United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- One reason that we will still need strong pro-Second Amendment organizations after favorable rulings like ones covering standard magazines and modern multi-purpose semiautomatics is because, as we noted earlier, bans will not be the only way that anti-Second Amendment extremists will come after our rights. We noted earlier the threat that could be posed by expanding the coverage of the National Firearms Act.
For any loyal Ammoland readers who were skeptical of that earlier piece, I present to you HR 4953, the National Firearms Amendments Act of 2021, sponsored by Representative Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL). Eight other representatives have co-sponsored this bill, and this one is a massive attack on those who wish to exercise the rights protected by the Second Amendment.
This bill takes any semiautomatic rifle or shotgun, modern or not, that can accept a detachable magazine and makes it subject to the NFA. All the red tape, all the penalties for not registering, all of the other restrictions will get applied with a bill that is three pages long, should it be signed into law.
What makes this bill a potentially devastating attack is the fact that it could easily be included as part of a reconciliation bill, and since the NFA is part of the tax code, a filibuster could be evaded as a result. You will note that this bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, which covers taxes.
But we can’t assume that just the additional hoops in the legal sense will be the only hit that Second Amendment supporters would take. We could see a secondary attack through financial blacklisting/de-platforming of manufacturers and/or retailers who would refuse to stop selling allegedly “dangerous” firearms to the general public.
The fact of the matter is that we cannot afford to rest on the laurels of any court victory. The courts can only handle one sort of case at a time. The case is slated to be heard in November, and the cases from California will only close off certain attacks – there will be other avenues that will be used by our enemies to attack our rights. And yes, anti-Second Amendment extremists who seek to punish us for horrific crimes and acts of madness that we did not commit, and then smear us as child killers or domestic terrorists can rightly be viewed as enemies of those who wish to exercise our rights.
Second Amendment supporters need to contact their Representative and Senators and politely urge them to oppose HR 4953, and to instead support legislation like the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act. In addition, anti-Second Amendment extremists at the federal, state, and local levels need to be defeated at the ballot box as soon as possible.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
