The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is a scuffed shoe at Americaâs liberty prom. Â Iâve said it before, but not todayâIâm a dedicated member of law enforcement and thatâs one agency I would just never care to work for.
The recent ATF suggestion to get rid of my 5.56mm rounds is ridiculous. Â Shoot, even the politiciansâthe smart ones at leastâdidnât bite down on that one. But really thatâs just one ridiculous idea pulled of a pile of ridiculousness.
Case in point, you are probably aware of the on-again, off-again crusade to get rid of wrist buttstocks for AR pistols. Â I wonât go into it because itâs really as petty as it sounds and itâs also not what I came here to say, but, oh, boy could I.
Seriously, the ATF is the red-headed step child of federal law enforcement. Â That said, Iâve only known two agents who worked for the ATF and, of course, they both left. Â One of the guys was pretty cool.
Anyway, hereâs the short of it: Â I just wish the ATF would stop banning cool gear and/or making it a hassle to purchase and own, because it seems counterproductive to performing their job, of policing illegal gun sales, efficiently with cooperation from the law-abiding majority.
I understand we need laws and I understand we need laws regulating weapons. Â For those guys who think they need to have frag grenades, well, I think thatâs just plain stupid. Â Somebody gets drunk at a party, andâKABOOM!âparties over for everyone.
But frivolous laws do nothing but frustrate the very people who have an invested interested in the world the ATF is trying to police. Â Iâm talking about regulations on short barreled rifles, shorty shotguns, and even sub guns. Â Iâd like to get myself an SBR or a SMG without having to go through legal hoops and extra government paper trails. Â Frankly, I donât want or see why I have to buy a tax stamp for every silencer or SBR I purchase. Â I understand the thought process behind it, I just donât like it nor think itâs necessary.
The National Firearms Act isnât a perfect law and keeping firearms away from evil people isnât a perfect system. Â But that doesnât explain how we got into the position weâre in when it comes to the devices I mentioned above. Â I believe the answer to this is two-fold: trust and ignorance.
First, trust. Â Yes, trust is an issue because it is a really hard thing for humans or governments to lend. Â How can anybody trust that Uncle Bob or cousin Eddie wonât go do something stupid? Â Now that theyâve got an SMG with a can on it, hey, maybe they think itâs time to shoot up some malls or rob some banks, right? Â No, of course not. Â But some people do think like thatâclearly. Â So, because people apparently canât be trusted, the government makes extra paperwork and legal fees in a severely misguided attempt to stop crime.
Second, ignorance is also an issue. Â Most politicians donât even know how these guns (or any guns) work, though this doesnât stop them from having an opinion on them and they try to enact laws and policies based on their own ineptness, biases, aesthetic tastes and the foolishness of their advisers. Â That is the imperfect system I referred to above.
At the end of the day I guess all we can say for the moment is, âOh well. Â Guess Iâll just have to make more money and buy more guns.â Â I suppose following the rules is better than not having any guns at all.
I just wish we didnât have so many lame rules and, in part, Iâve gotta lay a lot of blame on evil people who commit crimesâeven if they never used or even heard of the guns heavily regulated by the ATF. Â We wouldnât have so many bloated regulations if people would police themselves and do the right thing, at the right time, even when no oneâs lookingâholding themselves and others accountable for violations.
Of course, I also blame the ignorant politicians and citizens who are anti-gunâthose who think guns are the problem. Â They are the ones who see an opportunity in something they donât comprehendâa lifestyle they arenât invested in. Â Guns arenât the problem, people who misuse guns are the problem.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guns.com.