The NFA of 1934 was an act of taxation. It was a power given to the Congress by the Constitution. Nothing really controversial at that time.
In 1943, the Courts began to shift:
“The power to tax the exercise of a privilege is the power to control or suppress its enjoyment... A state may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the federal constitution.” Murdock v. Pennsylvania 319 U.S. 262.
That and subsequent rulings pretty much killed taxation of a right. It ended with the passage of the 24th amendment, which did away with poll taxes.
The paradox, is that at the State level, no taxation of a right is allowed. Yet at the Federal level, we still have certain taxes that are applied to certain rights. So far, the Courts have upheld these taxes. And make no mistake, the NFA is a tax.
(This is another plug for a SCOTUS ruling in favor of
Parker v. D.C. Because if the SCOTUS rules in the affirmative, the NFA can then be attacked as a taxation upon a fundamental right.)
Do you think that the NRA hasn't thought of this? Or the anti-gunners?
The NFA and Title 18 §922(o) USC (1986 machine gun ban) cannot begin to be attacked until the 2A is declared a fundamental right.
Which brings us back to the NRA's involvement back in 1933. You want to chastize an organization that helped put together a tax law, when it was undisputed that the Federal Government had such a right?
second am, you really should learn your history. Right or wrong, at that time, it was an undisputed concept. You also need to understand what the taxation was for. How were figures like Al Copone nailed? Tax Evasion. Not for all the crimes he committed or caused to be committed, but tax evasion.
In helping to craft the 1934 NFA, the NRA was asked by certain congressmen to report on their success in Chicago. There, they had helped to craft a tax law that put several gangsters into the slammer.
Congress people then, like now, were totally out of touch with the ordinary and common man in America. They really had no idea how many machine guns and other NFA type weapons were owned by civilians. This rest is history, as they say.
You should also remember that the 1939 Miller Court never ruled, one way or another, that the 2A was an individual right. They sidestepped the issue entirely.
The GCA of 1968 was the NRA's first real attempt to influence the legislative process. It was a success, only in that some of the most draconian aspects of the GCA were withdrawn. Such things as forbidding firearms ownership by convicted criminals and the mentally ill (prohibited persons), were not and have not been opposed by the National Rifle Association.
As for the FOPA banning further civilian ownership of post '86 weapons, it was a floor amendment, where time had run out for debate. It passed by voice vote only. It should be noted that the House Chair upon making the proclamation that the amendment "was agreed to," refused to hear other members calling for a recorded vote.
Read David Hardy's excellent paper on the FOPA
here. Complete with hyperlinked annotations.
Suffice it to say that the NRA had no hand in the creation of §922(o). Sen Hatch tried to get this removed, when the bill reached the Senate, but failed.
I could go on and on. Most of the "evil" that people say the NRA has done, has been nothing more than learning to be politically savvy. That doesn't come overnight for an organization whose primary function and focus was to increase the marksmanship of the gun owning public.
V4? Join the ranks. Then if you have some money left over, join one of the other orgs that more fit your ideals. But simply to blast the NRA for whatever mistakes you might find, is to belittle the great service that has been rendered. We would be worse off without the NRA than with it.
