What Can Gun Owners Expect From President-Elect Trump in 2017?

By Tom McHale

Could this be irrelevant in 2017?
Could this be irrelevant in 2017?
Tom McHale headshot low-res square
Tom McHale

USA –-(Ammoland.com)- If you’ve been listening to the NBC and CNN news reports after the election, you’d think that the Trump administration is going to launch some pretty outlandish initiatives, even by reality television standards.

Watching the endless parade of fearful snowflakes and those throwing public tantrums because their candidate lost might have you preparing for the worst.

You know, things like this:

  • Internment camps for people who think The Big Bang Theory is a good TV show.
  • Importation bans on safe spaces and warm fuzzies.
  • Immediate deportation of anyone with more than two consecutive consonants in their name. Fortunately, I think the First Lady-elect is safe: M-E-L-A-N-I-A. Yep, she’s good to go.

I’m pretty sure none of those things are going to happen, at least not at the direction of our new President-elect. Well, with the possible exception of the safe spaces ban – that I can see as a realistic priority, but we’ll have to wait and see.

However, this revolution against the system of infernal, eternal stagnation (that would be Washington politics) does open some very real opportunities for gun law reform.

Since about 3am Wednesday morning, there’s been a visible display of unbounded enthusiasm among the shooting community. I was reading one blog post by a guy who was convinced that every piece of national firearms legislation would be repealed in 2017. He was confident that the 1934 National Firearms Act, 1938 Federal Firearms Act, Gun Control Act of 1968, 1990 Crime Control Act, and Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act would all be immediately repealed by President Trump. While that sounds like a swell wish list, and a good start, I think that guy is high on medicinal marijuana, but that’s beside the point here.

First, no President has authority to unilaterally change laws. Yes, I know Obama tried (and succeeded in a couple of cases) to do that, but it’s definitely out of the defined job description of Commander in Chief.

Second, while Trump has been quite vocal about his intent to address Second Amendment issues, it’s not his number one priority. I suspect his attention will gravitate to job and economy related issues first, like dealing with the (un) Affordable Care Act, jobs, and trade treaties.

Third, there are plenty of critters in Congress that are moderately proactive about negating pointless gun control laws, but there’s not a rabid appetite among the halls under that big dome for making machine guns available by mail order again anytime soon. There are good intentions out there, but I don’t see an army of politicians foaming at the mouth to repeal all those very substantial laws.

Politicians don’t get positively enthusiastic about anything except their campaign war chests.

With that said, I’m confident we can get some positive things done in relatively short order. Just to be clear, short order for inside the Washington beltway is like dog years compared to our definition of time, but even still, I think we can see some results in 2017. Let’s take a look at what I think are some realistic possibilities for the first 345 days.

No More Tax Stamps For Silencers

First, a quick Silencer ownership refresher. To buy a muffler for your gun right now, you need to get fingerprints, passport photos, a federal background check, a cavity search (well, maybe not a cavity search) and send $200 to Uncle Spendy. For that, you get the distinct privilege of waiting six to twelve months for some faceless bureaucrat to lick and stick a colorful stamp on your application. Only at that point can you actually use the gun muffler you purchased. You know, that thing that helps prevent hearing damage from gunshot noise.

These guys may soon be no longer yucking your yum over suppressors.
These guys may soon be no longer yucking your yum over suppressors.

If you hadn’t noticed, suppressors are all the rage right now, even though it’s a pain in the butt to buy them. Once you shoot with one, you’ll know why. In many cases, you don’t need hearing protection. They keep noise levels to safe levels, thereby protecting shooters and those nearby. They make ranges less disruptive to nearby businesses and homes. They make shooting more pleasurable by reducing the blast and smoothing out recoil. Simply put, there are plenty of reasonable benefits to suppressor use.

The American Suppressor Association has been working diligently, along with manufacturers and friends of the industry to encourage passage of the Hearing Protection Act of 2015. H.R. 3799, introduced by Representative Matt Salmon of the great state of Arizona and 78 co-sponsors in the house, is very simple. Rather than describe it, allow me to copy the meat of it here.

Yes, it’s this short and sweet.

“(f) Firearm Silencers. — A person acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer in accordance with Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, shall be treated as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this subsection) with respect to such silencer.”

In plain English, it basically says that if you buy a suppressor, then you’ve already met the onerous paperwork, fingerprint, and tax requirements that normally hold up the show for so long now. And when I say tax requirements, that means there is none. Do not pay $200 to Uncle Spendy for the privilege of using a muffler. Better yet, at least as the bill reads right now, anyone who dutifully sent in the $200 extortion fee after October 22, 2015, will get a refund. Of course, the bill may be revised and changed before passage, so don’t spend that refund money just yet.

