“Cornyn, Tillis, Colleagues Introduce Resolution to Block Unconstitutional Biden ATF Rule,” a Wednesday press release announces. Their intent is to “to strike down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule on the definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms, which ignores the law and congressional intent and flagrantly violates the Constitution to try to require anyone who sells a firearm to register as a federal firearm licensee.”
Well, who signed on to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, giving Joe Biden’s ATF and its Democrat, media, and citizen disarmament lobby allies all the cover they needed to overreach and impose? How can veterans John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and other Republican “Vichycons” — who gave the antis the votes they needed — possibly claim to be surprised that enemies of the right of the people to keep and bear arms won’t stretch any inch given into a mile and then some? What did they think Chris Murphy had in mind, fast-tracking a bill after the high-profile Uvalde school massacre (where a maniac took predictable advantage of a “gun-free zone” while cops dithered in the hall for 78 minutes)?
Of course, Democrats will abuse any concession. Just in recent history, we’ve seen the NRA give Donald Trump a green light on “special rules” for bump stocks and then seen the ATF turn that into a “Mr. and Mrs. America turn them all in” ban.
As an aside, there are still some gun owners dismissing this as a “hill not worth dying on over a stupid piece of plastic” who are completely missing the point – it’s not about bump stocks, it’s about bureaucrats usurping authority with “rules” to rewrite definitions and mandate new prohibitions – against pistol braces, against frames and receivers, and give them time, against semiautos.
That’s the reason those who fight unyieldingly for the Second Amendment have consistently screamed at dolts who earn the “Stupid Party” epithet every time they yield to those who want it all but will take it a piece at a time. Do they think it will make them appear “reasonable” and that it will earn them praise from the same people who smear even moderates as “extremists” and worse whenever it suits their purposes?
Way to take the fire out of constituent bellies.
If experience has proven anything, it’s that the antis will never be satisfied and they will never go away. Ceding anything just means surrendering to demands for which they have no legitimate claim. Concessions have the same effect as throwing a scrap of meat to a pack of circling jackals in the hopes they’ll leave you alone. That doesn’t happen in nature, and it doesn’t happen in politics. Instead it emboldens them.
They mean to take it all. Any Republican who doesn’t realize that is either too dumb or too corrupt (which aren’t mutually exclusive) to be entrusted with power. If you give up on ANY point, you then free up prohibitionist resources to be used against you on their next attack and give them a new beachhead from which to launch it. Again, this is about nothing less than freedom, and that’s about nothing less than your life and the lives of everyone you care about.
Not wanting to admit the Democrats just “pantsed” them in front of the whole country, Cornyn, Tillis, et al. have come up with this preelection posturing to make it look like they’re being proactive about putting out a fire they helped start. But they can’t. Their statement is smoke and mirrors. Because it will take a lot more than this to – in their words — “strike down the … rule.”
The Resolution states “That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives relating to Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms (89 Fed. Reg. 28968 (April 19, 2024)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.”
Good luck with that. Because, per the Senate website, a joint resolution “requires the approval of both Chambers in identical form and the president’s signature to become law.”
It’s a game Republicans play all the time, stirring up hope when they know they won’t have to make good on things and nothing will change. Did anyone see nationwide concealed carry or freeing suppressors from NFA restrictions when Republicans had it all?
A recent case in point is a bill to “that would abolish transfer taxes on firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act.” It sounds good (but not as good as repealing the damn Hughes Amendment to really bring prices down), until it smacks into reality. Per the GovTrack legislation website:
“Prognosis 0% chance of being enacted.”
Cornyn’s joint resolution doesn’t fare much better:
“Prognosis 8% chance of being enacted or passed.”
It’s true that major players, the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation have endorsed the resolution. What else are they going to say?
That they’ll now have to expend precious resources fighting this in the courts against a government with a virtually unlimited war chest that can drag things out for years through appeals…? And if the same Republicans who can‘t get their act together and play hardball against Democrat lawfare, dirty tricks, and electoral sabotage blow it in November, the Supreme Court majority – and with it the Bruen decision gun owners are counting on – will be at the mercy of Chuck Schumer, with no shortage of “moderate Republicans” approving Democrat nominees…?
And John Cornyn will continue to stand with his “friend,” Sheila (Heavy as 10 Boxes) Jackson Lee, in support of “bipartisan” ways to “fight crime”:
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
