Despite campaigning, in part, as a champion of gun rights, President Donald Trump’s administration isn’t exactly as resilient on firearms as many would like. Instead, he seems willing to wiggle more on gun rights than he is on many other issues.
That’s why the Justice Department is now kicking off the process to ban bump stocks.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice formally submitted a regulation on Saturday to ban “bump stocks,” a modification to high-capacity rifles that lets them fire like an automatic weapon.
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum in February directing the department to make the regulatory change, which must now be approved by the Office of Management and Budget before it is published and subject to a commentary period.
The move does not require congressional approval, allowing the administration to side-step what could have been insurmountable pressure from pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association that have worked to erode changes in firearm laws in the wake of mass shootings in Florida and Nevada.
It doesn’t require congressional approval, though Congress could override the regulation. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen. Bump stocks are an easy target following the massacre at a Las Vegas concert last year, and they’re most likely serving as a token sacrifice to mollify anti-gun zealots just a bit.
It won’t work that way, though.
Instead, it’ll be tout as a good start…and that’s the best-case scenario. The more likely scenarios all revolve around anti-gun crusaders acting like sharks and sensing blood in the water. They’ll see it as a sign of weakness and ramp up their attacks, all to try and pressure the administration into taking more of an anti-gun stance.
Further, it won’t actually stop anyone from bump firing. Those who want to bump fire will continue. It’ll accomplish nothing except to encourage the anti-gun jihadis to keep up their pressure.
There’s a reason we of the pro-gun rights mindset refuse to give ground, as a general rule. It’s because we’ve been there. We’ve watched time and time again where we give ground in the name of compromise, but the other side never gives up a damn thing. They just want to take and take and take, but never want to give an inch in return, even after we’ve shown them their laws have accomplished nothing.
Don’t believe me? Look at the assault weapon ban nonsense.
We had such a ban from 1994-2004. During that time, there was zero evidence it impacted crime in any way. Further, after the law sunset, crime continued to drop just as it had before the ban went into effect. This is plain as day.
But it hasn’t stopped them from constantly trying to push a new assault weapon ban. They continue to pretend that so-called assault weapons are the bugaboo that is keeping our communities from Utopian-like safety, despite the fact that they’re rarely used in crimes.
So don’t expect a regulatory ban on bump stocks to do anything except make it so you can’t get a bump stock. It won’t ease pressure on lawmakers to take away our Second Amendment rights, it won’t end the debate on other aspects of the Second Amendment, anything.
Instead, it’ll just encourage the gun grabbers to keep it up.
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