Thread by @ElizabethLuxArc, Oh boy, time to open myself up to a firing squad in [...]

Oh boy, time to open myself up to a firing squad in twitter.

So, I just read Biden’s proposed legislation for nee gun control. It’s... bad. It’s terrible, actually, but not for the reasons you think.

A thread on how to fix it

So, Biden wants to add “Assault Weapons” to the National Firearms Act (NFA), which means that to own one, you need to pay a $200 tax stamp, be put into a registry, and wait ~6 months to recieve you gun after a very intensive background check. Also, some states wont allow citizens

To own NFA items at all. Other NFA items are Machine Guns, Short Barreled Rifles and Shotguns, and Suppressors (as well as some other niche stuff). Outside of the tax stamp, none of these are *inherently* bad. Nothing is being grandfathered in, either

So if you own an “Assault Weapon”, and also “Large Capacity Magazines” (commonly understood to mean more than 10 rounds [bullets] due to the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban]), you have to pay that $200 for every offending item. That will add up super fast.

Honestly, the idea of High Cap Magazines being NFA items isnt a bad one imo. Boost the round count to 20 and I’m on board. I also don’t approve of the tax stamp since it prevents poor citizens from being able to arm themselves. But the wait time, the registry, the background

check is all fine and dandy to me.

The reason I’ve been putting “Assault Weapon” in quotes is because it isnt a real designation, it’s a political one. Ignore the shitty meme, but it gets the point across. Both of those guns (top and bottom) are functionally *identical*

And yet, the bottom is an “Assault Weapon” due to its features. Banning features could have worked in the past, but it doesnt work now, and that is for one reason; 3D Printing. Want a bigger magazine? There are hundreds of .stl files that you can download and print

Want a foregrip? A collapsable stock? And better pistol grip? Same problem. And with Metal 3D printing on a hobbyist basis a year or two out, this will only get worse. You can already 3D print the compenants you need to make a gun fully automatic (make it a machine gun)

And as well all know, once something is on the internet, it never goes away.

So, Liz, how do we stop this?

Incentive

If you can give people enough of an incentive to go through the legal means of purchasing accessories, then they will. If yiu don’t, them the homemade accessories scene is only going to explode. Finding that line is going to be hard, and I sure as hell dont have the answer

But a blanket ban on features? That will make things worse. There are other countries that allow citizens to own the same firearms you can in the US and they dont have a mass shooting problem. It’s a culture problem, it’s an ease of access problem, and its a mental health problem

I think a system that involves different levels of gun licenses, resctictions on ammunition in the home, background checks, mandatory participation in safety courses, and maybe even gun clubs is a good start. Banning certain features is trying puuting a bandaid on a bullet wound

It’s poltical pandering at its finest. And before anyone accuses me of being right wing, dont bother. I believe in a maximum wage, housing a human right, landlords being obsolete. The one thing I never see talked about in progressive spaces is Marx’s opinions on firearms

(It was very positive).

All that said, I’m still voting for Biden. Legislation can be changed peacefully, Fascism can Not.

If anyone’s got questions or comments, ask away and I’ll do my best to answer.

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