The Justice Department has effectively banned bump stock this week by reclassifying the technology as a machine gun. This means anyone who owns a rifle with bump stock must either destroy or surrender the device before March 26... and since today is March 29th, if you still own bump stock you could become a felon.
The Federal government has demanded that all bump stock-modified gun owners turn over their equipment or face serious legal repercussions. You could be locked up for 10 years if you're caught owning the device.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court says they have no plans to block the new ban. Gun rights advocates have tried twice in the past three days to get the nation's highest court to consider stopping the ban, but to no avail.
But hang on a second, isn't this a violation of the Second Amendment?! The Constitution is pretty clear about our rights to own guns. The Founding Fathers never said anything about "Except for bump stock" when drafting one of history's most famous legal documents.
Considering the Federal government is asking people to hand in these devices with no compensation of any sort, how is this legal?!
When news broke about the banning of the device, the National Rifle Association rolled over and said they were fine with it.No resistance, no public debate, just a blatant submission to our Federal government’s demands. This is a tragedy. Don’t we pay NRA dues so they can defend our rights?If that’s not what my annual check to the NRA goes towards, then why am I paying them?
It should be noted that America decided to make this move after the tragedy at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. Some nutjob (whose name I won't say out loud or type in this article because he doesn't deserve to be famous) decided to use rifles modified with bump stock to commit a massacre. Our nation was heartbroken, and rightfully so, because dozens and dozens of family's lives were ruined that day. We were very emotional and that's when we decided to ban bump stock. But that was a mistake; a huge mistake. You should never make decisions when you're emotional and you won't find a professional psychiatrist anywhere who would say otherwise.
Before you start to dismiss my argument as the words of a staunch pro-gun zealot, let me be clear about something: I don't like bump stock. Use of the technology results in nothing more than a waste of ammo (and money).
But even still, it doesn't matter if I like bump stock. It also doesn't matter if Democrats, President Trump, the Supreme Court of you (no offense) like it either.
Unless we change the Constitution, this move is essentially illegal. Gun rights advocates, who seem to be sitting on their thumbs over the latest news, should be taking to the streets to protest in outrage.
So where's the NRA on this one? Or the Tea Party? Or the Libertarians? Did we get too distracted this week with news of the Mueller Report and Jussie Smollett to realize our rights are being violated?
It's still not too late. President Trump has proven that he'll listen to his constituents if they're vocal enough. So speak up, Republicans. Because gun control policies are a slippery slope. When access to one of your rights is taken away, more are likely to follow. This is our country, not the Presidents, the Supreme Courts, the DOJ's or the Democrats.
Photo of anti-American California lawmaker by Getty Images