We must restore the 2nd Amendment to its original intent

[sop]

50. We've had a lot of gun control laws passed since 1934:

Last edited Mon May 16, 2022, 09:40 AM - Edit history (1)

- The first national gun control legislation was passed in 1934. The National Firearms Act (NFA) was part of FDR's “New Deal for Crime." The NFA regulated short-barrel shotguns and rifles, machine guns and silencers (or suppressors).

- The Federal Firearms Act (FFA) of 1938 required gun manufacturers, importers, and dealers to obtain a federal firearms license, defined groups of people, like convicted felons, who could not purchase guns, and mandated that gun sellers keep customer records.

- In 1939, United States v. Miller ruled Congress could regulate the interstate selling of a short barrel shotgun, stating there was no evidence sawed off shotguns have "some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia,” and thus “we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument.”

- After JFK, RFK and MLK were assassinated, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed. The GCA added language about “destructive devices," like bombs, mines and grenades, and expanded the definition of “machine gun.” It banned importing guns that have “no sporting purpose,” imposed age restrictions for the purchase of handguns (gun owners had to be 21), prohibited felons, the mentally ill, and others from purchasing guns, required that all manufactured or imported guns have a serial number, and according to the ATF, imposed “stricter licensing and regulation on the firearms industry.”

- The Firearm Owners Protection Act was passed in 1986. The law enacted protections for gun owners, prohibiting a national registry of dealer records, limiting ATF inspections to once per year (unless there are multiple infractions), softening what is defined as “engaging in the business” of selling firearms, and allowing licensed dealers to sell firearms at “gun shows” in their state.

- The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, passed by Clinton, requires background checks before a gun purchases from a licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer, and established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), maintained by the FBI.

- The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed by Clinton in 1994, known as the assault weapons ban, was a ten-year prohibition on such weapons, also banning magazines of more than ten rounds. The act was not renewed by Bush II in 2004.

- In 2005, the Tiahrt Amendment prohibited the ATF from publicly releasing data showing where criminals purchased their firearms and stipulated that only law enforcement officers or prosecutors could access such information. “The law effectively shields retailers from lawsuits, academic study and public scrutiny,” The Washington Post wrote in 2010. “It also keeps the spotlight off the relationship between rogue gun dealers and the black market in firearms.”

- In 2005, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was signed by George W. Bush to prevent gun manufacturers from being named in federal or state civil suits by those who were victims of crimes involving guns made by that company.

- In 2008, District of Columbia v. Heller changed a nearly 70-year precedent set by Miller in 1939. While the Miller ruling focused on the “well regulated militia” portion of the 2nd Amendment, Heller focused on the “individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia.” Heller challenged the constitutionality of a 32-year-old handgun ban in D.C., finding “The handgun ban... violate(d) the Second Amendment.”

Many new measures could be passed that would survive scrutiny. The first would be to repeal the PLCAA of 2005, immunizing the gun industry from legal liability. Congress could also close the gun show loophole, ban large capacity magazines, or even ban all semi-automatic handguns and rifles. They could also outlaw the sale of body armor, certain types of ammunition, suppressors, bump stocks and other equipment.

Problem is, for purely political reasons Congress' legislative focus shifted around 1986 and 2004 from protecting the public to protecting the "rights" of gun owners. At the urging of the NRA, Republicans have been busy weakening gun laws, and Congress has not exhibited the political will to make the needed changes to our gun laws.