dick heller DC v heller scotus decision
Dick Heller signs an autograph outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Thursday, June 26, 2008, after the court ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to keep guns in their homes for self-defense, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun control in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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By Larry Keane

Democrats have just one obstacle when it comes to achieving their vaunted gun control utopia.

It’s you – the completely irrational, rights-demanding, unreasonable and uncompromising American. You “selfish” gun owners. You are the unbending firearm makers and gun buyers. You are what is stopping gun control in America.

That’s what the parade of Democratic lawmakers and their fawning news anchor endorsers are pitching now. They’re piling on to tell America that the problem isn’t that they can’t pass gun control. It’s those opposing them are “unreasonable” and “irrational.”

“This is not about getting rid of the Second Amendment,” Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS News. “It’s simply about saying we need reasonable gun safety laws.”

Kamala Harris
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

“The only gun control legislation that’s ever passed is mine,” President Biden said to CBS News of his 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. “It’s going to happen again.”

Chuck Todd hosted NBC’s Meet the Press to talk about why gun control is running into yet another brick wall. Todd quoted The Onion – a satire news site – to paint gun rights supporters as callous and uncaring of the tragedies that have occurred.

“Republicans say enough about gun control, this is a mental health problem, and we need to protect the Second Amendment,” Todd said. “And what happens? Nothing gets done.”

Todd’s assertion that those who value rights don’t value life is absurd. His polarization of the issue is more telling of his bias than the “irrational” gun lobby.

No Gun Laws?

Vice President Harris ignores that there are an estimated 20,000 gun laws between federal, state and local governments. Critics argue there are 300 relevant gun laws, but that’s still a lot. Then-Sen. Harris voted for the Fix NICS Act, which was named for NSSF’s FixNICS initiative to ensure all disqualifying  records are submitted to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Why aren’t these laws sufficient? President Biden breezes over the fact that his ban on modern sporting rifles was studied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and found to have no effect on crime reduction. Additionally, since then, the landmark Heller decision affirmed the individual right to own firearms in common use. With more than 20 million in circulation, the modern sporting rifle qualifies.

Legislative Brinksmanship

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke to Todd on Meet the Press in terms of compromise before he put the onus on stubborn Republicans to knuckle under to Democratic demands. He threatened that if they don’t, they’re proving the party in power – Democrats – must nuke the filibuster to rule by one-vote majorities. It’s all or nothing.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Here’s their opportunity, an issue which has 90 percent support, which doesn’t require them to shift their position, their current position to a herculean level. They can pass – they can help us pass an expansion of background checks and prove to Democrats and the country that the Senate can work at a 60-vote threshold.”

That’s a helluva way to compromise. Agree to the terms or we’ll destroy the rules. Sen. Murphy tosses around the “90 percent support” talking point, but none of these gun control supporters will admit that their overly broad survey question asks about gun sales that already require and are completed with background checks.

In the spirit of rational debate, it would be more intellectually honest if they admitted that their proposal would actually require gun owners to be put on a government watch list for exercising a Constitutional right.

Compliance, Not Compromise

Gun control advocates grow apoplectic when opponents like gun owners, the firearm industry and even those like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) dare call them out for their double-speak. Sen. Murphy, Vice President Harris and President Biden don’t seek compromise. They seek compliance.

Joe Biden
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

They’ve offered nothing in return. They didn’t say expanded background checks or unending waiting periods for national concealed carry reciprocity. They didn’t offer no bans on commonly-owned firearms for closing imaginary loopholes. Their definition of compromise is paving the way for stricter laws later. Sen. Murphy admitted it.

“And I think that the theory of the case is that once we convince Republicans that the sky doesn’t fall for you politically when you support a reasonable expansion of something like background checks, you can move on to other interventions,” Sen. Murphy explained.

“But yes, we should be having a broader conversation right now because, you know, in Connecticut, it’s not just universal background checks that protects our citizens. We require you to get a permit before you buy a pistol, something that had it been in effect in these states might have prevented one of the shooters from getting a gun.”

After all, more laws restricting rights is “reasonable.” Notice that? Except, you refuse.

 

Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

 

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37 COMMENTS

  1. Guilty?? I am one of those “selfish” gun owners… AND a PROUD, completely irrational, rights-demanding, unreasonable and uncompromising American… IF you don’t like THAT, IF you have a PROBLEM with it… Then I would suggest you make use of one of YOUR basic rights and G-F-Y…

    • Punishing gun owners for the actions of crazies or criminals makes as much sense as a farmer punishing their dog because a fox got into the henhouse

      I refuse to take responsibility for and be punished for the criminal actions of other people I don’t know and had absolutely no connection to.

