Planning for Gun Control – 5 Steps to Prepare for Gun Bans

Joe Biden has proposed the strictest gun control plan we’ve ever seen in America. In fact, there are so many elements to his gun control plan and so many overlapping restrictions and rules that we had to put together a summary of the Biden gun control plan just to make some sense of it all.

With unclear election results, there’s a good chance Biden may officially win the Presidency and try to implement his plan. This invites the question: If you know that severe gun control is coming, what can you do now to prepare?

In this article, we hope to give you some ideas on how you can prepare for gun control.

First we’ll explore what gun control measures might be coming. Then, we’ll run through our 5 ideas to plan for coming gun control:

• Take Inventory
• Buy Guns/Mags Now
• Explore Getting an FFL
• Make Transfers Now
• Choose a Gun-friendly State

None of these ideas are guaranteed to work because we don’t even know what the actual gun control laws will look like (what they specifically prohibit and exempt), but we hope that they’ll at least get you thinking in the right direction so that you aren’t caught off-guard when and if gun control is implemented.

What Gun Control Measures Might be Coming?

Who knows.  Seriously, we know what Biden proposes as his gun control plan but we have no idea if he’ll get the chance to implement it.

However, if he is able to get some of his gun control ideas implemented, it will be bad news for gun owners (and bad news for future victims of violence who will be unable to protect themselves).

The biggest elements of the Biden gun control plan are banning the future manufacture and sale of “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines” and requiring that they either be surrendered or a $200 tax paid and registration for every covered firearm and magazine.

If that’s not bad enough, he hasn’t said what he considers to be an “assault weapon.” However, he has said that he wants laws stricter than previous “assault weapon” laws which banned firearms by features because it allowed manufactures to get around the bans by making featureless “complaint” firearms. We can only read this to mean that he’ll try to ban all semi-auto rifles that take a detachable magazine.

Biden also proposes most every other gun control measure we’ve heard: expanding red flag laws, limit purchases to 1 per month, stopping online firearm and ammo sales, etc.

So, without knowing exactly what is coming, how do you prepare?

1. Take Inventory of Your Current Firearms and Magazines

Before we can give you suggestions on what to get and before you can know how what you’ll have might be affected, you need to know what you have.

Magazines

Take a solid inventory of everything firearm related. If you’re like us, you run the risk of having a 30 round magazine in a random box in the attic that you forgot about.

I, unfortunately, lived in Connecticut for a few years when they implemented their ban on “high capacity” magazines. They required the registration of every single magazine or you risked a felony (as an attorney who enjoys being able to lawfully posses firearms, a felony is a really bad thing). If you have a bit of gear everywhere (like me) and likely have things you’ve forgotten about, it can be a scary feeling to not know if you’ve accounted for everything.

For any potential “assault weapon” you have and every magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition, multiply that number by $200 to see how much you may be required to pay under Biden’s gun control plan. Although most people will be looking for more magazines, you might find out that you have more than you’ll want and this might be a good time to sell some.

Parts

Also, see what parts you have. There’s a strong chance that AR-15 pistol braces will be made illegal – do you have one in a box in the garage that you forgot about?  I’m not suggesting how you should react to gun control and whether you should comply – that’s up to you. However, you should at least know what you have so you can know what you’re dealing with.

After you know what you have, you can now make the next decision to get more or to sell some now.

As you spend some attention to what you should have, you might find that a gun is missing. If it was stolen, please handle it ASAP with law enforcement. However, perhaps you sold it a while ago. If you’re worried about being able to prove that you no longer have a firearm that might end up being banned, it couldn’t hurt to create a written receipt.

2. Buy Guns and Magazines Now

If you think you need more guns or magazines, go buy them now!

If they end up being banned later, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to keep them but the current proposal will allow it with a registration and $200 fee. What we do know is this, if they are banned later, it’ll be too late to get them then.

Also, if Biden’s gun control proposal is enacted, online sales of firearms and ammo will come to an end so, if you’re looking for good deals or available inventory online, now’s your time.

• If you’re looking for more magazines, we’ve gathered and ranked the Best AR-15 Magazines
• If you’re looking for a firearm, check out How to Buy a Gun Online

3. Explore Getting an FFL

As with each of these ideas, NONE of them are guarantees because nobody knows what, if any, gun control proposals will be in effect and therefore nobody knows what exemptions will exist.

However, if we look to some recent gun control in other states we can get some helpful ideas.

For example, in Connecticut, they recently banned “assault weapons” and required registration of firearms and magazines. In the Connecticut law, there was an exemption for a specific type of Federal Firearm License (FFL), “Manufacturer FFLs.” (07 and 10 FFLs)

As you can imagine, many people in Connecticut figured out how to get an FFL (most from their homes as home-based FFLs) and were not only able to legally keep their “assault weapons” but they were able to continue to purchase more.

Also, they realized other benefits like being able to make some side money selling firearms, getting access to firearms they couldn’t otherwise have like machine guns, and waiting only a couple of days for NFA items (like silencers) instead of many months.

Getting an FFL is NOT a guaranteed method of avoiding Biden’s gun control plans. But, if there’s an exemption for FFLs like there often is, then you might be happy that you got one now. It takes about 2 months from the start of getting your FFL to having the license in your hands.

4. Make Transfers Now

If it becomes illegal to purchase or obtain “assault weapons,” then you might want to go ahead and transfer any firearms now that you’ve been planning to give or sell to someone else.

For example, if you have an AR-15 that you have been meaning to sell to a family member, do it now while you can so they have it before any bans on transfers takes effect. Or, if you’ve been meaning to sell a firearm, do it now before it’s too late.

The same goes for magazines – if you want to be a good friend and sell or give some of your magazines, doing it now before it’s illegal is wise.

This is exactly why conducting an inventory is such a good idea now.

5. Choose a Gun Friendly State

As we pointed out in an example above, your gun rights are often at risk more from state-level laws. If Biden struggles getting his gun control proposal implemented at the federal level, you can be sure that there’ll be pressure on states to enact their own laws – especially blue states that already want to enact more gun control.

This might be too big of an option for most people but it is worth mentioning as a consideration – being in a gun-friendly state is one of the best things you can do to enjoy your gun rights.

Is there anything else you’re doing to prepare for any potential gun control? If so, let us know in the comments below.