Below The Radar: The PISTOL Act

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United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- A while back, we discussed the difference between the ideal and the achievable. It is a conundrum that many Second Amendment supporters have, whether it is legislation or candidates. Our enemies often have the same problem, so we can take some small comfort.

Just as Dianne Feinstein has introduced a fallback measure to the semiauto ban she really wants, the same approach is being taken with regards to the Biden-Harris regime’s attack on AR-15-type pistols (among others). We have discussed the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act on multiple occasions, and it is the ideal solution to address that attack.

However, as Second Amendment supporters have often learned, the ideal solution isn’t always possible.

In this case, removing short-barreled rifles from the purview of the National Firearms Act may not be possible at the present time. In fact, to be very blunt, seeing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act become law in this Congress is a pipe dream, given who controls the committees and subcommittees.

This is not to say it’s a bad idea – introducing legislation and tracking the cosponsors is a good way to gauge what sort of support there is for efforts to restore our rights. That makes having a fall-back option a good idea. Enter HR 3823, the PISTOL Act.

What this bill, introduced by Representative Bob Good (R-VA), does is to maintain the status quo by stating that firearms like the AR-15 pistols with a stabilizing brace may not be placed under the National Firearms Act. This would end the present threat for the short term – provided that anti-Second Amendment extremists don’t increase their numbers in Congress.

This doesn’t come without trade-offs.

On the one hand, if the PISTOL Act were to be passed into law (say as an amendment to the appropriate appropriations bill), it may make it more difficult to pass the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act in the future. But given the realities that surround passing legislation, even taking a majority in the future won’t make passing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act a given.

For one thing, the same filibuster that currently is preventing anti-Second Amendment extremists from packing the court and ramming through extreme legislation will be wielded by the likes of Chuck Schumer, Chris Murphy, Dianne Feinstein, and other anti-Second Amendment extremists to block pro-Second Amendment legislation. It cuts both ways, and before Second Amendment supporters contemplate nuking the filibuster to pass such improvements, remember that Harry Reid’s use of the “nuclear option” for nominations backfired to the tune of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett on SCOTUS.

The fact is, the PISTOL Act may be a suitable incremental measure in lieu of passing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act, and Second Amendment supporters should contact their Senators and Representative and polite urge them to support this legislation. However, it is no substitute for defeating anti-Second Amendment extremists at the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.


About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.Harold Hutchison

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Boz

The onIy piece gun IegisIation that couId EVER be IawfuI woudI be one that REQUIRED aII Citizens to possess a firearm. Anything eIse goes against “SHALL NOT”.

Tionico

mandating gun ownership is NOT a good idea. and means to prevent those who have, bytheir past acitons, proven themselves untrustrustworthy and thus “prohibited’ must be retained. Of course, the present “any felony” (which can include thigns like driving 21 miles per hour oabove the posted speed limit, shooting a feral nuisance cat in my county, failing to pay child suppoert, even if the pore sap is out of work because covid, and such things, need to be removed from the “disqualitfying” list. Far too many “crimes” are prohibiting. Fix that, and deny arms to those who have proven they… Read more »

Henry Bowman

All gun control laws are INFRINGEMENTS, and therefore VOID. Enforcement of them is a FELONY at 18USC242.

The PISTOL Act is NOT “below the radar”, unless you’re a fudd.

Harold, I suppose I should thank you for not shilling for the NRA, for once! Keep it that way!

Laddyboy

“The fact is, the PISTOL Act may be a suitable incremental measure in lieu of passing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act, and Second Amendment supporters should contact their Senators and Representative and polite urge them to support this legislation. However, it is no substitute for defeating anti-Second Amendment extremists at the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.” . INCREMENTAL? To get back to the ACKNOWLEDGED Second Amendment RIGHTS that American Citizens HAVE from GOD, BEFORE the American Constitution was PENNED??? RIDICULOUS thought of train!! “politicians” MUST revert BACK to the OATH OF OFFICE they took! To PROTECT… Read more »

JimmyS

Harold, there is no lawful gun legislation. Think of it another way: what valid legislation dictates to you the how, the who, and the what of your worship of God? How is that right distinct from the sacred right to bear arms in defense of self, life, liberty, and property? And the only REAL problem “our enemies” have is that they continue to openly commit treason, and have thus earned their deaths repeatedly. That sweet fuck-all has been done to remedy that should tell you (or someone without their head crammed up their backside) who is running the show, and… Read more »

Ryben Flynn

And how many laws has Congress passed that infringe on the 2nd. Amendment? 1934NFA. 1968GCA. 1986 FOPA (Hughes Amendment ban on new machine guns for civilians). 1994 Brady Act. 1994 Crime Bill, the 10 year ban on so-called “assault weapons”.

Laddyboy

@RF: Currently, across America, there are OVER 25,000 anti-constitutional laws on the books!!

Xaun Loc

YAWN

As soon as I hit the word “achievable” in the opening sentence I knew this article would be just another screed by NRA-shill Harold Hutchison — and therefore I also immediately knew that the comments section would be full of the usual “All Gun Laws Are Unconstitutional” posts from the regular participants in the Cold Dead Hands Club.