House Bill 125-FN, commonly referred to as the, Lawful Commerce In Firearms Act eminently faces a house vote. Much has been said about the bill while, at the same time, much has not been said about this bill.
Simply stated, this bill exempts firearms, accessories and/or ammunition manufactured in New Hampshire, and remains in New Hampshire, from Federal Regulation under the National Firearms Act.
Similar to New Hampshire’s pending legislation, Eight other States (Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Tennessee, and Alaska) have already passed a Firearms Freedoms Acts bill and twenty-one other states currently have active and pending legislation. Three states are proactively crafting FFA legislation.
The New Hampshire version of the Firearms Freedom Act allows Granite-Staters to assume responsibility on a limited basis, the self-regulation as well as some freedom from the overly burdensome yolk of bureaucratic and restrictive federal firearms regulations.
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"The Interstate Commerce Clause is the basis upon which the federal government relies to regulate firearms crossing state borders. The New Hampshire Firearms Freedom legislation makes it clear that firearms ammunition and accessories will be clearly stamped with, "Made in New Hampshire" in order to delineate those that may be transferred via interstate commerce.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 on its face seems to stem from the power given to Congress within the U.S. Constitution to, "lay and collect taxes.." But when we talk about taxes there are two separate and distinct sorts of taxes: First, there taxes with the express intent to create revenue streams; And, Second, are "control" taxes enacted and implemented for the narrow and singular purpose of targeting and affecting movement within the stream of commerce.
The 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act (also known as the, FEDERAL AID IN WILDLIFE RESTORATION ACT) is an example of a federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition expressly intended as a revenue stream the federal government redistributes among the states for wildlife management purposes.
The New Hampshire Lawful Commerce In Firearms Act (HB 125-FN) neither challenges nor nullifies Pittman-Robertson. Presently, litigation is underway where the Montana Shooting Sports Association has Challenged the Federal Government‘s assertion that Firearms Freedom Acts are null and void. If the MFFA prevails in its legal pursuit, it may well be likely that makers of homemade firearms will not be exempt from the Pittman Robertson excise tax, despite such a victory.
When a person desiring to own an NFA weapon, also called Class III (for purposes of our discussion, a Machine Gun) The transfer process requires a properly executed form 4 with the submission of $200 to the BATFE. That $200 fee is neither a licensing fee or a permit fee, contrary to common reference, but it is a "tax". Nothing more. This "tax," levied pursuant to NFA, is intended to "restrict" the commerce in NFA items. Given the vastly limited number of Class III NFA firearms presently in the commerce stream, it is fair to assume revenues from transfer taxes are negligible and easily outpace the administration and enforcement costs.
We might therefore logically conclude that while transfer taxes are levied by the BATFE under a congressional powers claim of the right to tax, that claim ultimately fails for lack of challenge, and the Federal default again rests in Congress’s authority to regulate commerce "among the states."
Finally, while the context of this legislation appears to be about firearms freedom on its face, This legislation is actually more about asserting our states’ tenth amendment constitutional right and seeking to check the powers of an over-intrusive bloated federal government, always too willing to encroach of the individual rights of the states. If no other reasons were really sufficient, I would support this legislation on that basis alone.
But, I will predict this: When this legislation goes to the floor for a vote, the Brady Bunch, Bloomberg Cronies and the New Hampshire Association of Police Chiefs will spew their anti-gun pablum, falsehoods, demagoguery and faux crime statistics. They will try to focus the debate once again on the inanimate object…the amalgam of shaped and crafted steel parts which compositely make up the sum of their scorn and seething. And when this passes it will be fun to watch their hissing and pissing.
