Arms and Armor Under Attack

Our rights are under assault, and have been for some time. The First Amendment has been pushed aside to assuage those suffering from “micro-aggressions.” The assault on our Second Amendment has been under siege for decades. Here are a handful of examples of how our Right to Keep and Bear Arms has been infringed for more than 85 years: 

• The National Firearms Act of 1934, 
• The 1968 Gun Control Act, 
• The 1986 ban on new production of automatic firearms for civilian purchase
• The 1989 ban on importing ‘assault weapons’
• The 1994 Federal Assault Weapon Ban
• The proposed 2015 Assault Weapon Ban

The attacks on our God-given right to defend the country from tyrants have been steady and insidious. But it isn’t only firearms being targeted; body armor is also under attack.

A call to arms and armor

The Second Amendment is, and has always been, about the populace having every means to defend the country against a tyrannical government, both offensive (arms) and defensive (armor). Considering that private citizens of the time owned their own canon and privateers, it’s clear our Right to Keep and Bear arms wasn’t limited to guns.

Since 2014, there has been a concerted effort to ban civilian ownership of “enhanced” body armor, with the same bill being introduced into Congress three separate times:

• H.R. 5344 - Responsible Body Armor Possession Act (2014)
• H.R. 378 - Responsible Body Armor Possession Act (2015)
• H.R. 4568 - Responsible Body Armor Possession Act (2019)

These nearly-identical bills would ban the civilian possession of body armor, including helmets and shields, that meet or exceed Type III threat level. Body armor lawfully owned when the law went into effect is grandfathered, but no new armor could be sold to civilians. H.R. 4568 is still alive and currently sits in a House committee.

If the House actions weren’t enough, in August 2019, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced he would introduce legislation to regulate body armor like handguns, requiring the FBI to “sign off” on civilian purchases. So far, there is no indication he has followed through on this.

The future depends on what you do today

So, what does the future hold? Obviously, we can’t know for certain. Based on the constant drive to disarm the population, the best chance we have to maintain our Second Amendment rights comes via the checks and balances among the institutions of our government. A divided Congress can stop legislation attacking the Second Amendment from reaching the president’s desk, and a Supreme Court composed of originalists/Constitutionalists can rule a bad law unconstitutional.

Elections have consequences, so vote as if your freedom is at stake.

Because it is.