Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Venezuelans regret gun ban, 'a declaration of war against an unarmed population'

Another great example of why we must never surrender our firearms. These people are learning the hard way.

CUCUTA, Venezuela/Colombia border – As Venezuela continues to crumble under the socialist dictatorship of President Nicolas Maduro, some are expressing words of warning – and resentment – against a six-year-old gun control bill that stripped citizens of their weapons.

“Guns would have served as a vital pillar to remaining a free people, or at least able to put up a fight,” Javier Vanegas, 28, a Venezuelan teacher of English now exiled in Ecuador, told Fox News. “The government security forces, at the beginning of this debacle, knew they had no real opposition to their force. Once things were this bad, it was a clear declaration of war against an unarmed population.”

Under the direction of then-President Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2012 enacted the “Control of Arms, Munitions and Disarmament Law,” with the explicit aim to “disarm all citizens.” The law took effect in 2013, with only minimal pushback from some pro-democracy opposition figures, banned the legal commercial sale of guns and munitions to all - except government entities.

Chavez initially ran a months-long amnesty program encouraging Venezuelans to trade their arms for electrical goods. That year, there were only 37 recorded voluntary gun surrenders, while the majority of seizures - more than 12,500 – were by force.

In 2014, with Nicolás Maduro at the helm following Chavez’s death but carrying through his socialist “Chavista” policies, the government invested more than $47 million enforcing the gun ban – which has since included grandiose displays of public weapons demolitions in the town square.

A former gun store owner inside Venezuela – who told Fox News he has now been relegated to only selling fishing supplies since the ban – said he can’t sell any type of weaponry - even a slingshot - and underscored that even BB ammunition and airsoft guns are only issued to police and military officers.

The punishment for illicit carrying or selling a weapon now is 20 years behind bars.

Prior to the 2012 reform, there were only around eight gun stores in the entire country. And the process of obtaining a legal permit to own and carry was plagued by long wait lines, high costs and bribery “to make the process swifter” at the one department allowed to issue licenses, which operated under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense.

“Venezuelans didn’t care enough about it. The idea of having the means to protect your home was seen as only needed out in the fields. People never would have believed they needed to defend themselves against the government,” Vanegas explained. “Venezuelans evolved to always hope that our government would be non-tyrannical, non-violator of human rights, and would always have a good enough control of criminality.”

He said it didn’t take long for such a wide-eyed public perception to fall apart. “If guns had been a stronger part of our culture, if there had been a sense of duty for one to protect their individual rights, and as a show of force against a government power – and had legal carry been a common thing – it would have made a huge difference,” he lamented.

Since April 2017, almost 200 pro-democracy protesters in Venezuela – armed mostly with stones – were shot dead by government forces in brutal retaliation to their call to end the oppressive socialist regime. The once oil-wealthy nation has continued its downward spiral into financial ruin, extreme violence, and mass human rights violations. An estimated three million Venezuelans have been forced to flee since 2015.

“Venezuela shows the deadly peril when citizens are deprived of the means of resisting the depredations of a criminal government,” said David Kopel, a policy analyst, and research director at the Independence Institute and adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law at Denver University. “The Venezuelan rulers – like their Cuban masters – apparently viewed citizen possession of arms as a potential danger to a permanent communist monopoly of power.”

Although the bill was sold to the population as a hardline effort to improve security, and sharply reduce crime, many now point to Venezuela as a case study for how gun prohibition can actually produce the opposite effect.

MORE HERE:
https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuelans-regret-gun-prohibition-we-could-have-defended-ourselves

2nd amendment!!!

Didn't Obama give him candy?

Many quotes come to mind.......

"Stupid is as stupid does, Sir."

YEP.....and we have a lot of stupids in this country..

Nope.......BJ.

Phugg em.

This is happening in New Jersey . . . https://www.ammoland.com/2018/12/legal-guidance-what-nj-police-come-for-gun-magazines/


"Editors Note: New Jersey readers if you had not turned in all your standard gun magazines, that hold more than ten (10) rounds, by December 10, 2018, the state of New Jersey has made you a felon. You are now a criminal under the law."

Knock! Knock! – Show Us Your Glock

What to Expect & How to Protect Yourself from the Murphy Magazine Ban
By Evan F. Nappen, Attorney at Law

The Murphy Magazine Ban WILL be enforced. It is only a question of what degree it will be enforced against honest gun owners.

“The New Jersey State Police corresponded with Breitbart News on December 11 and refused to rule out house-to-house enforcement of the state’s “high capacity” magazine ban.”

