The Bill of Rights is pretty dang important. We all know that. We also know that the left is rather notorious for not caring all that much about our rights listed there, despite claims to the contrary.
In fact, a new gun control proposal doesn't just ignore the Second Amendment, but the First as well.
See, the bill bans the possession of certain computer files that might be used to make a full-auto switch:
New York State officials are working to clamp down on illegal guns by outlawing the sharing of digital blueprints that allow individuals to 3D-print components that turn semiautomatic firearms into machine guns.
The parts, called auto sears, can be fitted into semiautomatic weapons, including Glock pistols and AR-15 rifles, allowing shooters to empty their magazines with one pull of the trigger.
And thanks to advances in 3D printing that allow people to manufacture gun parts from the comfort of their homes, fully automatic firearms are becoming more common in New York City, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
“We talk about the Iron Pipeline, now we have the Kitchen Pipeline,” said Bragg about the flow of illegal firearms smuggled into the city from states with more lenient gun laws. “We’re seeing this in our cases. We’re seeing this in recoveries. We’re seeing this in gun buybacks. As technology evolves, we have to keep pace in law enforcement.”
Bragg joined state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal at his Manhattan office Friday to announce a new bill that would criminalize the sale and distribution of the digital files necessary to manufacture the deadly 3D-printed components.
The proposed bill is the latest effort on the part of state legislators to address the proliferation of ghost guns, which can be printed at home and lack serial numbers that help investigators track illegal firearms and keep them away from criminals.
The problem is that computer files have long been held as a form of free speech. Banning files for full-auto switches — something that's hardly enforceable, anyway —runs afoul of the First Amendment and the Second Amendment.
Of course, this is New York, where Democrats are not known to care about such things as the constitutionality of their proposals, but it is what it is, and they can't make that go away.
We should also remember that producing these devices is already illegal under the National Firearms Act, passed back in 1934, and via the 1986 machine gun ban signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. The full-auto switches weren't a thing until a year after that law was passed. While there are apparently a couple of transferable ones running around somehow, they're not available off of store shelves.
As such, making one is a federal crime.
If the laws worked as advertised, a bill like this one wouldn't be needed. The fact that it apparently is, though, tells us plenty about the efficacy of gun control.
Plus, as I said earlier, it's not remotely enforceable until or unless someone makes one for sale, in which case you've already got them for making an illegal machine gun conversion device.
But again, it's New York.
What can you expect?
