To the Editor:

“I’m just a hunter; I shoot trap, and the Second Amendment battle doesn’t affect me.”

“They are not interested in my shotgun, my big-game rifle, or my musket. They don’t care how many slugs or rounds I buy.”

Wrong! Too many gun owners believe these statements are true. They feel their civil liberties, like the right to bear arms, free speech, and due process will not be infringed.

These people need to wake up; each and every day our civil liberties are dwindling. The fight to preserve our civil liberties is a battle that needs to be fought by all gun owners as it now affects every single gun owner.

The NYS “un-SAFE Act” [New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013] reaches into the home of every law-abiding gun owner and further infringes on our Second Amendment rights. Now it appears our 14th Amendment has been chipped away at since 2004.

Last week, 25 patriots, Second Amendment advocates joined together to sue the federal government over its abuse of our confidential, personal information that we provide when we submit to a background check prior to purchasing a gun.

The lawsuit Pratt et al v. Lynch et al is a move to expose and stop this illegal activity and restore our rights. Their claim is, without any legal authority, the attorney general, the FBI [Federal bureau of Investigation], the TSC [Terrorist Screening Center], and the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives] are treating gun owners like terrorists; these federal agencies are conducting a terrorist background check every time they run a firearms pre-purchase background check.

Stephen J. Aldstadt, president of SCOPE [Shooters Committee on Political Education] and co-plaintiff in the lawsuit says, “The ATF is under a legal obligation to protect our personal information when we go to a dealer to purchase a firearm and to purge that information after the background check is complete. Instead, the ATF, FBI, and the TSC have been freely sharing the information for more than 10 years, including with foreign governments and private contractors.”

As you can see this is a violation of our 14th Amendment. In part the 14th tells us, “…No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

There are four things every gun owner must do now:

— First, Join Stop the Secrecy FOIPA [Freedom Of Information and Privacy Act] www.law-policy.com: Demand information on your own behalf.  Find and download (www.scopeny.org) the Freedom of Information Form that you can use to demand that the TBI and TSC release any information they have about you, whether in the form of information from the “terrorist watch list” or information from your submission of the ATF Form 4473;

— Second, download The Plaintiffs’ Complaint, also at www.law-policy.com. It explains your rights and how they are being violated.  Please e-mail, share, and hand it out at your local range.

— Third, call your senator and congressman, and tell them “No 10th factor!”  They want to add the “terrorist watch list” as a 10th, permanent disqualifying factor from the ownership, possession, and transfer of firearms.

— And, finally, if you are registered to vote, please do so. If not, please register to vote today.

Thomas Jefferson said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” We can stay silent no more: Become active; get involved with groups such as SCOPE, NRA [the National Rifle Association], NYSR&PA [New York State Rifle and Pistol Association], New York Revolution, and New York Militia.

Be aware. Be active. Be safe.

Sean S. Lyons

Berne

Editor’s note: In November, Sean S. Lyons ran unsuccessfully on the Republican line, for a seat on the Berne Town Board.