Now I'll have to dig into the actual bill and see what was passed. I thought that they had voted to repeal the tax, but according to that GOA video, they only reduced it to 0 dollars. That is an important distinction for the GOA if it plans to repeal the rest of the measures.
You see, a repeal of the tax would give them firm ground to stand on in challenging the mechanisms meant to uphold a tax that no longer exists. On the other hand, a 0 dollar tax is STILL a tax, and that gives them an uphill fight.
They have to argue then that compliance mechanisms are unconstitutional in enforcing compliance with a tax that still exists, but has merely been reduced to 0 dollars. That's a tougher sell in hostile courts, and gives those hostile courts a hook to hang their hat on when they reject the argument - there is still a tax there, albeit 0 dollars, so compliance enforcement is still justified. You will still have to get the tax stamp that says you have paid zero dollars tax, and the government will still have to maintain the registry and fingerprints to confirm that you paid your zero dollar tax.
So, they may have caved in even farther than I thought.
Duplicitous bastards.
Congressional Republicrats remind me of a phrase I heard long ago, when a fight that was supposed to happen never did. "Clem backed out of the fight, and Jake was damned glad of it!" The Democrats gutted the NFA section of the bill, and the Republicrats were damned glad of it!
I've no use for either of them if they won't stand and fight when there's a fight to be stood on our behalf. We didn't send them to Washington to cave in when it got a little adversarial. If they'll cave in on this, which would have been an easy win, what else will they cave in on when the rubber meets the road? What if the next fight they just back away from slowly is a lot more important than just suppressors? They've already established the precedent that they will cut bait and run like hell from a little fight... so what do you suppose they'll do if faced with a big one?
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You see, a repeal of the tax would give them firm ground to stand on in challenging the mechanisms meant to uphold a tax that no longer exists. On the other hand, a 0 dollar tax is STILL a tax, and that gives them an uphill fight.
They have to argue then that compliance mechanisms are unconstitutional in enforcing compliance with a tax that still exists, but has merely been reduced to 0 dollars. That's a tougher sell in hostile courts, and gives those hostile courts a hook to hang their hat on when they reject the argument - there is still a tax there, albeit 0 dollars, so compliance enforcement is still justified. You will still have to get the tax stamp that says you have paid zero dollars tax, and the government will still have to maintain the registry and fingerprints to confirm that you paid your zero dollar tax.
So, they may have caved in even farther than I thought.
Duplicitous bastards.
Congressional Republicrats remind me of a phrase I heard long ago, when a fight that was supposed to happen never did. "Clem backed out of the fight, and Jake was damned glad of it!" The Democrats gutted the NFA section of the bill, and the Republicrats were damned glad of it!
I've no use for either of them if they won't stand and fight when there's a fight to be stood on our behalf. We didn't send them to Washington to cave in when it got a little adversarial. If they'll cave in on this, which would have been an easy win, what else will they cave in on when the rubber meets the road? What if the next fight they just back away from slowly is a lot more important than just suppressors? They've already established the precedent that they will cut bait and run like hell from a little fight... so what do you suppose they'll do if faced with a big one?
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“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books. For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned with the flick of a finger.”
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake