Free Republic

President Trump has a tool to push for the passage of legislation, such as the Hearing Protection Act. The executive branch, specifically the Secretary of the Treasury, can unilaterally declare an amnesty for people registering NFA items with the ATF. Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968 under enormous pressure from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. At the same time, Congress passed a statute authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to declare amnesties to allow people to register items covered by the act.There are limitations. A single amnesty cannot last for longer than 90 days. The Secretary of...

Normally, I make appearances on the Russ Clark Show, a local radio show with a national audience, once a week in the studio. One morning, after finishing the drive-time radio show, I walked out to my vehicle, ready to take on the rest of the day. As I approached my vehicle, I saw a Yuma City Police vehicle approaching in the parking lot of the radio station. I opened my vehicle door and reached inside for a camera, as I thought pictures of such a police car might be useful for future articles. As I was half inside the vehicle,...

Two new lawsuits over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) controversial pistol brace rule were filed yesterday, with over half the states and the country joining in suits challenging the ATF’s rule. Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, and the state of Texas teamed up to sue the ATF. over what they see as an unconstitutional rule that violated the American Procedures Act (APA). The lawsuit highlights that both pistols and short-barreled rifles (SBR) are protected arms. It points out that SBRs are also no more dangerous than any other firearm and that the length doesn’t...

The new ATF pistol brace ruling has been published in the Federal Register starting the 120 day countdown to apply for the ATF tax stamp, surrender the "SBR" to the ATF or destroy the firearm. Anyone who has applied for an ATF tax stamp for an SBR knows this usually takes 6 months to a year for approval. If you apply now, you will be in possession of an SBR without the ATF tax stamp in 120 days. Instant felony.The purpose of this post is to offer another option. Find an FFL licensed to sell NFA firearms. Arrange for the...

On January 18, 2023, at the SHOT Show, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) hosted a slide show on what has been happening in the National Firearms Act Division of the ATF. This presentation did not explain the ramifications of the controversial “new rule” on stabilizing pistol braces. It was an overview of the internal happenings in the NFA division of the ATF.This correspondent has seen many such presentations in other organizations in his career. There is useful information to be gained. Do not expect bureaucracies to air their “dirty laundry” in public. Each agency and each...

A group of Republican House members led by Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) put forth legislation Wednesday to repeal the National Firearms Act (1934), thereby stripping the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) of the ability to turn law-abiding gun owners into criminals. The legislation is called the Repeal the NFA Act. Burlison tweeted: “The Repeal the NFA Act will strip the ATF of its authority to criminalize lawful gun owners and undo nearly 90 years of assault on our fundamental freedoms. I’m proud to stand with Americans nationwide as we take this issue head-on.”

25-year-old man from Minneapolis has been federally charged for being in possession of and manufacturing auto sears, devices that are used to convert a semi-automatic firearm into a machine gun.The U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Andrew Luger, says that Aaron Malik Cato had four 3D printers at his residence and was in possession of several 3D-printed auto sears.In addition to the homemade devices, authorities say Cato also possessed the parts to make up to 10 more devices. Customs and Border Patrol agents intercepted a package sent from Taiwan to Minneapolis destined for Cato, and law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery of...

On February 24, 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit against Marvin Richardson, acting head of the ATF, challenging the power of the federal government to regulate personally made silencers used for home defense in Texas, which remain in Texas. The lawsuit follows the predictions made in a previous article on the subject by this correspondent. Here is the press release from Attorney General Paxton: From texasattorneygeneral.gov:Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives seeking to stop the enforcement of federal regulations regarding firearm suppressors made in Texas. Texas House...

The improved eForms platform launched by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to review and process ATF Forms 1,2,3,4,5,6,6A,9,10 and 5300.11 applications online, is finding implementation bugs. This is expected in the major launch of any large software system. The new, improved, modernized eForms system at the ATF was rolled out on December 23, 2021. The American Suppressor Association said it was the biggest technological jump in the process since the fax machine. From the association:We’re very excited about the launch of the much anticipated new eForms system. This represents the largest technological jump for NFA since...

Six months ago, this correspondent wrote an essay on Incrementalism v. “all or nothing”. It was well-received: Roland T. Gunner ~ “Mr. Weingarten, I take my hat off to you. This article is the best thing I have read in modern memory. Now, tell me, how do we get incremental movememt on reppealing the NFA? And for all you naysayers, sit down, shut up, or help us get it done.”Incremental movement is happening to dismantle the National Firearms Act (NFA), bit by bit. The ultimate goal is repeal.Here is how it is being done, and what needs to be done...

