“I’m very passionate about the Second Amendment, not just defending it, but restoring it because we’ve lost a lot of ground.”
Amen to that. Representative Andrew Clyde (GA-09, Republican) provided that quote to Fox News, along with a bunch of other gems on the same day that he introduced his “Ensuring SAFE-T Act,” which would force the .gov to allow a firearm transfer if a NICS background check fails to produce a response within three calendar days rather than three state government business days.
Usually that isn’t such a big difference — sure, weekends and holidays don’t count as state business days — but in the time of COVID some states went weeks and even months without an official business day. The possibility for further, future abuse of this NICS denial loophole exists, of course, in the event of other natural disasters like hurricanes and whatnot. Rep. Clyde’s bill is simple and very limited in scope and reach, but it’s a nice step in the right direction that’s innocuous enough that it just might pass.
Clyde’s other ideas are bolder:
“I really think the Brady background check system is looking at it backwards. We need to be looking at it from the point of the Second Amendment is an inalienable right. […] The onus needs to be on the government to prove that you don’t have that right anymore, not on you to prove that you do have it.”
This is why he wants to eliminate the Brady background check system. And he ain’t wrong.
He’s also dead-on correct about taxes on firearms and ammunition:
“If you can tax a constitutional right, then it is truly not a constitutional right.”
Imagine a federal and/or state tax on voting, for instance. Obvious violation, right? No poll taxes, etc. Well, Clyde feels it’s the same for guns and ammo and, I gotta say, once again he ain’t wrong.
The .gov taxes handguns 10% and rifles and ammunition 11%. Yes, every gun and loaded round of ammo you’ve purchased has had this tax built in. Some of my customers at Black Collar Arms have done the math and asked why an assembled pistol or rifle costs more than the sum of its parts. Well, there are a few things that go into it but the largest one by far is that 10% or 11% Federal Excise Tax that’s built into the total.
To be clear, Clyde explicitly states that any taxes whether federal or state, to include sales tax and the NFA taxes, are unconstitutional when applied to firearms and ammunition. I’ve looked into this and crunched the numbers and, yes, I’m quite confident that the math checks out here.
Rep. Clyde plans to introduce bills to effect these changes should Republicans take the House majority in 2022. Don’t forget to vote.
I’d highly recommend reading the entire interview with Representative Andrew Clyde on Fox News HERE.