A Hand Of Man Practicing Firing Using A Glock
OMG! A plastic gun! (Bigstock)

Many conservatives consider Ronald Reagan to be one of their great heroes. For some, he’s like the Chuck Norris of presidents, a great yardstick by which to measure current and future presidents. But as Doug Larson said, “Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.” The truth is that he was far from perfect, especially when it came to gun laws.

A few big mistakes stand out. As governor of California, he let racism and fear of the Black Panthers push his party to pass gun control laws that the state is still plagued with to this day. In order to get the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act passed, 1980s Republicans agreed to close the machine gun registry. Later, in the last days of his time in office, Reagan signed the Undetectable Firearms Act into law, and it’s something that we almost take for granted now.

The act forbade the manufacture, possession, and transfer of any gun that wouldn’t set off a metal detector. Guns with polymer and plastic frames have to have a certain amount of metal content to be compliant with the law. It also forbids the possession of weapons that wouldn’t look like a gun when passed through airport x-ray machines.

The reason Reagan and the NRA agreed to the law was silly. Some people feared that then-new designs like the GLOCK 17 would be undetectable, despite still containing far more than enough metal. Hollywood even capitalized on and spread the fear with the ridiculous “Glock 7” that appeared in Die Hard 2.

The Undetectable Firearm Act has been an increasingly problematic law. The NRA didn’t know it at the time (and wouldn’t care anyway), but the lack of plastic guns in 1988 was a reflection of the technology of the times, not a situation that would go on forever. Improved materials science and additive manufacturing (including 3D printing) made the law more problematic as time went on. Every time the law was renewed, it prevented more and more technology from being used in firearms.

The law is set to expire in February 2024. To keep this zombie around, the Democrats tried to sneak a permanent (no sunset clause) renewal into the “must pass” National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), AKA the military budget. But pressure and a narrowly Republican-controlled House managed to come together to get the language removed from the Pentagon budget.

You can always count on the swamp monsters to do swamp monster stuff, though. Just because the language was removed from the NDAA doesn’t mean it can’t reappear in some other unrelated bill or come up as a standalone measure. Low awareness of the law or how it can be misused (especially in combination with the Frame or Receiver Rule) means that it could sneak through and be passed into law.

That’s why we need to do whatever we can to oppose it. GOA has a webpage where you can send representatives an e-mail demanding that they don’t renew the law. It’s also a good idea to keep an eye out for news between now and February to see if they try to keep it alive.

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49 COMMENTS

  1. For our Leftist control freaks here, there is no such thing as an “undetectable firearm”.

      • A few big mistakes stand out. As governor of California, he let racism and fear of the Black Panthers push his party to pass gun control laws that the state is still plagued with to this day. In order to get the Firearm RE: “Owners’ Protection Act passed, 1980s Republicans agreed to close the machine gun registry. Later, in the last days of his time in office, Reagan signed the Undetectable Firearms Act into law, and it’s something that we almost take for granted now.”

        Anyone who tries to hang racism around Reagan’s neck should first call Mark Levin. On the other hand it was LBJ who signed the 1968 GCA. Tapes of LBJ set the standards for who is a racist and RR is far from it. Frankly RR was Rambo compared to j. brown, a. schwarzenegger, g. newsum.

        Gun Control is and always has been something that sells on face value and once its underbelly is exposed most people with an ounce of common sense reject it. I.E. Views for Gun Control when Clinton was in office and views today have changed dramatically.

        Gun Control democRats sense their days of advancing Gun Control following a deranged individual going on a rampage are fizzling out. I.E. Gun Control compliance both by the citizenry and some LE in IL indicate the heydays Gun Control enjoyed are ending.

        • Bringing up governor Reagan who signed the racist Mulford act into law. Is just beating a dead horse. And refusing to hold modern day Politicians accountable for not repealing this law.

          Like the white homosexual lawmaker California state senate President Tom Ammiano. This racist white homosexual loves Mulford Act. And refused to repeal it when he was asked to do so. A lot of people seem to want to avoid talking about that fact.

          And this racist gun control law was co written by a white jewish lawyer. An immigrant from Poland. And a member of the ACLU board of directors.

          A lot of people, libertarians liberals left, like to avoid talking about that history too.

    • Undetectable? Concealed is concealed. They got some pretty good pointy things that got no metal so I’ve heard🙄😀

      • Illegal here as well but amazing what various glass filled nylon, misc fiber reinforced resin, and carbon fiber compounds can do to make various shiv type points.

        • Given time, I bet non-metal pressure-bearing components capable of 60 K PSI + can be developed…

        • Geoff a reliable 40k would open all kinds of doors but yes for rifle and some stupid loaded pistols 60k would be amazing.

      • The TDI company makes some outstanding nonmetallic knives. And nonmetallic knife sheaves to go with them. I own one. It’s great!!

  3. I’m sure the RINO traitors who helped write and jam through last-years Bi-partisan Safer Communities Act will stab us in the back one more time. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn and that whole gang who still get A-grades from the NSSF despite that fact will likely have not learned their lesson.

    I hope I am wrong, but hope in one hand and poo poo in the other and see which one fills up first.

