526
Stevens, J., dissenting
risk that this respondent would be the victim of such unfairness, is, however, extremely remote. In 1985, the Government properly advised respondent of its reading of the statute and gave it ample opportunity to challenge that reading in litigation in which nothing more than tax liability of $200 was at stake. See 924 F. 2d 1041, 1042-1043 (CA Fed. 1991). Moreover, a proper construction of the statute in this case would entirely remove the risk of criminal liability in the future.
The plurality, after acknowledging that this case involves "a tax statute" and its construction "in a civil setting," ante, at 517, nevertheless proceeds to treat the case as though it were a criminal prosecution. In my view, the Court should approach this case like any other civil case testing the Government's interpretation of an important regulatory statute. This statute serves the critical objective of regulating the manufacture and distribution of concealable firearms—dangerous weapons that are a leading cause of countless crimes that occur every day throughout the Nation. This is a field that has long been subject to pervasive governmental regulation because of the dangerous nature of the product and the public interest in having that danger controlled.3 The public interest in carrying out the purposes that motivated the enactment of this statute is, in my judgment and on this record, far more compelling than a mechanical application of the rule of lenity.
Accordingly, for this reason, as well as for the reasons stated by Justice White, I respectfully dissent.
demnation of the community, [and therefore] legislatures and not courts should define criminal activity." United States v. Bass, 404 U. S. 336, 348 (1971).
3 See, e. g., Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U. S. C. § 921 et seq.; Arms Export Control Act, as amended Pub. L. 94-329, 90 Stat. 744, 22 U. S. C. § 2778; United States v. Biswell, 406 U. S. 311, 316 (1972) (acknowledging that the sale of firearms is a "pervasively regulated business").
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