A pro-gun bill was just signed by President Obama and I'm sure it was painful for him. The subject matter of the bill has no great media appeal and it certainly doesn't rise to the heights of Heller or McDonand. For ammunition and firearms manufactures, however, it was a watershed moment. Prior to passage of Federal Excise Tax Improvement Act of 2010 (H.R. 5552), every manufacturer of guns and ammo had to pay federal excise taxes to the government every two weeks, rather than quarterly as do every other manufacturer in the country. The guns and ammo industry is hardly large in the overall U.S. economy, so the only reason those manufacturers were required to pay taxes every two weeks was harassment pure and simple.
The vote came in the House last week and the measure passed by a record margin of 412 to 6. (Now I'm going to skewer a sacred cow.) Guess who was among the 6 "nay" votes on this NRA-backed measure. You guessed it, Texas' own allegedly pro-gun Congressman Ron Paul. He was joined by some of the Who's Who of House anti-gunners John Conyers (D-MI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and Maxine "I'm under investigation" Waters (D-CA).
Now I know some of you Ron Paul supporters are going to say he must have had a good reason and it must have had something to do with Constitutional principles. I'm not sure how easing a tax burden on the single industry singled out for unfair treatment would offend constitutional sensibilities, but I'm sure Congressman Paul will come up with something. The simple fact is this, regardless of his motives, if Congressman Paul had his way manufacturers of guns and ammo would still be having to file reports with and cut checks to the federal government every two weeks, while the rest of the manufacturers in the country do this every three months.
I understand that principles are vital to the American way of life and I also realize that those principles have been observed primarily in the breach for a very long time. However, this latest vote by Congressman Paul shows the danger of having a Congressman driven purely on principle while ignoring present day suffering. One need not abandon the former to address the latter. In this case, that suffering involves "only" paperwork and money, but often the stakes are much higher. Recall that Congressman Paul also voted against the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act that shields firearms manufacturers and firearms dealers from frivolous, politically-motivated lawsuits. So the only two recent bills aiding the firearms industry were opposed by Congressman Paul; a man hailed by many as a "true pro-gun Congressman."
I don't want my Representative to have his head stuck in the clouds; I want his butt down in the trenches fighting with the rest of us.
Chas.