the devil will be in the details of how they intend to implement this part:

No argument. But it still doesn't say confiscation. That's a pretty strong term considering it appears all one would need do is move your guns outside the town limits. And, no, that doesn't make it OK.

I'm not defending the action of the town representatives or the proposed change. But when people like this writer use terms that clearly aren't in the language it reminds me of a locally well known fear-monger. I almost expected to see a request for money at the end of it. Frankly it's kinda trashy and dishonest. But that's just my opinion.

[JohnnyDrama]

I love that story Honeybadger. Tell it again.


Please?!?!..

[HoneyBadger]

I love that story Honeybadger. Tell it again.


Please?!?!..
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54312091.jpg
...or trying to be funny.

[CobaltSkink]

The irony is strong here... I would almost enjoy watching this pass, only to rouse the colonists into a [peaceful] revolt.


Otherwise there is this.
http://iowafc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Concord-AR.jpg

Two men shooting, two men trying to clear jams? [LOL]

[Rucker61]

Thats kind of scary. Doesn't look like theyre gonna take your gun but you sure cab buy anymore. Dicks!

They'll take them when you're dead. That's confiscation.

[JohnnyDrama]

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54312091.jpg

...or trying to be funny.

The first time I heard the story told in such a manner was way before interwebz days. Some like minded individual gave me a letter describing events along those lines. Before Algore invented the internet and all the baggage associated with it "we" were inclined to scrutinized stuff we read a little more closely. Especially if the "story" had a by-line suggesting it came from the BBC or some other foreign news source. Anyway, it had a strong influence on me.

[theGinsue]

Seems legit, as below is the content of Article 34 as taken from here:

Without reading the references, I'd bet my life this is legitimate. 10.5 years ago I was living a few hundred yards from the Lexington, MA township border. The rules & requirements for owning and possessing any firearms was so restrictive that I chose to leave my guns in CO with a trustworthy friend. At the time I was there I recall considering the irony of living so close to where the first shot of the American Revolutionary War was fired and how readily those folks were not simply allowing their rights (that so many of their own great, great...grandparents had fought and died for) to be withheld but insisting upon it. Their twisted mentality astounds me to this day.

ETA: Had these same people been the residents of Lexington, MA back on April 19, 1775, the Revolutionary War would not have started there or anywhere near there. They are to-the-core peasants.

[SAnd]

The irony is strong here... I would almost enjoy watching this pass, only to rouse the colonists into a [peaceful] revolt.


Otherwise there is this.
http://iowafc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Concord-AR.jpg

"Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
Captain John Parker, commander of the local militia on April 19, 1775 at Lexington, Massachusetts

[Aloha_Shooter]

I am obliged to confess I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University.
- William F. Buckley, Meet the Press, 1966

[Martinjmpr]

Well, three things: The title of this thread is "Lexington MA wants to ban semi-autos", but the proposed bill says "assault weapons." Does MA law define ALL semi-autos as "assault weapons?" IIRC Washington DC used to do that but I don't know about MA.

Second, I guess I was surprised that anybody is allowed to own "assault weapons" in MA anyway? I thought they were pretty much outlawed after Sandy Hook or even before that.

And finally, there doesn't need to be a "confiscation" plan, they can pass the law and then enforce it, or not enforce it and my guess would be on "not." Kinda like our toothless "magazine ban" that doesn't actually ban anything because there's no enforcement mechanism.

There's no principle in law that says a law has to be effective, enforceable, or even that a law has to make sense. This seems to be one of the silly and pointless laws like the Chicago suburb that banned handgun ownership - do you really think nobody who lived in that suburb owned a handgun?

[funkymonkey1111]

The irony is strong here... I would almost enjoy watching this pass, only to rouse the colonists into a [peaceful] revolt.


Otherwise there is this.
http://iowafc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Concord-AR.jpg


Hardly. Recall the "Boston strong" that rolled over and allowed warrant less searches?

[HoneyBadger]

Hardly. Recall the "Boston strong" that rolled over and allowed warrant less searches?
Big difference between that urban environment and the small-ish town of Lexington. Either way, it's more of an exercise of the imagination if you think some citizen's militia would ever be allowed to form and actually stand up to the police "regulars" doing any sort of confiscation.