I mentioned this yesterday, but during a weekly chat with my friend Jake last night, the venom came out. Fuck the Republicans. They talk a big game about how they support the Second Amendment but they don’t. They sold a candidate who claimed to support the Second Amendment but he doesn’t really. Sure, he signed an Executive Order to (allegedly) protect our Second Amendment rights and directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into any violations – yes, the Pam Bondi who supported “red flag” laws, bans on firearm ownership for anyone under 21, and bans on bump stocks – but all this is really just a show.
Yes, Donald “take the guns first, go through due process second” Trump was lauded as being a pro-gun president. But that’s not the case, in his first term he ordered the Justice Department to issue a ban on bump stocks… which they did. Now in my opinion, bump stocks are pretty stupid. I’d never use one (there are much better alternatives if you want a full-auto experience without spending the cash on a full-auto), but banning an accessory is a step in the wrong direction, especially if you supposedly support the rights of gun owners.
But what is bringing out my anger now, is that our current ruling party, the Republicans, have complete control of the White House, the House, and the Senate. If they were truly a party that supports the Second Amendment, they would use their current position of power to do things that actually promote and, well, support the Second Amendment. What they are doing, instead, is furthering the infringements on our rights.
The Republicans currently control everything, including the House Ways and Means Committee, which disregarded completely the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act and gutted the Hearing Protection Act – an act that would protect braces and remove short-barreled rifles from the NFA (National Firearms Act), and one that would remove suppressors from the NFA. Don’t forget, Trump killed the first shot at the HPA during his first term in 2017. Their “compromise” is to reduce the $200 tax down to $0 but the biggest objection is the mandatory registration and the regulations that follow – these legal hurdles can create a felon by simple ignorance of the complex NFA regulations and restrictions. Now, I do hope that some sort of reform passes – the $200 tax established with the NFA in 1934 was intended to create a cost barrier (adjusting for inflation, it would be roughly $4000 now) – but the biggest issue I have with it are the registration requirements and delays cause by the ATF during that processing, and the fact that the way they are “reforming” things could be completely undone (and even made worse) when the Democrats take back control in 2026 or ’28.
A bit about suppressors, for those in occupied territory and/or never had a chance to utilize one: suppressors are, first and foremost, a safety device. They were invented in 1902 by Hiram Maxim, the same guy who invented car mufflers, and for a similar purpose – reducing the amount of noise to avoid disturbing people around you and to protect the shooter’s hearing. While commonly referred to as silencers and portrayed as muffled sneezes in the movies, most are not actually very quiet. They reduce the impact noise to hearing safe level, usually between 20-40 dB, but they are still loud. Personally, I still wear my hearing protection when firing suppressed firearms because even though the sound signature is reduced, 130dB is still uncomfortable and repeated exposure can still cause hearing loss – and I want my hearing loss to come from loud music. I’m not going to go into all the specifics and details on the science (I did a whitepaper on suppressors and use in law enforcement and could dump studies and citations if I wanted) but the Truth About Guns website did a pretty good article on the topic.
Anyhow, enough about the feckless Republican sellouts, I think I spiked my cortisol levels too early this morning…
Interesting Tidbits
Don’t think the government is that bad and wouldn’t attack you for their benefit? Some Philadelphians would like a word with you, because 40 years ago they were.
Did you know Amazon controls the James Bond franchise now? The Day James Bond Movies Died