The Hearing Protection Act of 2015 already has an identical companion bill in the Senate, 2236 with three co-sponsors, so it’s queued up and primed for relatively easy passage in both chambers. The big difference now is that come January 20, 2017, a President will be in the Oval Office who will sign this. One of the reasons it’s been sitting stagnant for a while is that the chances of Obama signing the Hearing Protection Act are about the same as all those mouthy and bratty celebrities actually leaving the country now that the election is over. Ah, we can still hope…

National Concealed Carry Reciprocity

While it may not have smooth sailing like the Hearing Protection Act, national reciprocity is a very real possibility for 2017, in part because multiple bills are already floating around the House and Senate. It’s another example of legislation that’s sitting on the burner too long because the guy in the White House would rather ingest two dozen cans of expired potted meat product than sign it.

However, like the Hearing Protection Act, that all changes in a little over two months.

Battle New Jersey Gun Rights
Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity would provide reinforcement to New Jersey Gun Rights fighters.

Take a look at Senate Bill S.498, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015. It basically grants “in state” carry permit authorization to anyone with a permit from another state. If you have, say, a South Carolina permit, and visit Nevada, you’ll automatically have all the flexibility of a Nevada resident permit holder. This one has 32 co-sponsors, a surprising number for a gun bill in the Senate.

There are three different national reciprocity bills floating around the House, 923, 986, and 402. H.R. 986 is particularly interesting because it contains legal protection and penalties aimed squarely at states (can you hear me New York, Connecticut and especially New Jersey?) that choose to ignore the intent of this law. If you get hassled illegally, you may be entitled to attorney’s fees and damages. I’m not a lawyer, so read the text of the bill yourself to digest the details. Regardless, this is good stuff, especially since these House Bills have hundreds of co-sponsors.

These two reforms are very real possibilities for the short term, largely because they’re well under way already and are in a holding pattern waiting on a friendly Sharpie at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That part is done, so it’s time to get moving. Bug your Congress Critters about these. They’re dedicated to the important public service of keeping their cushy jobs and I suspect they’ve gotten a taste of how fed our their constituents are from the recent election.

Now is the time to turn up the heat and inspire some action.

About

Tom McHale is the author of the Insanely Practical Guides book series that guides new and experienced shooters alike in a fun, approachable, and practical way. His books are available in print and eBook format on Amazon. You can also find him on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Jay

RE-PEAL THE EVIL j-w GUN GRABBER LAUTENBERG AMENDMENT MCDV LIFE TIME BAN FOR THE SLIGHTEST TOUCHING!!!

Brian

I had to plea guilty to a domestic violence assault after I called police when my wife was intoxicated on crack and heroin. She would have black outs with rage and attack me. This is due to a childhood rape and being beat by her mother daily since as far back as she can remember, that would be 3 yrs old. After the attack in which I was spayed by capstun, had hot coffee thrown at me was bitten, hit with baseball bat and received gouges to my face leaving permanent scars and cut with a knife. I called the… Read more »

Yash

You, like everyone else have been screwed by this “law”. Unfortunately you are now a burden to everyone you live with! No your wife can’t have a any guns as long as you are in the same house as her. That goes for anyone you live with! Your adult children, sister, mother, aunt, etc, can’t have a gun if you live with them! They consider you to have “access” to the gun by default! There is no other way to say it, but it’s fucked up! Your best move as it stands now is to move from the high crime… Read more »

bret alan ashworth

i was convicted didnt do it but i was in a county that runs thier own laws lawyers wanted over 10000 to fight the case i had no where near that so i pleaded guilty to something I didnt do FUCKING SUCKS WOMEN ARE GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER ON THIS BS ACT

Joshua

Repeal this unconstitutional law. It is destroying people’s lives and makes people unsafe because they cant defend themselves.

chris wortman

Felons convicted of DV are not exempt from Lautenberg (aka, louseyberg)

Adonai El Ra

I was thinking what would happening if all of us who were interested in making a personal MG decided to send in our NFA form 1 simultaneously with no immediate intent of actually making one until a reasonable period of time has passed (6mths), this is so that ATF has opportunity to dis-approve an approved form without us being in jeopordy. I believe it might make a statement of our desires for such things. so what if it gets denied, we get our money back and they spend enormous man hours which we paid for doing absolutely nothing…:) I would… Read more »

concealed carry class

Really good.

concealed carry class

YOU SAID VERY WELL.

