The gun laws in this country can be pretty stupid. The definitions created by lawmakers often make little sense. The 1994 Assault Weapon Ban was a prime example, but it was far from the only one. For example, is an AR-15 a rifle or a pistol? It depends.
But now, a case has arisen where the Department of Justice claims a gun is both a rifle and a pistol at the same time.
No, it doesn't make any sense, but that's kind of the point here.
Fast forward to June 29, 2023—Taylor Taranto was caught in D.C. with a braced CZ Scorpion, and things went south for him very quickly. He faced two charges on the same day: The feds say it’s an unregistered SBR because the brace on it might make it fit the SBR definition, and D.C. law says he’s carrying a pistol without a license, even though it’s the same gun, which doesn’t make sense since it can’t legally be both at once.
Sometime before March 2025, the first SBR charge was filed, and gun rights groups like Gun Owners of America (GOA) step in, asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop it. But by early March 2025, the DOJ doubled down, adding the pistol charge to the mix, making the whole thing even messier since the two charges contradict each other.
Finally, on April 13, 2025, @mrgunsngear posted on X about the whole ordeal, pointing out again that the CZ Scorpion can’t be both an SBR and a pistol, calling it a legal mess, and asking folks to spread the word to get someone to fix it for the sake of Second Amendment rights and of course, Taranto himself. The situation highlights the general frustration that gun owners often have with the implementation of both federal and state-level firearms laws, and as new laws get added to both the federal and state legislatures, the chances of things like this happening only increase.
Looking ahead, this case could go a few different ways. If public pressure from gun rights advocates increases, the DOJ might drop one of the charges against Taylor Taranto to address the contradiction, especially since the dual classification of the CZ Scorpion as both an SBR and a pistol doesn’t hold up legally. It’s clear to most people with a basic education that enforcing two conflicting laws in this way doesn’t make sense and is unreasonable. Taranto’s defense could argue that the charges undermine each other, creating reasonable doubt.
Frankly, the fact that this happened is insane.
However, to me, the bigger problem is that both charges were implemented by Attorney General Pam Bondi's office.
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President Donald Trump vowed to defend the Second Amendment during his campaign, and there have been positive moves forward in that regard, including a Second Amendment task force at the Department of Justice.
But this suggests that maybe Bondi hasn't really bought into Trump's vow.
The truth of the matter is that the gun is either a pistol or a rifle. It cannot be both here and now, as noted above.
If the judge dismisses the case, which is possible under these circumstances, it might well open up the opportunity for more lawsuits challenging these regulations to some degree or another, which is about the only good that could come of this.
I'm seriously disappointed in Bondi for going this route. I didn't expect her to be rabidly pro-gun, but I didn't expect this degree of nonsense from her, either.
