A ban on “assault weapons” is now part of Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign platform, following the Supreme Court’s decision on the ATF bump-stock rule:
“On Saturday, President Biden’s reelection campaign released a new advertisement showcasing his administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence, which came one day after the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks. The Hill shared the 30-second commercial, accusing former President Trump of being responsible for the conservative-leaning court’s ruling on Friday. Following the Trump administration’s initial implementation of the rule in the wake of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, the Biden administration has defended it in front of the high court. The rule outlaws the technology that allows semi-automatic rifles to fire hundreds of rounds per minute.”
According to the Supreme Court, the regulation in question was not only wrong and illegal but also foolish. However, the rules pertaining to “assault weapons” and gun control are fundamentally defective and, indeed, foolish.
Take the much-discussed federal “assault weapons” ban of 1994. This law did not forbid semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines. The production of magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds was prohibited going forward, but this led to an absurdly simple workaround: the standard body of a magazine with 30 rounds, for example, had a semi-circular piece of the metal that stuck out into the magazine, stopping the follower from being pushed past the 10-round mark. Fixing that and getting it back to full capacity doesn’t require a genius. Furthermore, the bill was merely symbolic, a major congressional virtue signal, and it had no bearing on the millions of periodicals that were already in publication.
However, things worsen. As previously mentioned, the law did not outlaw firearms, but it did outlaw several of their features, such as flash hiders, which conceal the muzzle flash from onlookers but not from the shooter themselves; they do not lessen the visibility of the firing signature from the front. The ban on bayonet lugs, however, was the actual howler.
That’s correct—bayonet lugs. This was presumably the fallout from all of the infamous gang violence incidents in the early 1990s, where Bloods and Crips would line up, fix bayonets, and charge each other.
It was foolishness that led to the 1994 act’s passage and drafting. Thankfully, it had an expiration date, but that hasn’t stopped the controversy from resurfacing whenever something involving guns occurs.
In his commercial, Biden asserts:
“During Trump’s presidency, gunshots killed children in classrooms, innocent individuals in churches, and concertgoers during a performance.” In the advertisement, Biden claimed that Trump had done nothing at all and that the former president had frequently sided with the National Rifle Association.
It is important to remember that the crimes listed are under local law. Unless the perpetrators conduct crimes in many states, murder, and felonious assault are not considered federal offenses. The president is powerless to prosecute and convict these criminals. However, it’s evident to all of us that Old Joe, or whoever composed this content for him, is not discussing that issue. It’s the sword, not the hand, that’s the problem.