Aldofo Ruiz

The LA is a joke and should eventually collapse under its own weight, but when..?!?! WHY then do courts order a battery classes if not to rehabilitate the defendant and upon a probation hearing of successful completion…? It’s Ex- Post Facto (*shall not be challenged) is a joke too – far reaching back in the past after a court “deal” has been accepted (plea bargain to less charges) allows for recovery of 2A rights after 10 yr ban. PC 242 (Shirey VS the Ca State Labor Board Case# B238355, and James VS Calif) only to have been recalled and enhanced… Read more »

chris wortman

We also have a friend in Clarence Thomas.
I encourage all interested parties to write a VERY respectable letter to this man.

Eric

I contacted my rep, the freedom living, constitutional authority, Warren Davidson about the Lautenberg Amendment. Though his legislative side for gun issues did call me.m neck, my email must’ve fell on deaf ears. His initial response was that the LA had withstood several court challenges. Sounds like a NRA paid for politician in muy book. Which is why I encourage people to join GOA and stop giving money to the NRA.Z

Wild Bill

@Eric, I am a member of both, and I am pushing them to push for legislative repeal of all of the GCA (not just Lautenberg’s Amendment), repeal of all of the NFA, and total decommission of the BATFE. President Trump owes us gun owners, and President Trump wants a second term.
We have to get rid of these things before another Barry Soetoro comes along.

Greg Wagner

Wild Bill..the courts have ruled on the constitutionality of the Government’s authority to control firearms. That alone would prevent any party, either Republican or Democrat from from initiating the repeal of the GCA as a whole. However, the Lugtenberg amendment goes beyond that and removes a constitutionally guaranteed right for a misdemeanor. Justice Thomas briefly touched on this in a recent ruling, however to the best of my knowledge it still has not been ruled on by the Supreme Court. Given the overall change in the political environment recently this is likely the best chance we will ever have to… Read more »

Brian Kleinhans

I have just been informed that I also fall under the Lautenberg amendment. I never even knew until I applied for a real estate license in the state of AZ that my 1992 disorderly conduct misdemeanor was reclassified in 1996 as domestic violence and I was banned from owning firearms. I specifically asked the DA and the judge if this would have affected my ability to hunt and they both said no. I was guilty of coming home late one night and my girlfriend at the time called the police to teach me a lesson. When the police are called,… Read more »

Wild Bill

@PonyPlayer K, It should not have. You need to work on GCA repeal.

Brian Kleinhans

Without the financial backing of a lobby the average American citizen has no voice in this government. This entire experience has been a complete slap in the face. I’m learning a lot about what our government has become and it has nothing to do with Liberty or Freedom. It has everything to do with systematic restriction of rights, liberties or freedoms by lobbyist groups who fund these politicians. I understand why people who are affected by this law are afraid to speak up. The media and society have labeled them as wife beaters and they forever carry the stigma of… Read more »

Wild Bill

@PonyPlayer, The NRA is a lobby. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Bear Arms is a lobby. Gun Owners of America is a lobby. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership is a lobby. Join one. Join all of them. Then push.

Wild Bill

Greg you are quite correct, but it takes an avalanche of mail. It is just as easy to repeal the whole GCA as it is to repeal just the Laughtenberg amendment so why not push for repealing the whole GCA?

Greg

I suggest everyone do what I have done. I’ve called my US Congressman (I would have called my US Senators, but when it comes to guns they are totally worthless) and tell the aide yur story and ask them to re-examine the Lautenberg Amendment for repeal or revisal.

Maybe call the NRA or GOA and tell them to get on it! With this change in political landscape we not have we need to act on this befor it goes away!

Eric

The NRA isn’t interested in turning the tide on the Lautenberg Amendment. It passed, they are fine with it now as the law of the land. GOA on the other hand is more likely to fight for repeal, reform or revising the law. The NRA is interested in taking people’s money and acting like a gun rights organization than being a gun rights organization. They hand out A ratings to politicians like candy at a parade.

Greg

Eric, interesting you would say that. I wrote both the NRA and GOA about this the first time I joined this thread. I got what could best be described as a form letter response from the NRA but I did get a personalized response from GOA but it was really no more than an offer to point me to a lawyer. Very disappointing

Adam

I am so happy to read so many comments regarding this unconstitutional law that is known as the Frank Lautenberg admendment. I search the web at least once a month to see if it is being challenged. I am a victim of this myself. I took a pile of misdemeanor domestic violence 20 years ago to get out of jail and save my job. My girlfriend at the time was destroying my house and breaking everything in sight because I was caught having an affair. I picked her up and carried her to the porch shutting the door so she… Read more »

Aesop

You’re scary. And paranoid. Please get help.

chris wortman

It happens.
Ever been a single father in a scetchy neighborhood.
I doubt it. You need an better education.

