It’s currently federal law that federal dollars can’t be used to fund gun registration. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways around the law.

Now, lawmakers are looking to strengthen the ban to prevent any such shenanigans.

The GRIP Act would clarify existing law prohibiting the use of federal money by states or local entities for the storage or “listing” of sensitive, personal information related to the legal ownership of firearms. The bill has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“Law-abiding citizens should be free to exercise their Second Amendment rights without overly intrusive government interference.  This bill will help to ensure that gun owners are not unlawfully tracked by any government,” said Senator Joni Ernst.

“Federal law prohibits the government from tracking law-abiding gun owners and that ban extends to using federal dollars for such ill-advised activities on the local or state level.  This legislation clarifies that point,” said Senator Hyde-Smith. “It would ensure local gun control schemes don’t wrongfully exploit federal resources to track people who own or purchase firearms legally.”

The bill doesn’t interfere with databases for law-enforcement issued weapons or stolen guns, naturally.

Now, I’ll be honest. I like this bill. I think it should be law. There’s nothing about this that I dislike, nothing at all. It really should be law.

But it won’t be.

While the law may well make it through the Senate just fine, it then has to make it through the House of Representatives. That’s the same House that is trying to cram every bit of gun control nonsense they can down our throats. That will only happen the day after CNN sponsor’s a pro-Trump rally and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) co-sponsors a bill to put an AR-15 in every home in America.

Since we all know neither of those will happen, any pro-gun bills the Senate pass that will then have to go to the House for consideration will likely never even come up for a vote. They’ll die there.

This is the flip side of a divided Congress. While the House can’t get its anti-gun agenda through the Senate, the Senate can’t pass any pro-Second Amendment legislation either. The only way that changes is if there is some form of compromise between Democrats and Republicans, and frankly? Neither side wants that. Not on guns, anyway.

As it stands, this particular bill would be too small a win to exchange for anything the Democrats are seeking, which means it’s likely more of a symbolic effort by the Senate than anything else.

Which is fine, I suppose. There’s something to be said for doing it so it reminds Democrats that they can pass all the bills they want, but they’re not going to get anywhere. There’s also something to be said for doing a bit of grandstanding in response to anti-gun grandstanding in the House.

But I don’t think anyone should get their hopes up. This isn’t going to go anywhere, which is a damn shame.