Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office Middle District of Florida For Immediate Release Roger B. Handberg, United States Attorney www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements in an Attempt To Buy a Firearm Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Peter Alexander Lawrence (41, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to making false statements and representations to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Lawrence faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. According to the plea agreement, in March 2023, Lawrence completed an ATF Form 4473 during the attempted purchase of a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer. On the form, Lawrence indicated that he had not been convicted of a crime where a judge could have imprisoned him for more than one year, and also that he had never been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Both those statements were false in that, in 2008, Lawrence was convicted of a crime where the prison sentence could have been more than a year, and in 2018, he was convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna Falzetta. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Why will gun control not work in America when it seems to work in other countries? Gregg Kielma The key word here is,,, seems. It only seems to work. In fact, it doesn’t. Countries like the UK and Australia brag about their low homicide rates. But if you bother to look, their homicide rates were already that low BEFORE they passed their gun control laws. Now, would you like me to start listing all the countries with very strict gun control which have violent crime and homicide rates that are off the charts? It’s a long list. NOPE...NOPE...NOPE! says Kielma
If there were no guns, why would you need a weapon to protect your family? Gregg Kielma Well, so there are no guns. Never invented, no books on the topic, no hidden guns - the planet doesn’t even have a definition for “gun” in any dictionary. That’s what you’re thinking, right? Absolutely nothing “gun” ever existed…? So, haven't we just described humanity before guns were invented? What did criminals use then? You surely don’t believe criminals and guns all came on the scene at the same time, do you? We have always had those who coveted our stuff - burglars, thieves, adulterers (coveting our spouses), and so on. And there have always been those that would kill others. Even Cain slew his brother Abel - but with a rock. People have also killed with the jawbones of asses, pointy sticks, sticks with rocks on the tip, bigger sticks (clubs), swords, spears, arrows, mauls, and the list goes on. So, was there no need before guns were invented to protect the family? Were knives or clubs or spears or axes somehow unable to kill family members? If you see the error in your logic, then you will also see that some sort of weapon would be needed to equalize or exceed the bad guy’s weapon. If he had a sword, he could attack you from farther away than you could defend yourself with a knife. That’s why we use guns - they are the best equalizer of force available, do not require you to be up close and personal, (1.5 feet) to work, will work even if wet or cold, easy to use, and are very portable. Even if the bad guy also has a gun, a 100 lb frail woman can still defend herself equally regardless if the guy is 2 meters tall and weigh 150 kilos. Electrical weapons must be used close in; tasers have a nasty habit of not working every time. They also have a hard time handling multiple adversaries. Sprays will be wind driven and might incapacitate you as well (don’t ask how I know - it didn’t take much!). Knives and such require speed and skill - lots of training. If you’re in a knife fight, you WILL get cut. Maybe a lot. If all you have is a knife, or a stun gun, and the bad guy has a gun … Not good odds!
Gregg Kielma Is it crunch time for getting rid of the Second Amendment. What’s the next logical step for the anti-gun crowd? What might be the keystone event that necessitate a total gun ban? How will it be set up? There are dozens of countries in the world that prohibit their citizens from owning guns and defending themselves. If you don't like the Second Amendment protecting your God given right to self-defense, the solution to that problem is quite simple. Please move to a country where the citizens do not have the right to defend themselves from criminals. Here in America, there are more than 100 million people who appreciate our right to defend ourselves, and that will never change — not in your lifetime, and not in the lifetime of your grandchildren if I have a voice to make sure my family is always safe, Make no mistake about this! Kielma
How many guns would a full assault rifle ban get off American streets? What % of Guns? Gregg Kielma None. An assault rifle is a selective fire (switchable between full auto and semi-auto) rifle in an intermediate caliber. The M16 is an assault rifle. The military has loads of them. Private citizens do not. The number of legally privately owned assault rifles (Class III under the National Firearms Act of 1934, and the registry was closed to new weapons in 1986.) is rather small. It takes an extensive background check and a $200 tax to be able to own one. In addition to the background check and the tax stamp, the scarcity of legal ones means you’ll be paying at least $20,000 to own one. There are approximately zero legally owned assault rifles on the streets at any given time. You'd get it… 0 guns. Or if you need a percentage, 0%. Assault rifles aren't on the streets, they're in collections. And if they're not in collections, the government doesn't know about them, so the ban wouldn't get those either.
What measures do you think could be implemented to reduce the availability of auto sears, also known as "Glock switches," used in illegal gun conversions? Gregg Kielma Not to much. Kids can literally 3D print them in their high school computer, and shop classes. Baltimore tried to ban so-called Ghost Gun kits and the kids just started hiring tech savvy friends to 3D print them and the switches too. So, we’re going to have to be responsible adults and lock these young adults up, period. Caught make a switch mandatory incarceration time. The insanity has to stop. When you catch a kid burglarizing apartments or strong arm stealing cars, he's about 6 months to a year away from being a gunslinging drug dealer who kills familys, other gun slinging dope dealers over the most lucrative spots to deal dope from, FACT. Put them in reform school, juvenal incarceration or jail for the maximum sentence and you might keep them from becoming a homicide statistic. There's no other way..
