On December 9th, the the Undetectable Firearms Act (UFA) will expire. The Act—a clear infringement on Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms—was a hysterical response to the GLOCK 17. Gun control advocates wrongly accused Gaston’s polymer handiwork of being undetectable by metal detectors. There ought to be a law! And so one was proposed. The NRA caved. Wikipedia . . .
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was unwilling to consider a ban on handguns with less than 8 oz of steel, and what resulted was a compromise bill that banned guns with less than half the metal content of the Glock. The NRA eventually agreed not to oppose the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 because it did not in fact affect any existing guns, and the gun control lobby was eager to promote it as one of the first successes of groups like Handgun Control, Inc (later the Brady Campaign).
So who won that one, then? I’m thinking the gun banners who are now—surprise!—looking to add provisions to the Act that would ban plastic gun parts and magazines. Which the NRA will oppose quietly while, quietly, allowing a renewal of UFA to go through unopposed.
I’ll say it again: the feds have no business regulating guns. None. And the NRA has no business supporting the regulation of firearms, whether through active lobbying (e.g., their campaign to add mental health records to the FBI’s NICS) or their silence (e.g., not speaking out against the UFA). In this case, the NRA is passively enabling laws that trample on the core foundation of the Second Amendment, written to prevent government tyranny.
Think about it . . .
What danger does an undetectable firearm pose? UFA supporters say terrorists could use an all-plastic gun to circumvent security and launch a surprise attack. A) how will a law prevent that from happening and B) airport and building scanners are nothing more than security theater. Terrorists adapt to security and surmount it. Two words for that: box cutters.
Uncle Sam’s real problem with plastic guns is the same problem all governments have with all guns: a lack of control. Over the populace. If all-plastic guns (or privately produced metal guns like Solid Concepts 1911) were widely available the feds couldn’t keep track of who owns what guns. The whole gun control edifice would crumble. Anyone could own a gun without the government’s knowledge or permission.
It can’t happen soon enough as far as I’m concerned. On this point, the NRA’s silence speaks volumes. While I’m sure there’s plenty of political calculation behind their go-along-to-get-along non-engagement on the UFA it doesn’t change the fact that the NRA isn’t standing up for firearms freedom. A decision which may cost us everything.
Lest I gave gun control advocates another reason to label me an insurrectionist, I can envision a time when federal SWAT teams would knock on doors looking for plastic guns, say, in a state where carrying guns is effectively banned (e.g., New Jersey). Why not? It’s a felony. How great is that?