Most bills in Congress have long and technical names, ones that few people can memorize. The most famous bill of this decade, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010,” became popularly known as simply “Obamacare.” That’s not a risk with H.R. 4009, the Flamethrowers? Really? Act.

Flamethrowers can shoot fire up to 50 feet

Flamethrowers can shoot fire up to 50 feet, and are being sold to consumers in the United States even though even the Department of Defense banned their use in the military in 1978 after the Vietnam War. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives told CNN that flamethrowers are not regulated because they are not guns, meaning buyers don’t have to go through FBI background checks.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY16) aims to change the lack of current federal regulations or laws regarding flamethrowers. Only two states even regulate them: Maryland and California. The former bans them outright, while the latter permits their usage only on film and television sets.

“It’s not something I’d thought about before…

“It’s not something I’d thought about before, because you’d just assume — right? — that flamethrowers would be regulated…You wouldn’t imagine that somebody could just send away for it, you know? But you can,” Engel explained his reasoning in introducing the bill to Bloomberg Politics. “When they advertise, they tout the fact that there’s no federal regulation. You can even get rush delivery! No questions asked.”

Conservatives and gun owners generally oppose the bill. “This bill is a solution in search of a problem that does not exist and Representative Engel appears completely unaware of the lawful uses of flamethrowers,” said attorney Joshua Prince with the Firearms Industry Consulting Group. Prince said there has not been a documented case of an individual using a flamethrower during commission of a crime.

Indeed, this is primarily a Democratic-led stunt to highlight what they perceive as Republican opposition to any form of weapons regulation, no matter how outlandish. The bill has five co-sponsors so far, all Democrats. Since its introduction in November, it has remained stuck in the House Judiciary Committee, controlled by Republicans.

The bill’s name was inspired by Saturday Night Live…

The bill’s name was inspired by the Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler recurring sketch “Really?” on Saturday Night Live, in which the comedians would discuss a ridiculous news story while saying “Really?” in increasingly incredulous voices as more details were revealed. Meyers addressed the bill on his current show Late Night, sarcastically opposing the bill.

“I believe it’s every American’s right to own and operate flamethrowers. People will say, ‘But flamethrowers throw flames.’ No, people throw flames,” Meyers joked. “You never know when a Japanese World War II soldier is going to kick in your door.”