ACTION ITEMS: Feds plan to restrict public information

[OakRidgeStars]

VA-ALERT: ACTION ITEMS: Feds plan to restrict public information on guns!

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The NRA-ILA is sounding the alarm on this one: the feds want to put a roadblock on dissemination of all technical information on guns and ammunition on the internet, based on the ITAR trade agreement.

Before videos, blogs, or other public postings could be put on the internet, some government bureaucrat will have to pre-approve it! What is the penalty if someone has the audacity to post technical information on guns or ammunition without government approval? Up to a ONE MILLION DOLLAR fine and up to TWENTY YEARS in jail!

The antis have long wanted to use international agreements as excuses to restrict gun rights in America and this would be a big one. Easily accessible technical data on guns and ammunition would dry up. Who knows what some Washington bureaucrat might call “technical data” requiring government approval? Educational material on how guns work? Reloading data? Schematics? Repair information?

This is just another sneaky scheme to undermine both the 1st and 2nd Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and should be opposed by anyone who supports the Constitution.


ACTION ITEMS (must be no later than August 3, 2015)

Email address: DDTCPublicComments@state.gov

USE THIS SUBJECT LINE ONLY: ITAR Amendment—Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage.

Suggested message:

I oppose any changes to “Data Transmission and Storage” in ITAR with respect to firearms and ammunition. Publicly available information on these commonly owned lawful commodities should not be stifled in any way or for any reason.

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS

——

Using the NRA’s “Write Your Lawmakers” tool, let’s also contact our legislators in Washington:

https://www.nraila.org/take-action/writ ... lawmakers/

Suggested text:

As a constituent, I urge you to stop any attempt by the State Department to restrict public information about firearms and ammunition under a proposed change to ITAR’s “Data Transmission and Storage” section. Any such change would be a disaster to gun owners and the firearms industry, not to mention an assault on both the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Let me know what you plan to do to about this proposed restriction.


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Here is an article on the proposed regulation:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... -coverage/

or

http://tinyurl.com/pxccf8m

Obama To Circumvent Congress With ‘Gag Order’ On Firearm Coverage by AWR Hawkins, 7 Jun 2015


On June 1 Breitbart News reported on Obama’s Spring 2015 “Unified Agenda.” The gun control measures contained therein which were to be passed by executive fiat.

Since that time Representatives like

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)91%
(R-KY-4th) have placed riders on a DOJ appropriations bill to stop portions of the executive gun control push in its tracks. Now the NRA-ILA is revealing that the Obama administration is working behind the scenes to stifle reporting on firearms.
From the NRA-ILA:

Even as news reports have been highlighting the gun control provisions of the Administration’s “Unified Agenda” of regulatory objectives, the Obama State Department has been quietly moving ahead with a proposal that could censor online speech related to firearms.

How can this happen?

Like this: The administration is reworking the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). One of the many things regulated by ITAR are “technical data” tied to “defense articles.” This includes, but is not limited to, “detailed design, development, production or manufacturing information” about ammunition and firearms.

More specifically, this kind of “technical data” would be “blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions or documentation” related to ammunition and firearms.

While ITAR and its regulations have not been a concern in the past, as far as constraining or limiting “material posted on publicly available websites,” there are some within the current State Department arguing that “anything published online in a generally-accessible location has essentially been ‘exported,'” simply by virtue of being posted, and is therefore under the purview of ITAR.

Moreover, last week the State Department put forth a proposal “clarifying” how to handle releases containing “technical data” which are posted online or otherwise distributed into the “public domain.” Ultimately, the proposal would require those releasing “technical data” on ammunition or firearms to first seek government approval.

Here’s how the NRA-ILA summed it up:

The proposal would institute a massive new prior restraint on free speech. This is because all such releases would require the ‘authorization’ of the government before they occurred. The cumbersome and time-consuming process of obtaining such authorizations, moreover, would make online communication about certain technical aspects of firearms and ammunition essentially impossible.

Public comments on the proposed changes to ITAR will be accepted until August 3, 2015. You can submit those comments at regulations.gov or e-mail them to DDTCPublicComments@state.gov with the subject line indicating the comments concern the ‘‘ITAR Amendment—Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage.”




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(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

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[flyingron]

THe NRA-ILA is full of crap as usual. In fact, most of the provisions they are griping about are already in the existing ITAR regulations. Any of us who've worked in the encryption, computer security, etc... industries have been dealing with this for decades. There's no specific "gun related" information in the proposed rulemaking.

The two biggest things this has been used to stomp on for the average joe are the dissemination of information on ENCRYPTION and PRIVACY. That's more to get riled up about.

Writing your legislator isn't likely to do ANYTHING. The "LAW" has already been enacted on this ages ago. If you want to protest, you need to submit the comments to the rule making on regulations.gov. Search for the id: 1400–AD70 in the search engine and fire away.