Possession of any magazine holding over 10 rounds that works in a semi-automatic firearm is now a felony-level offense with a penalty of up to 18 months in prison. There is no “grandfather clause.” If you are convicted, you lose your gun rights for the entire United States. These standard capacity magazines, which have been turned into contraband, are commonly being called “Murphy Mags.”

There are four basic levels of potential enforcement. The question is how aggressive the anti-gun-rights Murphy administration is going to be in enforcing the Murphy Mag ban. Here are the four possibilities:

1. Police Raids: House-to-house searches of suspected possessors.
2. Police Investigations: Interrogation of suspected possessors.
3. Demand Letters: Intimidating official letters sent to suspected possessors.
4. Random Prosecutions: Randomly prosecuting anyone caught possessing.

Police Raids

Many gun owners are very concerned that the police will be coming door to door and searching homes. It is unlikely to happen. The State Police claim to have “no plans” at this time to do this. However, it is not an unreasonable fear, considering the extremist left’s fanatical hatred of gun owners. Ultimately New Jersey’s zealous anti-gun-rights Attorney General could order the State Police to act. To say it will never happen would be foolish. Although a search warrant is normally necessary, house-to-house searches have happened without warrants if there are “exigent circumstances.” Approximately five years ago, this was done in Boston when the police were looking for a terrorist suspect. Here are some reasons/scenarios why it might happen in New Jersey:

Some highly publicized mass shooting occurs, and the knee-jerk, politically expedient reaction is to go after Murphy Mag possessors.

Murphy’s failure to aggressively enforce his ban gives his political challengers the opportunity to call him out on it. There is already pressure on Murphy to explain how he intends to enforce the ban. Breitbart News also reached out to Murphy’s press secretary, Daniel Bryan, about enforcement of the ban. He confirmed that the Governor “…had not ruled out house-to-house enforcement of the ban either.”

New Jersey has a computerized database of registered gun owners & their registered handguns which includes make and model. Many of these handguns came with Murphy Mags. For example, 15 round magazines came standard with the Glock Model 19, Beretta Model 92 and SIG Model P226, just to name three commonly possessed handguns.

New Jersey has a long history of abusing gun owners, creating “gun law victims” (destroying people’s lives with arbitrary gun laws) and undermining Second Amendment rights.

New Jersey has a liberal news media which actively acts as the propaganda arm for the anti-gun-rights movement.

New Jersey law enforcement will obey orders and enforce the law, rather than lose their jobs & pensions.

In 1990, the Florio Administration explored going after “Assault Firearm” owners under the newly enacted “Assault Firearm” law, which included a “large capacity ammunition magazine” ban. They tried to quietly sneak through an Administrative Code provision requiring the filing of the Certificate of Eligibility with the police on private sales of long arms. This would have cured the break-in establishing the chain of possession. I helped to kill it by successfully challenging the code modification as being outside the statutory law. The Florio Administration abandoned their scheme. Since then, the Murphy Administration has eliminated private sales via newly passed legislation.

There are other important differences between the Florio Ban of 1990 & the current Murphy Mag Ban:

1. There are substantially more, commonly possessed, standard capacity magazines that hold over 10 rounds, than over 15, that fit readily identifiable, registered handguns.
2. There was no reliable pre-existing computer database in 1990.
3. In 1990, there was not the intense fanatical hatred gun owners that exists today.
4. There was no windfall of Bloomberg money for anti-gun extremist candidates in 1990.

What to Do If the Police Raid Your Home?

A right given up is a right lost. Do not consent to a search without a warrant. Never physically resist. Do not sign any documents or statements without an attorney’s advice. All citizens have a Fourth Amendment right to a warrant being issued before their person or premises are searched.

Exceptions exist regarding the necessity for a warrant, and a large body of law exists as to when a law enforcement officer has probable cause for a warrantless search. However, whether probable cause for the warrantless search exists or not, one should never consent to a warrantless search. The key here is never consent. Warning: Even if you are not home, the police can search your home based on the consent of your spouse, roommate or a guest. If a law enforcement officer insists on searching your home, do not resist the search. Just make it clear that you are not consenting to this search. Additionally, do not sign any consent form or for that matter any document without the advice of your attorney. Law enforcement officers cannot get a warrant simply based on your refusal, nor can they punish you for not giving consent to search.

