Washington Examiner NFA Op-Ed + Defending the Right to Bear Arms in 2021
Last year, I resolved to produce more writing on firearms policy and the right to bear arms. In addition to posting pieces here on Medium, I had several published with The Truth About Guns, the Foundation for Economic Education, and, most recently, the Washington Examiner.
The Examiner op-ed, which I co-wrote with Matthew Larosiere, offers a historical perspective on the NFA’s the minimum-size rules. If you’ve wondered why — and thought it ludicrous — that you could go to prison for owning a rifle with a 15" barrel, you need to read this op-ed.
Here’s a short excerpt:
At first, the definition of an NFA-restricted firearm included any “pistol, revolver, shotgun having a barrel less than sixteen inches in length, or any other firearm capable of being concealed on the person.” Language pertaining to short-barreled rifles was to be explicitly added as well. The phrase “any other firearm capable of being concealed on the person” makes the intent of the bill clear: the law targeted all small, concealable firearms, be they pistols, shotguns, rifles, or exotics that defy simple classification.
Statutory minimum lengths for long guns (and their barrels) were a natural and necessary accompaniment to the NFA’s handgun ban. Any restriction upon handguns would be impotent if a small rifle or shotgun were a legal alternative to a pistol. It would be trivially easy to circumvent a handgun ban by chopping down or otherwise modifying a long gun to be of a concealable size.
Here’s where things get weird: pistols and revolvers were removed from the language of the NFA before it became law. That is, a bill that had initially sought sweeping restrictions on all small firearms ultimately exempted the most popular and prevalent small firearms in existence. With that exemption, Congress punted on its original objective: A ban on concealable firearms that exempts handguns is like a ban on alcohol that exempts beer and liquor.
And yet, the restrictions on small shotguns and rifles remained in the enacted language of the NFA. In other words, the current restrictions on small rifles and shotguns are intended to stop people from circumventing a handgun ban that never actually existed.
Looking forward into 2021, I plan to write even more. I’d like your input on topics that need to be addressed. Here are a few things that I’m currently working on and/or considering:
- Real steps that can be taken to address violence in our society, without compromising our rights
- “Ghost Gun” panic and the faulty underlying assumptions
- Knife policy, which is often local and terrible, as even the New York Times has recognized
- Being a better ambassador for the right to bear arms, gun ownership, etc.
- Other aspects of the NFA — especially silencers
- Whatever’s necessary to help stop impending restrictions upon our rights and liberties
Thoughts on these? What else? You can let me know here or on Twitter.
Have a great 2021!