What would a gun owner do if I started going through his house to steal his firearms? Gregg Kielma It’s legal basically in most states to shoot to stop a felony in progress, even more so in castle doctrine states, specifically your home. When you’re going to steal, i.e. take possession, of a firearm that doesn’t belong to you - you’re committing a felony in every jurisdiction I am aware of. Now, for the people I know including myself, if you’re going to try to take firearms (you know, the real “weapons of war” they harp about everybody having) - you’re crossing an even crazier line. You’re entering the home of someone with real, serious weaponry that is worth a significant amount of money. Cross the threshold, (enter my castle) of a legal firearm owners’ home with ill intent and your either going to be seriously injured or killed.
The Statistics Don't LIE! Gregg Kielma What do gun fanatics have to say about the fact that there are over 130 studies proving that gun control works? Do they just deny the facts? Fact like these: • There are over 300,000,000 guns in the US. And 5 times more deaths by stabbing than by rifles. • More people are beaten to death than killed by "Assault Weapons". • We have more guns in our country than any other country. And we rate 28th in gun deaths. Keep reading! •Handguns are responsible for over 80% of mass shootings. • Between 1993 and 2003 gun ownership went up 56% while gun violence went down by half. • In 2015 95% of all mass shootings happened in gun free zones. • All six states that banned open carry between 2013-2015 experience higher police fatalities due to firearms. • On average, the people who have concealed carry permits, commit less crime than police do. • The Swiss have 2 million guns for 8 million people and have little restriction on firearms. Their gun deaths per year is almost 0. • Kleck and the CDC both proved that there are 1 million to 3 million Defensive gun uses per year. The DGU value is way more valuable than the 1600 bad deaths. • Average person committing a homicide has been arrested 11 times prior to committing that homicide. • Of the 250,000 known criminals who used firearms, 1% purchased their firearms from a retailer. 99% off the street.
What Happens If There Is Too Much “Spin” or Not Enough on a Bullet Fired From a Firearm? Gregg Kielma If the rotation rate is too fast it is possible for the bullet to fly apart. To give you an idea of how fast bullets are spinning, let’s use a .223 bullet fired with a muzzle velocity of 2900 feet per second out of a barrel with a 1:7 twist rate (1 rotation in 7 inches): 2900 fps = 34,800 inches/sec 1/7 rotation/inch * 34,800 inch/sec = 4,971 revolutions per second 4,971 rev/sec * 60 = ~300,000 rpm So, your typical AR-15 round spins 300,000 times per minute. Just a comparison my 370 Z in race mode…8000 RPM. What a difference. If you put too much spin on a bullet they can literally fly apart, especially for larger diameter bullets. This is why .30 Caliber rounds are typically fired out of barrel with a much slower twist rate of 1:10 or 1:12. The other issue is that the higher twist rate imparts more friction/resistance on the bullet which increases pressure in the barrel, so it is possible to blow up a barrel if you overload the charge on a high twist barrel. You typically use fast twist barrels of 1:8 or 1:7 for long skinny bullets like 77 gr 223. Those need a faster spin to keep them stable in flight and prevent “keyholing” which is when the bullet tumbles in flight. Tumbling in flight is what happens when you don’t have enough spin and obviously results in poor performance. You often can’t tell because the bullets are seated in the cartridge case and you can’t see it, but there are significant differences in bullet (projectile) length. 55gr .223 on the left, 77 gr on the right.
In The US, If You Own a Type of Firearm That Has Now Been Deemed Illegal… What Happens? Gregg Kielma Read on friends, this from a lawful firearms owner whose firearms are now illegal in his state… What a shame…. Taking firearms from law abiding citizens. A travesty of a misguided law aimed at law abiding citizens, says firearms instructor, FFL and Gunsmith Gregg Kielma. Please read on and understand where your state or place of residence legislation make be headed. God Bless America and The Second Amendment. Our readers thought. At one point I owned two perfectly-legally-purchased shotguns that were later classified as ‘NFA weapons’, meaning they weren’t “banned” but they now required registration. I saw a notice in a gun magazine that they had been reclassified, and that the punishment for having an unregistered NFA item was a MANDATORY 10-year jail term, and a MANDATORY $250,000 fine, PER weapon. Not wanting 20 years in jail and a half-million dollar fine, I called the BATF to see what the procedure was to get them registered. The nice man on the phone said, “We haven’t yet developed a process for that,” to which I replied, “then I assume that until you have a process, the penalties for possessing them without registration paperwork would not be enforced…?” He said “No, the penalties would still apply…” I hung up the phone, thankful I’d not been given any personal details. I couldn’t find any gun shops that knew how to do it, because most gun shops don’t have the license to deal with NFA firearms (machine guns, suppressors, and so on). None of the gun shops could even buy them from me, for the same reason. Finally, I found an NFA shop, and they said they would help me get them papered. That took a few months, but I finally got the ‘stamps’ proving they had been duly registered. I wanted to just sell them at that point anyway, but couldn’t have done that until they got papers, or I’d have gotten in worse trouble. Once they were papered, I wanted to sell them to that NFA shop, but the rules are so strange they couldn’t just buy them from me and sell them; they had to keep them locked up with me holding the key, and finally they found me buyers and helped make sure the paperwork got done right. Because the guns weren’t worth much anyway, and there was now an added $200 the buyer had to pay for each one to do the transfer and registration, I wound up getting $500 for guns I paid $750 for. It was a frightening experience, to be ‘legal’ at one minute, then all of a sudden ‘in violation’ through no fault of my own, then a maze of paperwork I was unfamiliar with, but every page had a notice that any misstatement would be punishable by fines and jail time. Yet your average punk gangbanger is out there buying whatever illegal guns they want. I’m not sure how all this paperwork is keeping us safer.