If a search is done in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights, the court will suppress the evidence obtained, and the State will not be able to use it against you in a criminal prosecution. When you consent to a search, anything found may be used as evidence — evidence against you — whether there was probable cause or not! Although you may feel that you have nothing to hide, consider that you may inadvertently possess contraband which you believe to be legal, or that a friend may have left contraband in your car, house, or borrowed clothing.

Police Investigations

There is much more of a chance that the police will investigate based on information gleaned from the computerized database of registered gun owners and their registered handguns. It is a relatively simple task for state or local police to look at their database of registered gun owners with their registered handguns and start knocking on doors to talk to suspected possessors of handguns with standard issue Murphy Mags (such as Glock 19, SIG P226, Beretta 92, etc.). No warrant is necessary to investigate. Talking to suspected possessors at their homes will possibly lead to more information justifying a search, seizure, and arrest.

What if the police want to talk to you?

If police knock on your door, do not open the door, ask them through the closed door if they have a warrant. If they don’t have a warrant, do not allow them into your home. Do not answer any questions. Simply say “I do not want to talk to you” and do not talk to the police. The Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and against self-incrimination is one of the most important Constitutional rights. By remaining silent, a person is not assisting the State in its case against him or her. This is the purest form of self-protection. It is something everyone should do, whether the person believes him/herself innocent or not. You cannot be punished for a refusal to answer questions. Basically, only a court can order you to answer questions. Remember, anything you say can be used against you. For instance, merely affirming that you still have the registered handgun, could lead to being searched and arrested. Lying to the police is a crime, but remaining silent is not. So, stay silent!

Not giving consent is not probable cause for a search. Some people feel that if they do not consent to the search, then the officer will think they are guilty of hiding something. Some people are afraid of the improper question: “What do you have to hide?” The proper question you should ask yourself is: “Why does this law enforcement officer feel it is necessary to invade my privacy and conduct a search without a warrant?” This mindset properly shifts the burden to the police. Remember, the Fourth Amendment is there to protect our privacy.

Always remain polite when asserting your rights, but the key is to assert them. Do not be embarrassed or intimidated into giving up your rights. If you give up your rights (apart from making defending you that much harder), you will have substantially increased your chance of becoming another victim of New Jersey gun law.

Intimidation Letters

Law Enforcement agencies might choose to send intimidating letters demanding information based on the computerized database of registered gun owners and their registered handguns. The letters would go to suspected possessors of handguns with standard issue Murphy Mags. It is a simple matter today to send letters via a database. This type of intimidation letter is often used to collect taxes. Any information gleaned could then be followed up with further enforcement actions.

What if you receive an intimidation letter?

Generally, you have no obligation to respond to questions in a such letter. Contact an attorney as soon as possible for specific advice regarding such a letter.

Random Prosecutions

There is no doubt that enforcement will occur by way of random prosecutions. Police will find Murphy Mags due to Red Flag Laws, Domestic Violence Laws, Duty to Warn Laws, safekeeping seizures, house fires, home inspections and the endless other ways that contraband items find their way to the authorities. You can be sure to see criminal charges on these Murphy Mags. This is the default setting for minimum enforcement.

What if you are the subject of a random prosecution?

If you are charged with Murphy Mag possession or any other criminal offense, contact an attorney as soon as possible for specific advice and representation.

Action Items:

1. Make sure that your friends and family are aware of this potential threat.
2. Make sure that your friends and family are aware of the implications of talking with the police and consenting to searches.
3. Make sure that you do not have in your possession any Murphy Mags or other prohibited items.
4. Make sure that you, your family and your friends have the mindset to stand on your rights

That’s scary!

And the Heller decision everyone seems to happy with pretty much affirms this is AOK..

I read an article on Breitbart, that Detroit either passed or tried to pass an ammo tax. They also wanted a psych evaluation before being able to buy ammunition. Yeah that will fix the problem😉

anyone that would live in that craphole would be subject to disqual. IMO if based on psych evaluation

no gun control effort or law has ever been about promoting public safety. It is ALWAYS about controlling the Citizens.

Those people over there aren’t smart enough to know they were being fuucked when it happened.

We're smart enough to know we're being fuucked and still we do nothing about it.

Careful with that "over there" comment because half of America is just as GD stupid.

They only took twelve thousand-five hundred guns. Doesn't that leave millions still in civilian hands?

Venezuelans ain't exactly known for their bravery.

The only effective recourse is to kill legislators that vote for arms bans. And anyone who tries to enforce a ban.

18 mos isn't very long on that Murphy ban. I'm positive I'd remember the prosecutor & arresting officers, etc.