One unintended consequence of the ongoing government shutdown of “non-essential” services is that it has highlighted what the Justice Department has claimed are “modest restrictions” to Second Amendment rights are, in fact, debilitating roadblocks, completely reliant upon government operation.
In other words, infringements.
The ATF’s (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) NFA (National Firearms Act) Division has been closed all 17 days of the shutdown, deemed to be non-essential. That action has completely stopped the processing and approval of NFA-regulated items, like suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and machine guns.
Following intense pressure from a coalition of gun rights groups and elected representatives, the ATF announced it is recalling NFA examiners to return to work on Monday, October 20.
Advocacy groups worked with 30 House Republicans, led by Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA), to send a letter on October 16 to Daniel Driscoll, Acting Director of the ATF, demanding that the ATF recall examiners. (The groups involved included Gun Owners of America (GOA), National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), National Rifle Association (NRA), and American Suppressor Association (ASA).
Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement in an email:
We are grateful to the Trump administration for recalling NFA examiners to work during the shutdown, ensuring that law-abiding Americans can once again exercise their rights without unnecessary government delays. The whole situation just proves exactly why Congress must repeal the archaic National Firearms Act. Gun owners shouldn’t be forced to beg the government’s permission to exercise their rights.
Interestingly, the Justice Department could have, but declined to do so, determined that the ATF’s NFA division was essential, prior to going into the shutdown – an action that would have been expected of the “most pro-2A AG in U.S. history.“
The letter pointed out the catch-22 in which the government finds itself, observing, “…under federal law, Second Amendment rights cannot be fully exercised without the involvement of the federal government. This clearly is not what the Framers intended, but it is this country’s unfortunate reality.”
Second Amendment advocates often chorus the phrase, “a right delayed is a right denied,” and rightly so, as it seems to be the only enumerated right that is consistently infringed, delayed, suppressed, and even disparaged, as the Justice Department has done in supporting what are not so “modest restrictions” after all.
In fact, the letter to the ATF points out the unconstitutional nature of the NFA, which is likely why it found only 30 supporters in the House:
To be sure, the National Firearms Act unquestionably violates the Second Amendment,” they wrote, adding, “The President therefore has a constitutional imperative to ensure that Americans can exercise their Second Amendment rights even during periods of government shutdown. Otherwise, constitutionally enumerated rights rise and fall with congressional appropriations.
While examiners will return to work on Monday and begin processing the 7-10 day backlog, it begs the question of exactly how long the Justice Department can continue to support the unconstitutional “modest restrictions” to Second Amendment rights that are being challenged in numerous ongoing lawsuits.
