The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Re-opening the Machine Gun Registry

shaggy · June 14, 2005, 08:20 AM

I don't know a single NFA owner who woun't gladly lose the value of their entire collections just to have the registry opened, and I know a lot of VERY well to do NFA owners. Whether it be the guy with one M11 or my friend with more than two dozen beltfeds (and many more SMGs, and assault rifles) they all want the registry re-opened and 922(o) done away with. Those who can't afford one want one, but the guys with many just want more. For the guys on the upper end of the scale, too many still isn't nearly enough.

One of the things some of you guys don't seem to realize is that many of the more seasoned NFA owners are not against opening the registry, but rather cynical and jaded knowing the cards in this deck are very heavily stacked against us. Can anyone here name a federal gun law that was repealed by act of Congress? Can anyone here even point to the loosening of import restrictions (which could easily be accomplished by EO)? Hell, we can't even get gun owners to get a national CCW through Congress and yet you think there's even a chance for something like opening the registry? Machinegun owners and those who would like to see the registry opened are only a very small minority of gun owners in this country and we don't even have the support of groups like the NRA. Like it or not, we are viewed as the "lunatic fringe" of gun owners by many legislators (even many republicans) and they are not going to commit political suicide by publicly supporting machinegun owners. Sorry to say it, but thats a fact of life. I'm sure many of you had high hopes for Stewart, but as a lawyer I know Stewart was a dead issue from the start. I was only surprised there wasn't a rehearing en banc at the 9th, but when there wasn't it only cemented the fact in my mind it would be either reversed or remanded with Raich.

The only hope to re-open the registry is not going to come through a political body like Congress. It will come through the courts, which are more insulated from the political pressures Congress faces. Were there more justices like Thomas on the Court, the overreaching use of the commerce clause from which Congress derives most of its power these days, would have been severely curtailed. Additionally, while the 2nd Amendment is not applicable to the states, I am convinced more justices like Thomas would eventually see the 2nd Amendment held incorporated to the states through the 14th Amendment with at least intermediate level Constitutional scrutiny- something far more important than just reopening the registry if you wanted to keep those "new" machineguns.

June 14, 2005, 08:20 AM	#12
shaggy Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2004 Posts: 1,519	I don't know a single NFA owner who woun't gladly lose the value of their entire collections just to have the registry opened, and I know a lot of VERY well to do NFA owners. Whether it be the guy with one M11 or my friend with more than two dozen beltfeds (and many more SMGs, and assault rifles) they all want the registry re-opened and 922(o) done away with. Those who can't afford one want one, but the guys with many just want more. For the guys on the upper end of the scale, too many still isn't nearly enough. One of the things some of you guys don't seem to realize is that many of the more seasoned NFA owners are not against opening the registry, but rather cynical and jaded knowing the cards in this deck are very heavily stacked against us. Can anyone here name a federal gun law that was repealed by act of Congress? Can anyone here even point to the loosening of import restrictions (which could easily be accomplished by EO)? Hell, we can't even get gun owners to get a national CCW through Congress and yet you think there's even a chance for something like opening the registry? Machinegun owners and those who would like to see the registry opened are only a very small minority of gun owners in this country and we don't even have the support of groups like the NRA. Like it or not, we are viewed as the "lunatic fringe" of gun owners by many legislators (even many republicans) and they are not going to commit political suicide by publicly supporting machinegun owners. Sorry to say it, but thats a fact of life. I'm sure many of you had high hopes for Stewart, but as a lawyer I know Stewart was a dead issue from the start. I was only surprised there wasn't a rehearing en banc at the 9th, but when there wasn't it only cemented the fact in my mind it would be either reversed or remanded with Raich. The only hope to re-open the registry is not going to come through a political body like Congress. It will come through the courts, which are more insulated from the political pressures Congress faces. Were there more justices like Thomas on the Court, the overreaching use of the commerce clause from which Congress derives most of its power these days, would have been severely curtailed. Additionally, while the 2nd Amendment is not applicable to the states, I am convinced more justices like Thomas would eventually see the 2nd Amendment held incorporated to the states through the 14th Amendment with at least intermediate level Constitutional scrutiny- something far more important than just reopening the registry if you wanted to keep those "new" machineguns.