Moderate members of both political parties are criticizing the Biden Administration for its recent move to defund longstanding scholastic archery and hunter education programs under a recently passed gun control law.
The programs, which have no demonstrable connection to crime or violence, are the latest innocent victims of the misnamed Bi-Partisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
The episode reinforces two critically important lessons that any pro-gun legislator should remember. One: there is no such thing as harmless gun control. Two: Moderates who join forces with anti-gun extremists will eventually be embarrassed by the partnership.
The BSCA was passed last summer over the NRA’s objections, with proponents congratulating themselves on their “bi-partisan” achievement. As we warned at the time: “This bill leaves too much discretion in the hands of government officials and also contains undefined and overbroad provisions – inviting interference with our constitutional freedoms.”
We have already explained how the infamously anti-gun Biden Administration is abusing authorities established under the BSCA to implement de facto waiting periods on certain firearm purchases, fund unconstitutional firearm seizure schemes, and curtail private firearm transfers. These steps have caused supporters of the law who are not reflexively hostile to the Second Amendment to complain the administration is misinterpreting its provisions. But if anti-gunners can interpret the individual right to keep and bear arms out of the Second Amendment itself, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the far more ambiguous language of the BSCA could be twisted to nefarious ends.
The latest issue arises out of an obscure provision of the BSCA that amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). That act is the “primary source of federal aid for elementary and secondary education” and is meant ““to strengthen and improve educational quality and educational opportunities in the Nation’s elementary and secondary schools.”
The BSCA amendment prohibited use of funds under ESEA for “the provision to any person of a dangerous weapon, as defined in section 930(g)(2) of title 18, or training in the use of a dangerous weapon.” While the provision did not gain much attention, it was commonly understood to impose a ban on using ESEA funds to arm and train teachers or other school personnel in the use of firearms as a counter-measure to armed attacks on schools.
That limitation would be bad enough, but pro-gun supporters of the law could have relied on the argument that ESEA funds were not widely used for this purpose, if they had been used at all, to claim that it was not a material loss to the firearm cause.
But in a display of pure treachery and anti-gun and anti-hunting opportunism, the Biden Department of Education — which administers grant programs under ESEA – publicly announced that the language also prohibited the use of funds for archery, hunting, and any other firearm-related program in schools. This would represent a huge loss to America’s students, millions of whom take advantage of these programs for education, instruction in basic skills, opportunities for outdoor recreation, competition, and to learn how to safely and responsibly use the equipment involved. Such programs represent what have traditionally been the most uncontroversial and unifying aspects of America’s hunting, firearm, and outdoor recreation traditions.
But that just goes to show that no aspect of the country’s outdoor sporting tradition is safe from the ambitions of the firearms prohibition lobby, no matter how harmless or indeed beneficial in promoting safe and responsible behavior. Anyone who allies themselves with these forces, even for the supposedly limited purposes of addressing crime and violence, can no longer claim ignorance of this fact.
Supporters of the BSCA on both sides of the aisle have pushed back against the Department of Education’s interpretation of the law in letters and public statements. Legislation has also been introduced to clarify the language at issue to ensure it cannot be read to “prohibit the use of funds … for purposes of training students in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports.
The NRA supports these efforts and strongly advocates for restoration of funding opportunities for these programs.
We also hope that the hard lessons learned from BSCA-related overreach will not be lost on pro-gun legislators who were too quick to trust “allies” who readily abandoned ideas of bipartisan consensus to resume their prohibitory agenda.
Read Related: Biden Administration’s Attack on Youth Hunting
About NRA-ILA:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
McConnell (AKA the Turtle), Cornyn, Romney, Murkowski, Collins, Graham and 9 other Swamp dwellers voted for this POS! I hope and pray Cornyn (almost D-TX) is primaryed in 2025!
Agreed. He’s one of my 2 Senators & he’s a worthless POS RINO. I’m not too sure about Cruz either!!!
I gave you a thumbs up but I like Cruz. I can understand being iffy on any politician now days. It’s bad when we can’t depend on them to always land on heads and sometimes give the democrats their tail.
Obiden should have been impeached.
