Unserious People: Carolyn Maloney and New Anti-Gun Bills

Some people. You know the type. Constantly complaining about whatever chaps their hindquarters but never really addressing the problem itself. Such people are usually very good at casting blame while rarely, if ever, accepting any responsibility themselves. They’re often quite blustery about “fixing” what they don’t like, but usually favor show business over real solutions. I’m talking, of course, about career politicians, whether they be Republican, Democrat, or whatever. I often think it’s a uniparty, anyway. When it comes to her recent pet issue of “assault weapons,” Representative Carolyn Maloney is all about agenda-driven show business.

New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
New York’s Carolyn Maloney is proving herself as agenda-driven and unserious. (Oversight Committee YouTube Channel)

Targeting Everyone but the Criminal

Maloney chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which has recently produced first-rate political theater aimed at pinning responsibility for mass murders on gun manufacturers. You know how it goes. Some lunatic buys a rifle, passes the mandated background check, and murders innocent people knowing his name and face will be all over the media for a week. Predictably, people like Carolyn Maloney immediately seek a microphone to push agendas and fundraise.

But there has to be a bad guy other than the murderer. Since he’s either dead or going to prison, there’s no political hay to be made. So faceless gun manufacturers become an easy target. After all, gun controllers like Maloney have raised millions of dollars attacking the gun industry. Why not do it again? That led to the truly outrageous July Oversight Committee hearing excoriating Ruger CEO Chris Killoy and Daniel Defense’s Marty Daniel.

Smith & Wesson’s Mark Smith refused to attend, raising Maloney’s dander and causing her to subpoena Smith & Wesson’s company records and marketing materials. Mr. Smith hit back with an epic open letter calling out soft-on-crime politicians like Maloney who seek to blame everyone but the criminals.

Smith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith
Smith & Wesson’s Mark Smith no doubt infuriated Maloney by refusing to attend her made-for-TV hearing and issuing a scathing open letter calling out politicians. (Hoang “Leon” Nguyen/The Republican)

And now, Maloney is upping the ante again. Showing how unserious she is about addressing the causes of mass murder, the Congresswoman introduced two bills she says will combat gun violence.

The Firearms Industry Fairness Act

The first is called the Firearms Industry Fairness Act. The name, of course, is nothing but political propaganda since there’s nothing fair about it. The bill would essentially levy an additional 20 percent income tax against gun companies who manufacture and sell so-called “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines. The money from the tax would supposedly be used for gun violence prevention efforts and supporting shooting victims.

AR-15 Carolyn Maloney
Maloney wants to add a 20 percent income tax on any company that manufactures “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines. (Shutterstock)

Full of Holes

Let’s break that down. Maloney wants to tax legitimate American businesses an extra 20 percent because she doesn’t like their products. That’s literally it. Never mind those products are legal and Constitutionally protected. Of course, she hates that too and would change it if she could. Am I the only one that thinks Mark Smith’s letter chuffed Maloney so bad that she wants to punish him for calling her out?

And let’s be real. Does anyone think that money would go where the bill says it will? Maybe, but politicians reroute tax money all the time. Social Security is a great example. Congress routinely raids those funds for current pet projects. And even if they did, who decides who gets it? Would it go to legitimate crime victims or only those whose experiences can be exploited for political gain? I know what I think.

Finally, firearms companies would certainly pass that 20 percent tax on to consumers. They would have no real choice. Maloney knows that too. Gun controllers in Congress are trying mightily to price guns, magazines, and ammo beyond the reach of regular citizens. Remember, Congressman Don Beyer’s (D-VA) 1,000 percent “assault weapons” tax is still in play. You can read the bill’s text at beyer.house.gov. Both measures are backdoor gun control, pure and simple.

The Firearm Industry Crime and Trafficking Accountability Act

Maloney’s second bill is the Firearm Industry Crime and Trafficking Accountability Act. The title is again deliberately misleading because it holds no one accountable for firearm crime except gunmakers and gun retailers. The whole thing is incredibly disingenuous.

