If there was any doubt that Democrats want to seriously limit or entirely do away with the Second Amendment, it was put to rest after Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee emergency markup meeting of a package called the “Protecting Our Kids Act.”
The “Protecting Our Kids Act” was introduced by Representative Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). This bill includes various provisions that would not only have failed to prevent most of the gun-related tragedies in the United States but would also “alter” or “change” many provisions relating to the Second Amendment, including raising the permissible age to buy a firearm, requiring universal background checks, and banning guns made at home. An excellent analysis of some of the worst provisions of this bill can be found here.
During the emergency meeting, Representative Mondaire Jones provided a very clear picture of what Democrats want to do with this constitutionally protected right. According to Jones:
You will not stop us from advancing the Protecting Our Kids Act today. If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand it. And we will not rest until we have taken weapons of war out of circulation and our communities each and every day.
In other words, Jones seemed to indicate that Democrats would do whatever was necessary to eliminate so-called weapons of war, whatever that term means.
In response to these comments, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) noted, “Now we know where they want to go. He just said it. End the filibuster. Expand the court. Forget the Constitution. Now, we know.” As reported by Fox News, Jordan further stated:
Democrats blame guns. They criticize the NRA. They call Republicans names. But let’s be honest, they’ve told us what they want to do. Their real beef is with the Second Amendment. Their goal, plain and simple, is to get rid of the Second Amendment. Joe Biden said it the other day, said he wants to ban 9mm handguns.
Following the emergency meeting, Joe Biden addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House, where he stated:
We need to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21, strengthen background checks, enact safe storage laws and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers’ liability. These are rational, commonsense measures. And here’s what it all means, it all means this. We should reinstate the assault weapons ban, high capacity magazines that we passed in 1994 with bipartisan support in Congress and the support of law enforcement. Nine categories of semi-automatic weapons were included in that ban, like AK-47s, and AR-15s. And in the 10 years it was law, mass shootings were down.
However, as Katie Pavlich points out in her recent article in Townhall, the previous ban on semi-automatic weapons did not reduce the number of mass shootings. Pavlich points to a 2004 Department of Justice funded study from the University of Pennsylvania Center of Criminology, titled “An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003.” The study concluded, “The ban’s impact on gun violence is likely to be small at best, and perhaps too small for reliable measurement. AWs [assault weapons] were used in no more than 8% of gun crimes even before the ban.”
While Democrats seek to erode or eliminate Americans’ Second Amendment rights and their right to self-defense, the country is becoming much more dangerous due to the Democrats’ policies.
For example, as reported by Fox News, crime data revealed that violent crimes have increased anywhere from 5 percent to up to 40 percent compared to the same time frame in 2021 in Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, liberal prosecutors promote “soft on crime” policies, such as halting prosecutions for certain offenses, seeking bail in limited cases, and refraining from seeking life sentences without parole for any crime. Along these same lines, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon, some Democrats have supported ending cash bail and/or allowing certain types of offenders to avoid arrest altogether despite a dramatic increase in crime. In a recent Gallup poll, 53 percent of Americans indicated that they worried a “great deal” about crime. Crime was also the third-most important issue to voters according to another recent Gallup poll.
During the hearing, Jones further stated, “Enough of you telling us that school shootings are a fact of life when every other country like ours has virtually ended it. Enough of you blaming mental illness and then defunding mental health care in this country. Enough of your thoughts and prayers.”
Contrary to these assertions, Republicans did more than just talk and/or express their thoughts and prayers. Rather, shortly after the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) asked for the Luke and Alex School Safety Act to be passed by unanimous consent. The purpose of this bill was to better protect the nation’s schools.
Sadly, for some inexplicable reason, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked the bill.
