In his foot-stamping screed following the legislative death of his party’s civilian disarmament measures in the Senate yesterday, the President predictably and liberally assigned blame to all the usual suspects. The NRA in particular. The gun lobby in general. If “Double Barrel” Joe had nudged Barack aside and taken the mic, he no doubt would have included the “black helicopter crowd.” But the editorial writers at the New York Sun see things a little differently. As they look at the wreckage the left’s anti-RKBA efforts have become, they see the culprit being much closer to home. As in city hall . . .
In their view, by placing himself at the head of the gun-grabbing chorus, Hizzoner presented the nation with a view of a disarmed America that galvanized opposition to anything the President and the media were trying to push.
He’s poured millions into the fight. He’s vowed to pour millions more. We understand how much the president resents the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby. But the NRA warned him of the fate of these measures all along. It understood that the issue in gun violence isn’t the size of the magazines. Or “assault” rifles. The issue isn’t background checks. But that’s not the problem, either. The real problem is that every senator comprehended that whatever measure might have been approved, it would have been certain to be used as but a stepping stone to the next restriction on Second Amendment rights.
That’s a sentiment you’ve probably seen expressed in a lot of the comments here yesterday. The fact that no matter how “reasonable” any of the Gun Control Industrial Complex’s proposals may appear to be, it’s all incrementalism. Part of the long game. Slowly turning up the heat under the frog until — poof! — law-abiding Americans wake up one morning and notice that their gun rights are gone.
Oh, and don’t forget the little matter of trust, either. Or the total lack thereof when it comes to discussing Second Amendment freedoms with anyone who calls himself a “progressive.” Sure, there are lots of liberal gun owners. And you’ll hear from them in these pages. As for those in positions of power, though . . .
The problem is that the neither Messrs. Obama, Bloomberg, nor Biden believe in the Second Amendment. Nor do any of their partners in politics, such as Senator Schumer. Not one of them has protested the over-regulation of guns in New York or any other state. Mr. Cuomo just tightened gun prohibitions in a state where Mother Teresa couldn’t get a pistol permit. Not even the most law-abiding, well-trained individuals can carry a gun in New York. The Second Amendment is not in force here. So people look at Bloomberg-land and ask, where is he leading us? Where does he want to go? The way we interpret the decision of the Senate yesterday is that it is saying, “not one more inch in that direction.”
Works for us. Other than those in the the most left-leaning precincts of the country, how many people who want to continue living their lives as they wish look at the New York City’s Bloombergian nannyism (with a big assist from Governor Cuomo at the state level) and think, “yep, that’s what I want here, too”?
So please, Mr. President. Spare us all the righteous indignation and histrionics. If you really want to know where to place the blame for the stinging defeats you suffered yesterday — besides the folks in your own party at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue — you’ll find him most days at 260 Broadway in lower Manhattan. Good luck with that.