A proposed rule change about arm braces on pistols prompted this correspondent to research the history of shoulder stocks, pistols, and the National Firearms Act (NFA). When the National Firearms Act of 1934 was passed, pistols with shoulder stocks were not mentioned. Short barreled rifles were not intended to be in the law. They were inserted at the insistence of a confused congressman on the House Ways and Means Committee.Fitting a pistol with a shoulder stock had always been an option. The 1934 NFA was imagined to be regulating shotguns which had been shortened to create concealable, awkward pistols, not...

The same person who invented the muffler for the automobile invented them for guns. Hiram Maxim, the inventor, called them “Silencers”. An obvious reason they were not invented earlier is the inside of a gun muffler is more complex than a gun barrel. Early silencer designs were made of mild steel, making them subject to corrosion. A silencer for a gun using black powder would require a significant effort to clean after each use. Smokeless/non-corrosive gunpowder did not become common until about 1900. At that point, gun mufflers became more practical. Increasing prosperity in society, brought about by technical innovation...

Legislation introduced in Congress this month would require any semi-automatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine to be registered under the National Firearms Act.The bill, H.R.4953 {To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act any semiautomatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine.}, was filed last Friday in the House by U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who is outspoken in his support of gun control measures."Congress passed the National Firearms Act after the 1929 Valentine's Day massacre to tightly regulate certain...

HB 957, the new silencer/gun muffler/suppressor law, will become effective in Texas on 1 September 2021. On that date, the Attorney General, Ken Paxton, will be able to accept written notification by a United States citizen who intends to make a firearms suppressor as per Section 2.052 of the new law. The Attorney General shall then seek a declaratory judgment from a federal district court. There is strong Supreme Court precedent the federal government may not command a state to enforce federal law, known as the anti-commandeering doctrine.HB 957 goes far beyond anti-commandeering. It sets up a test case to...

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Texas recently passed HB 957 into law. It will become effective on 1 September, 2021. The law repeals the Texas state ban on the possession of silencers/suppressors/gun mufflers, puts into effect a “no commandeering clause” for federal enforcement of the National Firearms Act (NFA) for silencers, and sets up a federal test case of the NFA in federal court.In a previous article, the repeal of the Texas law and the anti-commandeering section were discussed. The likely federal test case was not.HB 957 came from the brain of Representative Oliverson of Texas District 130, north of Houston. Dr. Oliverson...

On 15 June, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed Texas HB 957 into law. The new law removes the Texas prohibition on firearm suppressors, commonly known as silencers or gun mufflers. From the bill: “Firearm suppressor” means any device designed, made, or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm.From the legislative history, it appears silencers, suppressors or gun mufflers were first banned in Texas in 1973. Although they were banned in Texas law, there was an affirmative defense from prosecution if the gun mufflers were legally possessed under federal law, as shown in this AmmoLand article from 2014.As you can...

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- In 1934, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) administration had been in office for one year. The Attorney General, Homer Cummings, was a strong proponent of national gun laws, which, he contended, could get around constitutional constraints by using the power to tax.The Justice Department crafted a bill to create the National Firearms Act of 1934.It was a major piece of legislation, arguably the first time the Federal Government had significantly infringed on the right to keep and bear arms, protected by the Second Amendment.Attorney General Cummings was asked to testify before the powerful Ways and Means Committee in...

On 7 June, 2021, the Attorney General signed a “proposed rule” about the regulation of arm braces for pistols. The ATF has put the “proposed rule” on its website.The “proposed rule” can be seen as a trial balloon. It has no legal authority, as it has not been officially published in the Federal Register. Once officially published, the public can make comments for 90 days once the proposed rule has been published.Significantly, the Attorney General, Merrick Garland, signed this trial balloon, and not the acting head of the ATF.The proposed rule is 71 pages of details only a bureaucrat would...

ARKANSAS, USA — The Arkansas State Senate has voted to override Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto of legislation that would prohibit local police from enforcing federal gun laws. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where they also must decide if they want to override Hutchinson's veto. Hutchinson vetoed SB 298 last Friday, saying that the measure would jeopardize law enforcement and the public. On Monday, the Arkansas State Senate voted 21-12, with two Senators not voting, to overturn his decision, our content partner Talk Business & Politics reports. The law imposes criminal fines on local or state law...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 31, 2021) – Today, the Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would take on federal gun control, past, present and future, banning the state from participating in the enforcement of a wide-range of acts dating back to 1934. Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R) and Sen. Brandt Smith (R) introduced Senate Bill 298 (SB298) on Feb. 8. The legislation would ban any person, including any public officer or employee of the state and its political subdivisions, from enforcing any past, present or future “federal statute, executive order, or federal agency directive that conflicts with Arkansas Constitution, Article 2,...