      • I refuse to take responsibility for and be punished for the criminal actions of other people I don’t know and had absolutely no connection to.

        Uhhmmmm… Didn’t you Aussies pretty much do just that already…

  2. We are in a battle with those carrying on a deranged agenda that is rooted in racism and genocide. Do you ever hear some pasty mouth Gun Control pervert say their agenda is not? Nopper you do not and you won’t. They run to “fact check” that statement and wind up being lost for words. Gun Control is what it is.

    Like nazis and racists of days gone by deranged gun control perverts do not care about your “needs” for a firearm or 20,000 plus laws on the books regarding firearms. If the aforementioned weighed with them they would be long gone.

    Frustrated gun control zealots look down on Americans exercising a Constitutional Right and call everyone who does not agree with their gun control schemes a “racist.” The fact is their very own pompous democRat Party has more racist atrocity baggage in its history than all the baggage seen at an international airport.

    Amazing how democRats can dupe people; they certainly have done a number on Black Americans. I mean a Black American belonging to the democRat Party makes as much sense as a Jew belonging to the nazi party.

  3. Guilty as charged. Every healthy, law-abiding adult in America should buy as many guns and as much ammunition as he or she can afford and safely store.

  4. Did universal background checks have any effect on the crime rate in Connecticut? Or how about California, a much bigger state and thus a greater statistical sample? What’s that you say? The violent crime rate has been dropping. But is that drop statistically greater than the nationwide drop seen since the 1990s? No? Then what is the point? Maye you say, maybe a UBC would have stopped some of these mass shootings. But then ask yourself, how many of the non-gang related mass shootings were committed by men who had lawfully acquired their firearms? Most of them? Uh huh.

    UBCs are just the camel’s nose under the tent that they cannot rationally (i.e. statistically/scientifically) have any effect on “gun violence”, particularly where it has been shown by several studies that the vast majority of criminals in prison did not lawfully acquire their firearms. UBCs will NOT prevent potential miscreants from buying stolen weapons or engaging in straw sales.

  5. Democrats (communist party USA) are angry and pushing hard because resistance to their gun grab laws is delaying their version of “the final solution”. After all how can you massacre a designated group (conservatives) if they are armed and can resist with force?

    January 20, 2021 was the first day of “the New Dark Ages”. It may take another 500 years for us to recover, if ever.

    Be Prepared !!!

    • Gordon in MO….BINGO!!!! WE have a winner!!!!
      The new agenda for humanity requires that no one will have the capacity to fight back. It has been said: “Our Task of creating a Socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed.” No other explanation is possible. Welcome to “common sense” gun control.
      History has repeatedly demonstrated that disarming good people in the name of making bad people harmless only eventually facilitates politicians shooting their own countrymen. History…learn from it or be doomed to relive it….or die by it.
      The new agenda for humanity requires that no one will have the capacity to fight back. It has been said: “Our Task of creating a Socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed.” No other explanation is possible. Welcome to “common sense” gun control.
      History has repeatedly demonstrated that disarming good people in the name of making bad people harmless only eventually facilitates politicians shooting their own countrymen. History…learn from it or be doomed to relive it….or die by it.
      He who has the Might, determines who has the Right. There’s the gun controllers’ agenda in a nut shell.
      After all, our Founding Fathers would already have been finished shooting a second time for how the Libtard/Socialists have run over our Freedoms/Rights/Liberties. And, that scares the shit out of Libtard/Socialist/Elitists. They are afraid that today’s Patriots are going to say “ENOUGH!!!” and catch up with our Founding Fathers. Gettin’ close. Tick….tick….tick

    • How the POC and other oppressed minorities are going to get their “social(ist) justice” on the melanine impoverished majority.

      Or they will “gain penance through labor”. Digging canals through hard rock with garden tools.

      • The Dem hold on power is very tenuous. A moderate Dem in a red state could be convinced to swap parties if given enough incentive, like a reverse Arlen Specter. I’m not advocating violence, but a dead blue Senator makes the filibuster not matter for a while, and a dead one in a red state flips the Senate. Natural causes (plenty of oldsters) or an accident would do the job. There are plenty of “over my dead body” types (not me) that might make it happen if the Dems pushed for the destruction of the US by forcing HR 1, adding states, immigration amnesty, and packing the Supreme Court. Gun control would be the least of their attacks. I hope they behave themselves and the 2 that promised not to eliminate the filibuster keep their promises, or civil war might be the end result.

