Kansas Senator Roger Marshall has redefined MAGA: Make America Gangsters Again.
When I saw Marshall’s Facebook post about sponsoring a bill in Congress to bring back sawed-off shotguns and rifles, I couldn’t help but wonder if he plans to join the Crips or the Bloods.
Who Else Could Need or Want Such Weapons?
Perhaps Marshall is just longing for the Prohibition/Great Depression era when gangsters could stroll into a restaurant with a shotgun hidden under their trench coats and turn their rivals into mobster mincemeat.
Ah, the good old days.
The bill Marshall is backing is called the SHORT Act. Its name stands for “Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today.” And Marshall seems entirely serious about it.
Marshall states, “The SHORT Act takes a step toward rolling back nonsensical regulations that the NFA has placed upon gun owners.
I challenge my colleagues to pass this legislation and join me in fully restoring and protecting our God-given Second Amendment rights.”
There’s a lot to unpack here.
First, the article Marshall linked to on Facebook comes from Townhall.com, which is ironically amusing considering his recent issues with town halls.
Marshall has developed a real distaste for them, especially after bolting out of his town hall in Oakley on March 1.
He left the stage 20 minutes early after his constituents, some of whom drove for up to 10 hours, demanded that he address their concerns instead of relying on scripted answers to pre-selected questions.
The NFA Marshall refers to is the National Firearms Act of 1934, which imposed strict regulations and effectively banned civilian ownership of short shotguns and rifles, along with machine guns and silencers.
This law came about in response to their use by organized crime in the 1920s and 1930s.
One of the most infamous users of sawed-off shotguns and rifles was Clyde Barrow, the notorious criminal who, along with his partner Bonnie Parker, went on a cross-country crime spree.
Between 1932 and 1934, they robbed numerous banks and stores and were responsible for 13 murders, including nine lawmen. Most of their killings involved using cut-down rifles and shotguns, which made them more concealable.
Short shotguns and rifles have virtually no legitimate civilian use. Sawed-off shotguns are called scatterguns because they spread lead across the target and anyone nearby, and a sawed-off rifle is useless for accurate shooting.
These guns are only effective for close-quarters violence.
Interestingly, the majority of people commenting on Marshall’s Facebook post appeared to oppose bringing these weapons back.
Marshall’s position seems out of step with the times.
In an era where nearly anyone can carry almost any firearm for nearly any reason—openly or concealed—it’s hard to see how advocating for weapons banned almost a century ago makes someone more pro-Second Amendment than the next person.
It seems that for Marshall, the last step in proving his commitment to gun rights is attempting to bring back the infamous weapons used by gangsters.
Marshall, in the Townhall article, argued that the phrase “‘Shall not be infringed’ is crystal clear,” and that the Biden administration’s treatment of gun rights needs to be reversed.
The thing is, Joe Biden wasn’t even born when the National Firearms Act passed, so it seems odd to lay the blame at his feet.
Since the Oakley town hall fiasco, Marshall has been mostly absent from public view, showing up primarily in right-wing media or in small, carefully managed gatherings of MAGA Republicans.
Maybe the SHORT Act will bring him out of hiding.
If he shows up at his next town hall with a sawed-off shotgun strapped to his leg, it’s safe to say nobody will be questioning him anymore.
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