YREL

lautenberg amendment is the worst garbage legislation in the land. The fact that not only can you now own a gun, but you can’t even be in the same home with anyone that owns one! Someone has a CWP and driving a car? You cant’ be in the car with them because you might have access to the firearm! That means even your spouse’s, parents and even in some cases your older children 2nd amendment rights are violated! You because an danger to them simply just being around! It’s mind blowing F@cked up law that no rational minded law enforcement… Read more »

Greg

I agree, the Lautenberg amendment neegs reversed. It not totally, then at a minimum for those who had the misdemeanor before Lautenberg was enacted. The people that committed it after it was enacted at least had an opportunity to knowingly defend themselves in court. Those who either pled guilty or took an offer from the State’s Attorney (likely to save $$ on lawyer fees) were never allowed the opportunity to defend against such a loss of constitutional rights. If speeding held a lifetime ban on driving a lot more people would certainly fight speeding tickets, but if they made it… Read more »

John

the repeal of the onerous Lautenberg gun ban which was signed into law in 1996 on the Treasury-Postal part of the omnibus appropriations bill. As you know, this ban has disarmed people for life — for offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even yelling at a family member. The language of this lifetime gun ban is so expansive that unsuspecting parents have been disarmed for merely using legitimate corporal punishment. Moreover, this lifetime gun ban can be imposed for mere misdemeanors, and in certain circumstances, imposed without a trial by jury. Many misdemeanors do not guarantee a… Read more »

chris wortman

It happens.
Ever been a single father in a scetchy neighborhood.
I doubt it. You need an better education.

Paul

The Lautenberg Amendment needs to be repealed asap. It’s absolutely unconstitutional, and downright dangerous to be prohibited from being able to protect your loved ones and yourself. We live in a dangerous world! What about people who live in remote areas where owning a gun is highly advisable? What about those affected people who want to stay safe while hiking/camping in the back-country? This needs to be fixed!

Cory Wells

Please repeal the x post facto illegal unconstitutional Lautenberg Amendment. I can’t even get a pardon for a misdemeanor only for a felony.

Marc

Repeal Lautenburg Amendment Now. …unconstitutional on 8 different fronts to our Constitutional rights

Marf

Repal Lautenburg Amendment. ..unconstitutional on 8 different fronts…bad law…

Cory Wells

I agree I live in Iowa and I can’t even get a pardon or special restoration of gun rights only for felons and not misdemeanors.

john

Repeal the lautenberg amendment, a misdemeanor offence should not ban a person for life form possessing a firearm.

Gil

So you are re-affirming Carl Higbie’s view that if we had internment camps before when the threat to national security is deemed sufficient then we can do it again?

jamie

try national constitutional carry

permit required gives anti gun government people ability to make your life hell and make you easier to find as a target by the violent anti gun morons on a mission to kill any and all gun owners they see

yes you betsy riot and moms demand action

not going to let you attack me or any other people so stay home if you hate other people having civil rights

Steven

Assume pending legislation. I would love to see these come to be. I would also like the Hughes Amendment stricken from the law books as well, it steps all over our second amendment rights. The abolishment of NFA would be assume, but I don’t know if we could ever be lucky enough to make it happen. Maybe we could revamp it with no tax, no waiting, and do it like they do carry permits, a single background check and issue a NFA Permit, good until you die. The NFA Permit allows the holder to own, transport nfa items anywhere in… Read more »

Rich....

Is the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act Constitutional – Its a Trojan Horse.. The bill is a dastardly trick and a Trojan horse for institutionalizing licenses, permits, national ID cards, etc. And the end game of all those licenses, permits, national ID cards and such is eventual confiscation of all arms. And after that extermination. Here is the 2014 edition: https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1908/text Also, the federal government has no constitutional authority to make ANY laws dictating who may and who may not carry arms; or under what circumstances people may and may not carry arms across State borders! Arms control of the… Read more »

Wild Bill

Now that we have both houses and the presidency (and Trump owes us big time), we should push for repeal of the National Fire Arms Act, the Gun Control Act, and decommissioning of the BATFE. At some point, President Trump is going to want a second term, and If we don’t get the repeals that we want, then we have the threat of “No Second Term”
We could start a “No Second Amendment, then No Second Term” letter writing campaign, maybe even a movement.

doug

Yes I agree, I would love to own a glock 18

Frogger

I would definitely like to see the New York Safe Act(unsafe act)to be repealed.It is unconstitutional and does not serve any justice for those of us living in New York.GovCuomo did not have a clue about the various provisions of the act when it was signed nor does he now.Possibly the NRA along with President Elect Trimp can help the residents of New York and overturn this Stupid Law.