      • They mean that the NSSF is not on our side and actually likes those kinds of gun control. Larry Keane has actually said he supports Redflag laws and safe-storage laws. These guys show by their grades that they are willing to throw our rights under the bus to help boost or guarantee their sales.

  5. Yet another stupid piece of legislation. Good riddance to it and please folks, spend a minute to use the GOA to contact your state representatives.

  6. The Democrat Party, AKA ‘Communist Party of America’, is not to be trusted. Its not just the 2A, its all constitutional rights they are after.

  7. 1980s Republicans agreed to close the machine gun registry

    The Hughes Amendment was “approved” by a voice vote in the house. Yes, the Republicans in both the House and Senate voted on FOPA at large, but this amendment was added in controversial fashion.

    Jump to about 6:45 in the video, and at about 8:20 is the voice vote.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Mx2UcSEvQ

    • If you want rapid-fire, buy an AK variant and work on your trigger manipulation.
      Be aware that a squib during rapid fire will likely result in the destruction of your firearm.

  10. This happens so often, no one considers advanced in technology with any of this stuff. There is no thought at all to the idea that detection equipment just might improve. Not to mention that new more advanced manufacturing techniques. This is one of the reasons it’s ludicrous to tie social media use to the 2nd Amendment.

    This law is part of what contributes to the left going so crazy with regard to 3D printed guns. The whole thing is just stupid.

    • I think the antis do think about the technology and want to lock us OUT of any advances until eventually we are only allowed outdated weapons which could not be used to threaten their tyranny. You know they are mad that they didn’t think of it before and lock us out of anything more advanced than black powder muzzleloaders.

      They locked us out of full-auto and tried to do the same with other “features” of modern military rifles. They locked us out of SBRs and explosive weapons. They are currently trying to lock us out of semi-autos and body armor. They tried for years to lock us out of military-grade communications by licensing and limiting the radio bands we civilians can use and have done a good job of limiting and pricing us out of civilian aviation. They are also trying to roll back flying drones with licensing and many limitations.

  11. This will expire right after the Patriot Act and 792 are allowed to expire.

    Uniparty tyranny. Have you all gotten your kids and grandkids ready to die in Ukraine, yet? For democracy.

  12. NRA torches Biden admin for plan to change rules gun buyers, sellers
    https://www.foxnews.com/us/nra-torches-biden-admin-plan-change-rules-gun-buyers-sellers
    These types of continued legislation to undermine the 2nd Amendment are not the fault of Liberal/Progressive democrats. Simply because that is exactly who they are and have always been. The fault lies at the feet of POTG, who by allowing it to continue. Show exactly who they are. You deserve they tyrants and tyranny…You allow. No amount of pissing and moaning. Will change that. Something the Founding patriots understood and dealt with, when their Right to Keep and Bear Arms was threatened.

    • This might effectively end every gun-buyback event permanently.

      At the same time, the criminals stealing guns would still not be affected at all.

  13. With the Plethora of nut cases we now have living in the U.S. the last thing we want to see is the law expire for good. The law is now more necessary than when it was originally passed.

    If the law would expire new technology in the near future would make it unsafe for everyone when boarding an airplane.

    • dacian, the DUNDERHEAD, “With the Pelthora of nut cases”, one would think that you would consider them the problem not the firearm? Can you point out one single case where your “gun control laws” have saved anyone? For your continued edification (I live in hope, even if it is a high rent district), a gun is an inanimmate object incapbable of anything without a human.

      But then being a “firearms expert (sic)”, you still haven’t figured out the firing sequence of a cartridge.

    • dacian the demented dish*t,

      “With the Plethora [fyi, dipsh*t, “plethora” is not a proper noun] of nut cases we now have living in the U.S. . . . “. Why, “now” dacian the demented? After all, YOU claim to have been living here a LONG time (you lie, of course, as you do about everything, but that is still your claim), so the prevalence of nut cases is not exactly a recent phenomenon.

      And only a complete lackwit, such as yourself, would be so idiotic as to believe that our vaunted TSA, and all their “technology” accomplishes f***-all (read the studies on checks of our TSA system, and their statistical success in detecting prohibited items in screening). Also, even a moron such as yourself should be able to think of DOZENS of ways to sneak deadly weapons/compounds through TSA screening.

      Like the sun rising in the east, you remain too stupid to insult.

  16. Biden’s proposal is nothing more than a variation of Universal Background Checks which would be the more practical route to follow rather than pass some vague new law that confuses everyone as to its intent and hidden penalties.

    Still, it’s way better than nothing being passed and letting anyone sell his deadly weapons to a strangers with no paperwork and no questions asked except “Gimme the money quick so I can squeeze the pennies so hard they scream for mercy”! Now that is pure insanity!!!

    • 40 cal, basically all firearms are “gas operated.” What do the control freaks think pushes the bullet down the barrel?

  20. Undetectable? I have enough metal in my body that I can’t walk through some metal detectors stark naked without setting them off. Also, the older I get, the more i like guns that are lighter weight because of their nonmetallic construction.

  21. If enough of us make and carry undetectable Firearms that violate the law they will be in common use and there were certainly no laws against them in the 1700s or 1800s.

  22. I’ve had a lifetime of “collecting” metallic implants, 7 of them nearly equally distributed neck to ankle… recently I had the wand guy at the airport ask me if I was considered to be an Android yet.

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