Gun control advocates want to ban guns. That’s the plain and simple truth of the matter. It starts with “assault rifles” and “high-capacity magazines” and “bump stocks” and proceeds to all civilian firearms. Not that you’d catch them saying that. Well there is a guy . . .
Well yes, that guy. But he’s a YouTube nutter stuck in the 70’s, when men wore mullets and liberals openly called for a ban on handguns. And while his microphone dropping threat to gun owners is worthy of a call to the FBI’s tip line, there’s this other guy . . .
“They want mandatory buybacks, that’s what they push,” NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said in a recent NRA-TV appearance.
Loesch cited media appearances by Guns Down co-founder Mark Glaze, whose newer group favors reducing firearm ownership nationally and employs harsher anti-gun rhetoric than established advocacy organizations, in which he mentioned Australia’s forced sales as a possible model. But even Glaze told NBC News that approach was far down his priority list.
“Compulsory buybacks would be a tough sell here, certainly federally,” Glaze said.
Add “down my priority list” to the dog whistles that anti-gun rights groups send to their supporters. Comments like “taking guns out of the hands of dangerous people” (hint: they believe all people are as mentally unstable as they are).
If you want some more between-the-lines reading, check out the rest of nbc.com’s article Australia’s mandatory gun buyback inspires U.S. activists, but few lawmakers. It’s a farrago of gun confiscation nudge-nudge wink winkery. Like this:
With some exceptions at the state and local level, nearly all policy proposals to restrict certain types of guns include a grandfather clause that allows people to keep existing firearms and accessories. Advocacy groups are wary of feeding accusations that they plan to take guns away rather than place restrictions on sales that would keep them from bad actors. Calls for a federal effort to ban and then forcibly remove private guns have mostly been limited to individuals.
“Some exceptions.” “Mostly been limited.” I suggest a ban on qualifiers used to hide the truth about gun control advocates’ secret desire to disarm their fellow Americans.
Meanwhile, it’s pretty clear where NBC’s Benjy Sarlin stands in this “debate.” As always, look to the last quote for the author’s take . . .
One option might just be patience. Advocates said that restrictions on high-capacity magazines or assault weapons could eventually make them harder to obtain, but only over a long timespan.
Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, likened the problem of existing firearms to an overflowing sink that had flooded every room.
“Even if it means it’s going to take awhile for your house to dry out, that doesn’t mean turning off the tap isn’t the right thing to do,” he said.