[declan]

Well put. If Right X is a fundamental constitutional right, as the Second Amendment is according to the U.S. Supreme Court, then laws designed to restrict your ability to acquire the materials required to exercise Right X should be subjected to heightened scrutiny.

I'm not aware of a 2A case on point regarding firearm manufacturing (others may know more), perhaps because the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act offered sufficient protection. I am aware of a case on point regarding selling firearms. Earlier this year, Chicago's ban on selling firearms was ruled unconstitutional: http://www.volokh.com/2014/01/06/firearm-may-sold-acquired-o...

This makes sense if you think about it. The First Amendment right to freedom of the press wouldn't mean much if the Feds can levy a 10,000% tax on newsprint. Which is why the Supreme Court has held that such taxes violate the First Amendment: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vo...

[hga]

Although back when the Supremes cared a lot less about the Constitution, or at least some rights, they allowed an ~ $3,500 tax in 2014 dollars for transfers of Machine Guns!!!, "Destructive Devices" and their ammo, etc. Handguns were also almost swept into this scheme, although maybe not at such a high, and inconveniently not inflation adjusted cost.