        • An illegitimate government passing illegitimate laws! No reason to wonder why they are so interested in disarming the population.

  6. Because Justice is punishing the guilty. Tyranny is when you punish the innocent. In the last 30 or so years, I have not seen any justice on gun issues.

    Progressives seek to punish gun owners because we are “class enemies” in their ideology.

  7. If somebody dont start putting ammunition on the shelves their going to have to start making paperweight laws. I think that’s the plan, We can have all the gunms we want, just no bullets to put in them.
    And if the powers that be think passing more gunm laws or banning gunms altogether will stop crime there nuts.
    I really dont think it’s about stopping crime at all. Oh “they’ll” say it is but it isnt.
    Does the government really fear the common man with a gunm, I dont think so. The reason their after gunms is because a small majority of Americans want them banned, so that gives them a leg to stand on, the evil second ammendment, once that ones gone theyll go after the rest, hell you really dont have freedom of speech anymore, and their working on the fourth. It’s like Lonnie said, “America, land of the free, your free to do as your told.’

    • Trump says there’s hope for a 2024 run during viral interview — and Facebook yanks video, saying ‘voice of Donald Trump’ is not allowed on platform… So much for “FREE SPEECH”.. What would happen if EVERY conservative with fukfacefreak account posted a video of a TRUMP speech simultaneously? Think that “algorithm” could handle it?

      • Thatd be interesting. Good lord this Trump hate still going on is ridiculous. It’s like I told a Democrat, “yeah, yeah, you won, now take your trophy and go home.”

    • Is the government or government agencies making large purchases of ammunition to deliberately distort or disrupt the supply chain?

    • There’s plenty of ammo hitting the shelves, but it’s sold faster than it takes to stock it. Scheel’s in Colorado Springs opened Saturday, so that has been prepping for weeks and were fully stocked when the doors opened and completely bare in less than an hour with limits of 5 boxes per person. My range got a pallet of .223 and sold out at 500 round per person almost instantly for $0.60/round.

  8. It’s not just a bumper sticker …..”the second DOES protect all the others”!! If they ever succeed in trashing it, we might as well tear up those documents.

    • Thinking about that I was.
      I see it this way, its us that protect the second amendment and all the rest. Words don’t mean nothing, the pen is only mightier then the sword when you jab the pen eraser deep in his eyeball.

  9. “Reasonable” gun control: Grip that be-otch.Line up sight’s. Press the trigger.Voila😎 @ you wanna civil war slow Joe & Ho?!?

  10. Why ask Why ??????

    We already KNOW why.

    It’s because all the liberal are disgustingly and uniformly evil, thieves, liars, oath breakers, murderers of the innocent, body part resellers, sexually deviant, God & Bible haters, child molesters, rapists, greedy money grubbers, lazy and envious slave owners and supremely racist and anti Nature.

    Of course, this is only a very minor description of all their wonderful traits.

    On the bright side, since they are abysmally stupid morons who cant’ even comprehend the meanings of some very simple words, their future will disintegrate into dust. Idiots are really not that good at planning.

    If anyone here studied the art of Hieronymus Bosch, they would see the perfect picture describing their future, aptly the called “The Last Judgement”

      • Wont take much damage at all. Every right in the Bill of Rights has been stepped on.
        The trouble with politicians is most of them were lawyers, word twisters. Only a word twister could get somthing besides Shall Not Be Infringed out of Shall Not Be Infringed.

  11. ME 2 GUILTY SELFISH GUN OWNER .
    YA CAN’T FIX NOR STOP THE CRAZY SHOOTERS , SO YA GO AFTER THE LAW BIDING .
    WHAT ABOUT CARS , KNIFES , BASEBALL BATS . GET ON ANY BAN WAGON YA WANT .

  12. Yes, 1 year has passed since I eventually quit my last job and that choice was a life changer for me… I started functioning over the internet, for this particular company I stumbled upon over the internet, For a few hours daily, and I make substantially more than that I did in my last occupation…My past month check was for 13 thousand dollars… The awesome thing relating to this gig is that now I’ve more time for my children. Here is what I do………https://rotf.lol/Right75

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