Some of you might recall the Firearm Owners Protection Act, which as Dave Hardy has reported, is one of the landmark achievements of our movement (despite the Hughes nonsense). That act is also known as the McClure-Volkmer Act, named after the bills sponsors in each house of Congress. Jim McClure has passed away at 86.
Congressman Harold Volkmer was the bill’s sponsor in the House. At 79 he continues to serve on the NRA Board of Directors.
A terrible shame, although honestly, I don’t know anything about his record, other than the 86 act, which, unfortunately was always a machine gun ban more than anything else, in my mind.
Yah. Marked the time when NRA threw us nasty machine gun owners UNDER THE BUS! And made $1,500 M-16’s into $15,000 M-16’s. THANKS.
The only person who threw anyone under the bus was William Hughes.
McClure ought to be a hero among gun owners and it’s unfortunate that the ’86 law is better known today for the unfortunate Hughes amendment. Before the Firearm Owners Protection Act interstate travel with firearms was done by very few and never with a handgun. A gun owner had no protection whatsoever driving through New York State (and you can’t drive from New England to the rest of the country without driving through NY). Before 1986 it was illegal to purchase ammunition and even reloading supplies through the mail, even unprimed cases had to be shipped to an FFL.
As a young shooter and gun owner I remember the early eighties as a fairly bleak time, especially if you lived in New Jersey. The Morton Grove ban had just gone into effect in Illinois and there was a proposed statewide handgun ban in NJ that nearly became law. The FOPA was the first real victory by the pro-gun side. The Hughes amendment was a last ditch effort by the Anti’s to torpedo the whole thing. And it is difficult for many people to remember but the pro-gun side was not as powerful 26 years ago as it is today and that the Republicans lost control of the Senate that fall. So had the FOPA not been passed in 86 it is likely that it would have not been passed at all. As for the Hughes amendment, it should really be viewed as the opening salvo in the semi-auto wars that erupted soon after. Our friend Josh Sugerman was talking about “Rambo Guns” in the summer of 1988.
As a supporter of the NRA it does bug me that there was SO much noise from the NRA about defeating the Hughes Amandment after FOPA was passed… and now it seems that if you remind them of that, you get crickets chirping.
I’m sufficiently old fashioned enough to believe that a person or organization should do what they say they’re going to do.
However this does not mean that I will boycott the NRA all of the sudden.
It’s something that’s really up to Congress. The reason it was never repealed is because Congress has never shown any interest in doing so.