Those who would spit on the Constitution and turn free men into slaves by disarming them are fond of saying they only want a “compromise” for “common-sense” gun control. The very definition of compromise is give and take. In the minds of gun-control fanatics, this mean we give and they take. Beware of wolves dressed as sheep: Make no mistake about it, they want to ban the private ownership of all firearms.
Let’s look back at some of those “compromises”:
1934: The National Firearms Act imposed a tax on the manufacture, sale, and transport of certain firearms and suppressors.
1938: The Federal Firearms Act required gun manufacturers, importers, and dealers to obtain a federal firearms license. It also defined a group of people, including convicted felons, who could not purchase guns, and mandated that gun sellers keep customer records.
1968: Following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968. The GCA repealed and replaced the FFA, updated Title II of the NFA to “fix” Constitutional issues, and added language about “destructive devices.” Overall, the bill banned importing guns that have “no sporting purpose,” and imposed stricter licensing and regulation on the firearms industry.
1986: The Firearms Owners Protection Act actually enacted protections by prohibiting a national registry of dealer records, limiting ATF inspections to once per year, and softening what is defined as “engaging in the business” of selling firearms.
On the downside, it prohibited civilian ownership or transfer of machine guns made after May 19, 1986, and redefined “silencers.”
1993: The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 required that background checks be completed before a gun is purchased from a licensed dealer, manufacturer, or importer. It established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is maintained by the FBI.
1994: The subsection of The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that is commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban outlawed the ability to “manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon” unless it was “lawfully possessed [grandfathered] under Federal law on the date of the enactment of this subsection.” The law banned weapons based on cosmetic features and banned new magazines that held more than 10 rounds.
Thankfully the bill had a sunset clause written into it and ceased to become law in September 2004.
The time has come for shooters of all disciplines to stand shoulder to shoulder and say, “No more.” It’s the other side’s turn to compromise.
Until next time, stay low and watch your back.
