“Contemplate the entire ‘bump stock’ thing folks. These were sold as legal accessories for years. Millions of dollars changed hands for them, people were employed and now they’re in the hands of individuals. A formal legal ruling was issued by the BATFE that these were legal accessories; the manufacturers and buyers didn’t assume, they asked for and obtained a written declaration that these devices not only complied with the law they didn’t require any sort of labeling, serialization or other form of control (such as a background check) as legally they were nothing more than a piece of plastic.
The government is, of course, entitled to be wrong and repair that error which is what they’re claiming they’re doing now. What it’s not entitled to do, however, is turn you into a felon if you don’t destroy or turn over a thing you were explicitly told, in writing, was legal and nothing more-nefarious or subject to regulation than a plastic box. At absolute minimum the government is required (under the 5th Amendment) to pay you for the current fair market value of that device plus all your costs (e.g. sales tax) associated with same and to pay the manufacturers the imputed value of their facility, inventory and forward foregone earnings (and employee salaries) that would have been generated but for their error. They could also ban the things on a forward basis (limiting any 5th Amendment claim of ‘taking’ to the manufacturers) and leave alone anyone who already owns one.
Instead they claim to be able to retroactively declare anyone who has one of these a felon and then shoot them if they refuse to either turn them over or report to prison for 10 years after having given written confirmation that the device in question is lawful to own, possess, use and sell without any permit whatsoever.
This is a flatly and outrageously unconstitutional act; it is in fact a declaration of war by our government against the people of the United States as it stands as a claim that the US Government will not honor the bounds of the Constitution — now or ever in the future. This ‘decision’ will not and does not limit itself to ‘bump stocks’ which I personally find worthless and thus don’t own any of.
If left to stand as proposed utterly no property that has been formally confirmed in writing as legal, say much less any lesser-protected form of property that someone believes is legal without a formal, written declaration, is safe from forcible confiscation under threat of death anywhere, ever, in the United States ever again.
This in fact has nothing to do with guns specifically; rather it is a clear statement that the United States Federal Government, our alleged President and the ‘Just-US’ department can and will declare anything it likes on a retroactive basis to likes to be against the law and force you to surrender it without compensation, go to prison or die.” – Karl Denninger, writing in his Market-Ticker blog
From the Heritage Foundation: As generally understood, a law that is ex post facto—literally, after the fact—is one that criminally punishes conduct that was lawful when it was done. It is an aspect of the fundamental maxim, nulla poena sine lege: there can be no punishment without law—in this case, without preexisting law. Despite the fact that the prohibition against such laws had worked its way into English law (as celebrated by Sir William Blackstone), Parliament had, nonetheless, claimed the right to enact ex post facto laws in the form of bills of attainder against unpopular groups and persons. In addition, prior to the Constitutional Convention, some states themselves had passed ex post facto laws. (The prohibition of ex post facto state laws is found in Article I, Section 10, Clause 1.)
This cannot be allowed to stand. I do not own any of the device mentioned, but if I did, they would not be surrendered. Period. And I will defend anyone’s right to possess one they have purchased. To the point of being present if requested when the goons come and fighting alongside any man willing to defend his property. This tyranny must not be allowed to infect our society and metastasize to other parts of our lives. If we allow them to come for the bump stocks, anything we own is subject to future seizure. I am not prepared to live under that dynamic. Nor am I going to stand by and watch as my allies are smashed under the boot of the machine.
The same could be said for automatic weapons, “registered” or not. Yet we’ve allowed the egregious tyranny of the NFA of 1934 to stand since…. well, 1934.
This type of tyranny has already metastasized into other areas of our lives. How about “Obamacare”? Does the government REALLY think it has the power to coerce me into purchasing a service I don’t want? But yet here we are.
The government already thinks it has the power to coerce me into NOT buying a product I do want and has demonstrated it on numerous occasions over the decades.
Sad this.
True, and the bare facts of the matter are, any mans rights go only as far as he is willing to defend them. If the government has yet to strip a right, it is only a matter of time before it attempts such. But at some point, we must draw the line. I will defend my own property to the death, and will do so in concert with others if they show the same determination in the defense of their own property.
the soap box then the ballot box then the cartridge box…i am afriad that the cartridge box is upon us…God save the US of A…
I am strongly opposed to the redefinition, amplification and expansion of wording in NFA-’34 (26 U.S.C. 5845(b)) by BATFE because it constitutes the making of a law insofar as it turns thousands of law abiding US Citizens in to felons without due process; authority which the Constitution expressly relegates to Congress, not the Executive.
Redefining a piece of plastic which was specifically identified as NOT a machine gun in to an NFA item AFTER law abiding Citizens have purchased it and it is now their private property and then confiscating said property violates the 4th Amendment.
Confiscation or making unlawful a gun or gun part violates the 2nd Amendment and the 5th Amendment.
The bump fire stocks do not, “… allow a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to initiate a continuous firing cycle with a single pull of the trigger”, because every time the trigger is pulled only one round is fired and it takes another pull of the trigger to fire another.
Any laws, policies, or legal findings that violate any portion of the Constitution nullify that portion in practice and set as precedent such nullification, thereby unraveling the foundation of our Republic.
As parties to the contract known as the Constitution, Citizens of these united States are duty bound to ignore and or resist any and all laws, policies, or legal findings that violate the Constitution, Amendments, or provisions thereof.
And you can spout that very convincing argument to the guys with guns that come for your property. See if it works. For my part, since it is now obvious that the rule of law is no longer in effect, I tend to believe shooting the thieves and murderers in the face will be much more effective in changing the perspective of the tyrants who send them. This in no way should be construed to indicate that we should spare the tyrants the same treatment, quite the contrary. The time for talk is over. Reliance on the law to save you is folly. We MUST save ourselves, and one another, or we will be a sidenote in the history books of the future, at best.
Well said.
I have believed for many years now, that the government can and will do anything it wants and that there are plenty of “agents of the state” that will be more than happy to enforce the edicts of the state on the people, all for a pay check.
The government, including ALL of its agents and employees, have lost the last shreds of fear of the American people. It is high time we re-instill that fear and put them on notice that they are screwing with the wrong people.