As Biden railed against self-defense rights in a Thursday speech, Democrat and Republican members of Congress are teaming up to enact new federal gun-control laws, moving our nation closer to achieving the Left’s goal of full civilian disarmament.
The tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 has given leftists another excuse to push their predetermined goal of more gun control. Many Republican politicians are also joining their effort to incrementally make it impossible for civilians to defend themselves.
Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) asked Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) to work with Democrats on negotiating new gun-control measures. That same day, Cornyn and other Republican and Democrat senators formed a working group that is currently holding meetings.
The group’s membership includes Republican Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Collins and Toomey previously voted in favor of legislation to impose “universal” background checks. Democrats in the working group include Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
The Senate negotiators are considering “red flag” laws and expanded background checks, though participants have claimed the talks are focusing on mental health and school safety. On Wednesday, Senator Murphy, a vocal gun-control proponent, claimed, “There is growing momentum to get something done and we agreed on a plan to keep working.”
“Red flag” laws, which multiple Republican politicians have supported, are particularly dangerous as they allow the government to confiscate law-abiding Americans’ firearms — without due process or even an accusation of a crime — merely because they are labeled as “dangerous.” This violates both the Second and Fourth Amendments.
Meanwhile, expanded background checks will result in citizens needing the government’s permission to own or purchase a firearm — violating the Second Amendment — and it also would inevitably result in a national gun registry.
The House of Representatives is pushing its own gun-control schemes. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that next week, the chamber will vote on a major gun-control package, H.R. 7910. This bill’s provisions include expanded background checks, restrictions on how individuals can store their firearms, and a statutory ban on so-called bump stocks. Pelosi also announced the House will soon consider legislation to ban so-called assault rifles. None of these proposals would have stopped the shooting in Uvalde.
Republicans Surrender
Just in the past two weeks, many Republican politicians have caved to the Left’s gun-control demands. Multiple Republicans in the Senate, including Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), expressed support for either “red flag” laws or federal background checks.
Republican congressmen Chris Jacobs of New York and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois both endorsed banning so-called assault rifles and raising the minimum age for firearm purchases to 21, joining representatives Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who previously expressed support for similar restrictions.
Separately, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson endorsed raising the minimum age for firearm purchases to 21. Appearing on CNN to express his support for gun control, the governor claimed that there might be “bipartisan” support for such a policy. This is despite the fact that making 21 the minimum age to purchase or own a firearm would deny Second Amendment rights to millions of American adults.
Biden Rails Against Guns
Not to be outdone, Joe Biden delivered a primetime address Thursday evening in which he pushed for radical gun-control policies. Throughout his speech, he called on Congress to “do something” to address mass shootings such as in Uvalde. “Doing something,” based on the policies Biden advocated for in his speech, includes:
- banning so-called assault rifles;
- banning “high-capacity” magazines;
- raising the minimum purchase age for rifles, assuming a full ban is not possible;
- expanding federal background checks;
- a federal “safe storage law”;
- a federal “red flag” law; and
- repealing liability immunity for firearm manufacturers.
During his speech, Biden illustrated his low regard for the Bill of Rights by claiming, “the Second Amendment, like all other rights, is not absolute.” He also falsely claimed that mass shootings tripled following the 2004 expiration of Congress’ assault-rifle ban.
Finally, Biden predicted that if Congress did not pass his extremist policies, Americans would “act to turn your outrage into making this issue central to your vote.”
Each gun-control policy Biden announced is unconstitutional and only amounts to advancing the Left’s civilian-disarmament agenda. For an illustration of its ultimate goal, one only needs to look at Canada, which is in the process of totally outlawing firearms. Because of the robust constitutional protections in the United States — which Canada and other countries do not have — the Left has been far less successful here. If the American electorate is educated and informed, and takes concerted action against such schemes, the forces of liberty will win this battle.
To urge your U.S. representative and senators to completely oppose gun control, visit The John Birch Society’s legislative alert here.
