Gun control proponent Gabby Giffords is pushing for new regulations on muzzleloaders while Senate Democrats are pushing an all-out ban on “assault weapons.”
Giffords’ gun control group suggests that single shot rifles could prove to be “the next bump stock” unless action is taken to regulate them.
In a report titled “Legal and Lethal,” Giffords’ group argues against numerous firearms and accessories, including binary triggers and “high capacity shotguns.” They also denounce current attempts to remove suppressors from the purview of the National Firearms Act (1934) via the Hearing Protection Act.
They then turn to muzzleloaders:
Even if silencers were removed from the NFA, the guns they attach to would still be subject to certain basic provisions of federal law. These laws prohibit convicted felons and other dangerous people from possessing guns, require gun retailers to be licensed, and require licensed retailers to conduct background checks on purchasers. There is one blanket exception to these laws, however: the exception for antique firearms, including muzzleloaders.
Muzzlerloaders are single-shot firearms that are loaded similarly to the way muskets were loaded in the American colonies. Some can now be loaded faster, depending on how one purchases ammunition, but they are cumbersome nonetheless. Giffords’ group admits this, saying, “Muzzleloaders are firearms that must be loaded through the end of the barrel with powder, wadding and a projecticle. Muzzleloaders fell out of favor as a firearm of choice almost a century ago, and are generally seen as primitive antiques.”
Nevertheless, Giffords’ group calls for new regulation on the firearms; they are particularly miffed that an American might put a suppressor on his single shot rifle.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.