With Donald Trump taking office on January 20, what’s the outlook for the Second Amendment and American citizen’s gun rights? The Second Amendment is, after all, an express, unalienable, natural right. It’s not an emanation of a penumbra, not a second class right, it’s the real deal, and in Bruen (2022), the Supreme Court made that clear.
I’ll not go into the various lawsuits that are headed for the Supreme Court or various lower courts. They deserve articles all their own. We’ll start with the resignation of ATF Director Steve Dettlebach on January 18.
Dettlebach’s tenure has been brief, but he was a conventional, anti-liberty/gun cracktivist. He furthered regulations on things like bump stocks, pistol braces and “ghost guns,” but most of those attempts have been stymied in the lower courts and under the Trump Administration they may vanish.
It goes without saying pretty much anyone would be an improvement at the head of the ATF, which though it deserves it, probably won’t be shut down. What likely will be ended is the ATF’s so-called “Zero Tolerance” policy where the ATF has purposely harassed and taken the federal firearm licenses of many dealers for minor paperwork errors. Bill Clinton did the same, and Barack Obama took a slightly different path by gifting guns to Mexican drug cartels, but all opposed the Second Amendment.
It’s ironic that the ATF has long had a reputation as the worst federal law enforcement agency. It was almost impossible for an ATF agent to transfer within the federal government; no one else wanted them. Now, that’s increasingly an FBI problem. Both have DEI and corruption problems, and both will likely be at least somewhat reformed over the next four years.
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Graphic: AR-15, Author
AR-15s will continue to be America’s most popular modern sporting rifle, with some available at $500 and less.
Ammunition prices will almost certainly decline, but only to a point. Only five years ago I could buy Federal aluminum cased, 115 grain, 9mm at less than $10 a box of 50. Today, I’m able to find it for just under $12.00. I’d expect that to drop about a dollar within two years, but not more. Inflation has driven up the cost of everything. Ammo availability will remain high, and availability of brass and primers for reloading will increase and prices will drop as inflation drops and supply increases.
Also expect gun sales to remain high. We’ve surpassed 60 consecutive months of a million + gun sales, but that’s figured by federal records checks when someone fills out a Form 4473 to buy a gun from a FFL dealer. One can buy multiple guns with a single record check, and these figures don’t account for private sales which happen all the time. In fact, many people sell guns privately as a prelude to buying new guns. The media has recently begun to write about members of various leftist groups buying guns for the first time, implying they’re panic buying because they’re buying what fellow leftists in the media and government have been saying about Donald Trump and his drooling MAGA legions. It won’t be long before they realize three things: no one is going to put them in camps or kill them and their pals outright lied. Pretty much everything they were told about Trump and Normal Americans was a lie in the service of getting leftists elected, and hey, guns are fun!
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Graphic: KelTec Sub2000, Generation 3, Author
A new generation of folding pistol-caliber carbines is making it possible to conveniently carry carbines capable of 100+ yard accuracy in the same caliber as one’s carry handgun. At only $500 for the KelTec Sub 2000 Gen3, which can be had for less with careful searching, it’s now possible to have a light, easily transported carbine less expensive than many handguns. S&W’s M&P FPC carbine is several hundred more, but also a good choice.
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Graphic: Glock 43, Author
One of the problems with full-sized semiautos like the Glock 17 and even mid-sized pistols like the G19 is size and weight. Their high magazine capacity is great, but not if the gun is to big and heavy to carry every day. Beginning with the Glock 26 which was a reaction to the Clinton Assault Weapon Ban’s 10 round magazine restriction, manufacturers have developed a large number of small and light semiautos like the G43 and G43X with magazine capacities of 6 and 10 and more rounds. Sales of these handy daily carry guns have taken off and will continue to do very well, and there is sufficient supply guarantees below MSRP prices.
In general, the outlook for lower prices in all facets of the industry, as well as plentiful supply, is good and so is the outlook for greater respect for individual rights and the reining in of governmental abuses. Happy inauguration day!
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
