Rare News Desk
There’s a debate going on about whether or not to deny firearm sales to those on the no-fly list. Supporters of the measure claim it is necessary to prevent future attacks like the one at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando last weekend. Opponents claim that the no-fly list is riddled with errors and using it as a basis to deny firearms sales also denies the right of due process, since no one can challenge whether or not they belong on the list.
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But a Vox writer, Dylan Matthews, wants to go even further. He wants President Obama to unilaterally put every American on a list and deny firearms sales to all of them:
https://twitter.com/dylanmatt/status/743439660324622337
The problem with this is that the Supreme Court has ruled that private firearms ownership is a constitutional right. Although I’m sure Matthews disagrees with this decision, the reality is that his sweeping gun grab would set a precedent that could unilaterally deprive Americans of other rights.
For example, would Dylan Matthews support President Donald Trump if he created a list of reporters who were banned from Internet access? My guess is that he wouldn’t.
Liberal writer Glenn Greenwald noted that minorities and other perceived enemies of the government would be targeted under Matthews’ plan.
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/743452126148366336
Still, if a president did decide he wanted to all but ban firearms ownership in the United States, there are a couple of things he could do.
Allow all current Federal Firearms Licenses to expire: Every firearms dealer in the United States has to have a Federal Firearms License to operate. Those licenses have to be renewed every three years. It would be theoretically possible for a president to order the ATF to not renew any FFLs, which would effectively shut down gun shops.
Ban the import of all firearms: Additionally a president could order the ATF to say that no firearms being imported into the United States have “sporting purposes” and ban them. This would force many of the most popular firearms manufacturers out of the American market.
Now, both of these measures could be fought in court, but there are signs that at least some of the courts are ready to limit the right to bear arms.
The idea of a president unilaterally banning firearms sounds offensive to liberty because it is. But if a president was truly determined to prohibit firearms sales unilaterally, the means are already there to do it. And that’s disturbing.