  • First, the bill requires gun companies to track crimes committed with their products. They would use data gleaned from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
  • Gun companies would then try to identify retailers who may be trafficking guns for criminal purposes.
  • The companies would then be required to cease doing business with those retailers and report them to the ATF.

Maloney’s Agenda

As with the first bill, there’s a lot wrong here. First, Maloney wants gun manufacturers to do the ATF’s job. Like we need another set of eyes looking over our shoulders. If the ATF has that data, why don’t they do it?

This part is almost certainly about creating expensive and time-consuming processes that eat into gunmakers’ profits. This is not surprising since Maloney complained about those profits a few weeks ago in her committee performance.

Carolyn maloney with firearms company profits chart
Maloney tries to link profitability to murder rates. (Oversight Committee YouTube Channel)

But worse than that, it looks to me like Maloney is setting gunmakers up for liability should they miss a so-called “rogue dealer” who might sell a gun that later turns up at a crime scene. The current administration is notoriously targeting gun retailers for the smallest infractions. Maloney’s bill wants to hit them from the industry side too and then stick the industry if they miss something. It’s like making Ford or GM track dealers who sell cars to people who drive drunk and kill people. Then force them to stop selling cars to those dealers. Utterly nonsensical.

This part isn’t surprising either. Maloney badgered Marty Daniel over the Uvalde murders, saying he should accept personal responsibility since the murderer used one of his company’s rifles. Daniel, of course, refused, as he should have. If Maloney can elicit an acknowledgment of responsibility from even one gunmaker, the lawsuit tsunami will overwhelm the industry.

And I believe that’s the ultimate goal. Deflect responsibility toward the gun industry and sue them into oblivion. Never mind that some political elements have weakened law enforcement and, to my mind, have actually tacitly approved of, if not actually encouraged, lawlessness over the last two and a half years. Maloney represents Manhattan’s trendy Upper East Side but sees no connection between such policies and her home city’s rising crime rate. Nope. It’s all because gunmakers deliver what their customers want, and she doesn’t like it.

One More Little Thing…

But there’s one more thing that explains these bills. Maloney is no doubt incensed by Mark Smith’s repeated defiance and she has never met a gun control proposal she didn’t like. But she also has a tough primary election coming up on August 23.

And it’s not just any primary. New York’s Congressional districts were recently realigned, and Maloney’s district was merged with Congressman Jerry Nadler’s. Nadler is another staunch anti-gun legislator whose Congressional power rivals and perhaps surpasses Maloney’s.

Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler
Maloney and Jerry Nadler are locked in the political fight of their lives. The only good thing is that one of them will go home. (washingtonexaminer.com)

Nadler chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee, so he’s not your average primary challenger. Both representatives are in the fight of their political lives with a member of their own party. The campaign has been nasty and personal. Maloney could be merely trying to score political points back home with these bills. They give her talking points that supposedly show how much she’s doing to fight gun crime.

That’s garbage, of course. These bills merely demonstrate how unserious she really is when it comes to stopping mass murderers. There’s nothing about holding criminals accountable through tougher sentencing. Nothing about extending mental health services to people in need. There’s certainly nothing about people’s right to defend themselves in an increasingly violent New York City.

Congress as a circus
It’s all about the show business. (vecteezy.com)

No, it’s all about attacking lawful gun companies and the responsible gun owners they sell to. It’s all about increasing costs for everyone across the board, from the manufacturer to the end user. It’s about making companies responsible for the criminal misuse of their products.

But ultimately, it may be about scoring cheap political points on a hot button issue to maintain her grip on power. Can it get more unserious than that? The only good thing is that one of these gun controllers, Maloney or Nadler, is going home. Too bad it won’t be both.

William "Bucky" Lawson is a self-described "typical Appalachian-American gun enthusiast". He is a military historian specializing in World War II and has written a few things, as he says, "here and there". A featured contributor for Strategy & Tactics, he likes dogs, range time, and a good cigar - preferably with an Old Fashioned that has an extra orange slice.

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