To be fair, the idea of felons bypassing restrictions by making their own guns is something that’s going to make a lot of people nervous. It’s not difficult to understand why some might feel the need to put a stop to such an act.

Of course, nevermind that it’s already illegal for felons to make their own guns.

Then again, even regulations against explosives won’t stop a determined felon.

A 58-year-old Brownsville, Minnesota man has been federally charged with illegally manufacturing and possession of explosives and firearms.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota announced the federal indictment, charging Kenneth Miller with illegal manufacturing, dealing, transporting and possession explosives; and illegal possession of firearms. Miller made his first court appearance Wednesday in St. Paul. Miller has prior felony convictions, and is prohibited from owning firearms or explosives.

According to the federal indictment, Miller was allegedly importing, manufacturing, dealing and transporting explosive materials from 2013 through 2019. Among the explosive materials were things like “smoke generating devices containing electric igniters — also known as electric matches — and a chlorate explosive mixture.”

Now, let’s bear in mind that manufacturing explosives is already pretty tightly regulated. I can’t just run to the store and pick up a few bricks of Semtex, now can I? I can’t crank them out myself if I knew how.

Neither could Miller.

Not legally, anyway. Yet the allegations against him suggest that the law did jack to prevent him from making explosives over a period of years.

It seems to me that if you can’t stop felons from making things that go boom, you’re damn sure not going to stop them from making things that go bang. Especially since it’s unlikely that someone will trigger the red flags that might alert the authorities like buying components for explosives. Thanks to consumer CNC machines and 3D printers, trying to ban the manufacture of firearms is futile at best.

While places like Washington, D.C. may try, all they’ve done is prevented the law-abiding from building their own firearms. They’ve done nothing to inhibit the criminal class.

Then again, politicians don’t care about making the country or their communities safer. They care about people thinking they’re making it safer. So, they pass bans on scary-sounding guns and pretend they’re doing God’s work, all while the criminals don’t even bother to shrug at the new law. After all, they’re breaking enough of them as it stands, what’s one more law to break?

Again, if you can’t stop a convicted felon from manufacturing explosives–and the government apparently admits it can’t–then how are you going to stop them from making guns? You’re not. What you will do is kill a hobby for numerous law-abiding citizens who not only haven’t done anything wrong, but won’t do anything wrong.