You are complaining? Here in Utah we have Romney, the LDS church’s choice!
Lol, not complaining but at least you have a RINO, I have staunch democraps and there is no common sense in anything the government does unless you are woke, then it makes total sense.
I wish we had a Cruz. A few of them in fact. It’s sad that a Romney would be an improvement for Oregoneistan.
In Commierado, we’ve got Bennett and Lickshispooper (Hickenlooper). Both Anti 2A Pieces of crap and there’s zero chan e we’ll ever have a Republican Senator in the foreseeable future.
Liberals have the State in a Death Grip, and they’ll do everything they can to keep their power.
Change the names and you have the same scenario in Maryland. What a bunch of DemoCOMMIES!!
Never forget that Cruz, that great constitutional scholar, ran for president in 2016. His father is Canadian, thus making him ineligible to hold the office because he is not a natural born citizen. The Founders were very specific about who could hold the office. Both parents of the candidate had to be citizens at the time of his/her birth for that person to be eligible. We need to use the Tom T. Hall solution for everyone in politics, “If you hang them all, you’ll get the guilty.”
Wrong. U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, paragraph 5:
There is no requirement about the parents nationality. And yes, candidates like Ramaswami are legitimate. Unfortunately, children of illegal aliens and birthing tourists can run for president too.
Not true.
They allowed Obummer. Without so much as proof of citizenship.
Totally F@cked times we live in my friend.
I hope they all meet their maker by the end of the year. Along with all the Libtards.
It’s a fantasy, but one can dream though.
The NRA and rinos acting surprised when their pet rattlesnake bite them. Whatever
LOL, pet rattle snake. Good one.
That’s rich Negotiating Rights Away talking about “Backstabbing.”
True Dat!!! NRA is a joke now…
Ditch overpaid Wayne Lapierre and company and just watch the membership numbers rise and contributions soar. Then this money could be used to fund good pro 2A candidates for office.
True…but Wayne has too strong a lock on the NRA to ever be ousted. Only way he is leaving is 8n a pine box, when he finally passes away!
The dims seem to want no hunters, no fishermen/women, no outdoor enthusiasts, or traditional outdoor adventuring. The goal is to have the population controlled and living in high-rise housing in “15-minute cities”. You’ll get your groceries and your hair cut on the ground floor of your building. The U.N. has “Agenda 30” and your name is on it. You’d better do some reading!
Goes to show, can’t trust a liberal, Democrat or Republican. We need to rid our Government of Liberals in both parties! They all are treacherous, underhanded, lying, conniving, no good SOBs. Vote them All out.
I wish we could do that but in today’s world I think it would be like voting for a different snake by another name or title.
It’s hard to trust or believe what anyone says now days especially when they blatantly say “what did you expect? I am a politician”.
in the old days the tar and feathers would come out and no more bs
Or the rope.
kind of like four horses
Biden’s bullshit will not fly in Montana as our Republican super majority in Helena already put state laws in place the nullify any of the Democrats unconstitutional crap . FJB and all Democrats !
If only that were the case in NV and TX
Hey Bubba. This came off the internet.
See full list on worldpopulationreview.com
I know South Dakota is heavy republican too. I found three other sites that support the same data.
LOL, looks like some can’t handle the truth. Too bad so sad.
South Dakota is 8th.
Texas is about 23rd
Funny how there’s no mention of the millions of dollars all those turncoats have received from the NRA.
So…..the B.S. act?
Or, our legislators could just learn how to write clear English and say only exactly what they mean to say, and nobody would have to “interpret” this and that.”
Or, our legislators wrote it that way expressly so it could be interpreted this way, which is also likely.
Why is the world would any of these jacktards do that?
Pelosi summed it up perfectly.
Just vote yes.
We will tell you what’s in it, after it’s passed.
Larry – the ability to ‘interpret’ law is exactly what they want. That is why they refer to the Constitution as a ‘living document’. They flatly refuse to comprehend that it was written in terms that could be understood by anyone, not twisted to suit their ;needs’.
RINO’s are bot naive and complicit. Ignorance of the pending back stab is no excuse. You don’t give a scorpion a ride across the river, he WILL sting you even though he promises not to.