Opinion
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- While many states were rolling back onerous gun control laws over the past few decades, a few states like California, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, have doubled down on their gun control schemes, competing with each other to see which can most severely restrict their citizens’ fundamental rights.
The politicians in these states are never satisfied, and every “good first step in the right direction” is always followed by an almost immediate next “good first step” in the same direction. But we expect this sort of two-faced chicanery from the urban centers of the gun control movement. What we didn’t expect (though we should have) was the sudden onslaught of attacks on gun owner rights in states with extremely low rates of firearm-related crime, and relatively lax gun laws.
Vermont, Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire, Nevada, and New Mexico have long histories of relatively low crime, relatively lax gun laws, and little apparent need for gun owners to actively organize and get involved in politics. Yet these states have been targeted by gun control extremists, and draconian laws have been shoved through Democrat-controlled legislatures, with false claims of “public safety” and “saving lives,” in spite of their already low crime rates and a complete lack of any evidence that the new laws will do anything to enhance public safety or save lives.
The facts no longer matter though, because it’s all about leftist orthodoxy and billionaires’ campaign contributions now. To be a “good little Democrat,” one must completely embrace gun control.
So we see these weak-minded “good Democrat” politicians in low-crime states, receiving thousands of dollars from gun control groups like the Giffords’ and Bloomberg’s, and pushing radical gun control measures. The fact that their states’ citizens have long records of peaceful, responsible gun ownership, is irrelevant to the radical, rights-restricting zealots. They fear guns, hate gun owners, and strictly adhere to their statist dogma, which insists that they pass gun control to “solve” problems that these states have never had.
Washington State gun owners have provided decades of proof that complexity, expense, and mandatory training prior to issuing a concealed carry license, does nothing to enhance public safety.
Washingtonians have enjoyed very liberal, inexpensive, shall-issue concealed carry standards, with no training requirement, since 1961, and that has never been a problem. NONE! But in spite of licensees’ stellar record, their radical Democrat politicians are insisting that the licensing process be more complicated, more expensive, and require extensive training. Not solving a problem, just adhering to dogma.
Similarly, the citizens of Vermont have always been free to carry a gun whenever they were so inclined, with no training or licensing requirements at all. Once again, this has never been a problem, as responsible gun owners have consistently acted responsibly. Vermont’s crime rates remain among the lowest in the nation, as are their rates of firearm-related accidents.
But living up to the responsibility that comes with the right to arms, means nothing to the current crop of Democratic politicians.
It irks them and their financial backers to have such a liberal state with such liberal gun laws, so they have decided that over 200 years of responsibly exercised liberty should be flushed down the drain and new restrictions must be instituted. It has nothing to do with public safety, saving lives, or protecting children, and everything to do with advancing the new Democrat orthodoxy that guns are bad and must be tightly controlled by government nannies.
New Mexico and Nevada have had higher crime rates than Washington and Vermont, but their crime problems are readily attributable to specific socioeconomic & illegal immigration factors, unrelated to the availability, possession, or carry of firearms. But these states were targeted by the Bloomies and Giffords several years ago, and they poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into them to elect Democrat majorities in their state legislatures and governors’ offices. That investment is now being repaid by dutiful Democrat politicians passing and signing restrictions on private firearm transfers, and deadly so-called “red-flag” laws to deprive people who have committed no crime of their right to arms. All based solely on hearsay, without any semblance of due process. Again, not because these laws will save lives or make people safer, but because they comport with the new, “progressive,” Democrat anti-freedom orthodoxy.
Second Amendemnt Sanctuary Cities/Counties
In response to these heavy-handed tactics, citizens have turned to their local politicians to stand up to these draconian measures. City councils, county boards, and sheriffs have responded with resolutions, proclamations, and statements opposing the new laws, and declaring that these unconstitutional assaults on liberty will not be enforced within their jurisdictions.
Did @HectorBalderas actually write the letter he sent to the Sheriffs on SB8, or did he just copy & paste the letter from the Washington AG? It would explain how he didn’t know private FFL dealers, not law enforcement, perform the NICS checks… #nmpol #2A pic.twitter.com/444kfdMktK
— NM Shooting Sports Association (@NM_SSA) April 8, 2019
This growing trend around the country has provoked authoritarian responses from state attorneys general, including almost identical letters from the Washington and New Mexico AG’s, as exposed in this Tweet from the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association. The similarity of the letters strongly suggests that these folks are getting guidance from the same source, probably based in New York City.
The word Liberal used to mean “loose” or “freely,” and be associated with liberty, but it has been hijacked by statist, government control freaks. It is outrageous that “liberal” politicians would steal liberty in places that have long records proving that liberty works, and call it “progressive.”
As we have said for decades, gun control is not about guns, it’s about control. Time to step up our game and fight back harder.
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona and Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.
Oregon’s Governor has received well over a million dollars from everytown.
Two Words that are misused by most Anti-Firearm’s groups are the word “Gun” and “Firearm”. I have known from childhood that Guns utilize ammunition size 30 mm or greater. Guns are known to be installed as either field artillery, on tanks, ships, planes etc., etc., etc… Firearms on the other hand, are pistols and rifles, small hand devices. Anyone who is a firearms owner should know this basic knowledge. The Anti-Firearms lobby, is nothing more than being Anti-Constitutional=Anti-American=Enemies of the United States of America. Firearms control is nothing more than people control, that is why the second Amendment exsists in… Read more »
Thanks for all you do, Jeff. I wish that your dad were still with us.
Shame on every Gun Owner who votes Democrat.
Actually, a lot of Democrats have guns and should be ashamed to be Democrats. Any American should be ashamed to vote Democrat. It does not bother anti-Americans to do either.
The older I get the more I realize that the statement, “Live free or Die” (State motto of New Hampshire) may well come down to more than just words on paper and will have to be backed by action for those of us on the right who support freedom.
These people need to be taught that ‘Law’ and ‘Due Process’ are not ‘whatever we decide’. TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242 Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include… Read more »
When and who will enforce these obvious laws against our Constitution? How can we just sit by and watch as our Constitutional rights are ignored? In the 2008 Heller ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said “the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.” Oregon is proposing the violation of this ruling by the Supreme Court as well. Everyone who votes for such laws is in violation of the Constitution. Who is going… Read more »
Except Donald Trump has an R by his name, so does Rick Scott, so does William Barr. This ” its the Democrats” thing is very misleading. Especially when the president has proven to be a gun grabber and the attorney general that he appointed has a long history of it and even covering up the Ruby Ridge murders.
There is no such thing as gun control. There is communist gun confiscation. There is crime control. There is criminal democrat control. But using the communist tactic of “Lawfare” only effects law abiding citizens. Law abiding citizens arenot, never have been, and never will be, any part of the problem. All “gun control” does is protect the criminal democrat voter base, at the expense of law abiding citizens. You also hear useful idiots complain about the communist tactic of “rule of law” being invoked. In the U.S., we have the rule of constitutional law. The exact opposite of rule of… Read more »