Ah, here we are, the last day of 2018. The year started with such promise, only to run face-first into the semi of media bombardment and political squishiness.

While I’ve already discussed some of the missed opportunities of 2018, it’s not like that’s all that has happened. Unfortunately, a lot of gun control regulation passed this year, and some of it was completely idiotic. Let’s look at some of the most egregious examples.

21 To Buy Long Guns

Perhaps the dumbest has been the trend of states discriminating against grown adults, people who are old enough to be issued actual assault rifles by the military, by blocking them from purchasing any firearm.

Make no mistake, this is discrimination, pure and simple. Owning firearms is a constitutional right, just like freedom of speech and the press.

These laws tell 18- to 20-year-old Americans that they’re second-class Americans, unworthy of the same rights that the rest of us enjoy.

It’s only a matter of time before this comes up to a federal court, and I pray it’s smacked down as the horrible law it is.

I-1639

Washington state wasn’t content in passing a single gun control law. Oh no, it had to sign into law a gaggle of them as one ballot initiative covered everything from a safe storage requirement to a renewed assault weapon ban.

In fact, the print on the petition to get it on the ballot was so small that a judge ruled against it. Unfortunately, it was overturned, and I suspect a number of Washingtonians didn’t even know what they were supporting. In fact, I suspect most didn’t know everything covered by the law.

At some point in the future, this law may be overturned for sheer ridiculousness. But even if it’s not, it may be winnowed down over time by legislators who recognize all the dumb in this bill.

Magazine Restrictions

At no point in history has a magazine limit been shown to reduce crime in any way. But that didn’t stop New Jersey from trying it yet again.

Granted, it already had a restriction, but it wasn’t…well…restrictive enough. Now the state has a 10-round capacity limit on all magazines and seems to think this will somehow make a dent in its problems.

It won’t.

As already noted, it never has, especially since the bad guys can still get magazines from out of state and keep on doing what they do.

Meanwhile, the good guys who find themselves confronted by these jackwagons will be at a disadvantage. Not that New Jersey gives a damn.

Bump Stock Ban

We had a Republican Congress and a Republican White House for the whole of 2018. So how did we end up with a bump stock ban?

That’s easy. The Trump administration directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to reevaluate it’s earlier decision to approve bump stocks.

Now, bear in mind that the definition of a machine gun is a weapon that is capable of firing more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger. All a bump stock does is make it so you can pull that trigger more quickly. Still, the weapon only fires a single shot per trigger pull.

Let’s also keep in mind that bump stocks facilitate bump firing of a semi-automatic weapon, but it’s not the only way to bump fire one; you can use rubber bands, shoestrings, or even a belt loop to bump fire.

None of that stopped the ATF from changing its mind on the regulation. Just like that, bump stocks were declared illegal. In fairness, bump stocks were also banned in state legislatures throughout the country, which is where a ban should happen if it’s going to (hint: it shouldn’t).

All of this despite the devices being on the market for years and only being misused in a criminal act precisely one time.

While Las Vegas was horrific, we haven’t seen any mass shooters following the Las Vegas killer’s “lead,” despite the massive death toll. Why is that? Possibly because bump firing isn’t aimed fire. It’s fine for sending a lot of lead down range, but it’s not good for hitting a particular target. Mass shooters likely recognize their targets will be massed for a short period of time and choose their options accordingly.

Regardless of why, though, we know for a fact that no one else has used them to cause harm since Las Vegas.

But that doesn’t matter. One person used one to do a bad thing. Thus, they’re bad things and must be purged. Who cares if thousands of people enjoyed them with no issue for years previously, right?

Just like that, you have some of the dumbest gun laws of 2018.

However, it was a busy year, and I easily may have missed something. So tell me, what are your “greatest hits” over the past year?