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The Democrats Go Full Gun-Grabber
One of the biggest applause lines from last week’s Democratic debate was Martin O’Malley’s cocksure, focused description of the National Rifle Association as the enemy he’s most proud to have made. Moments later, Hillary Clinton seconded the notion, though she went on to include — among other things, and in the same tones — the Iranians and the Republican Party. But, as if to make the point even clearer over the weekend, Clinton echoed President Obama’s recent allusion to Australia’s draconian licensing and buy-back policy as a model for the United States to emulate.
It’s increasingly apparent that the Democrats plan to make the abrogation of gun rights a major part of their 2016 platform. This may not be quite as bad politics as it sounds: a recent Pew Survey found that support for gun rights has waned from its high last year, and that was before the latest cluster of shootings, including that of the Virginia news crew and at Umpqua Community College. According to the same survey, gun control remains wildly popular among Democrats. The good news is that the overall numbers are still near historic highs in favor of rights, with the country nearly evenly split on the matter.
However, two things are concerning. First, we are — as Charles C.W. Cooke darkly suggests — likely not too far off from the first HD, livestreamed mass murder. Imagine the effect a Newtown-style massacre would have next fall if its horror was uploaded (unedited) to YouTube in 1080p. Second, imagine what a legacy-hunting Obama and a desperate Hillary Clinton might do with that, especially when Wayne LaPierre inevitably makes an idiot of himself and blames video games and calls for armed guards in every school.
These could well be very high stakes days ahead.
Published in Guns
Roadrunner, I see your argument, but I am not convinced. If the goal is to confiscate all the guns, what you lay out won’t get it done, anymore than SSM is going to wipe out Christianity.
If you think I was saying SSM is going to wipe out Christianity then I don’t think you understand my argument. I did use the Supreme Court decision as an example of changing the way things have been understood for generations. I also used Roe v Wade in the same sense. There is a right way to change laws and an arbitrary way to change laws. Once you go down the arbitrary path all kinds of creativity can be used to change laws. That was the point. Once the Supreme Court takes action the followers will follow either because it serves their self interest or because the recognition of what just happened undermines the whole system. We just watched that happen. The same thing will happen with respect to gun control as applied by the Supreme Court. With Citizens United they came real close to undermining political free speech. For most lefties I believe that that was harder than taking an ax to the 2nd Amendment.
With regard to goals of the left with respect to laws, I think you need to remember that all kinds of laws that were encouraged by the left with regard to guns are not enforced by the left. The law can be a cudgel in the hands of bad people, only to be used on their enemies.
You cannot arrest everyone at once. If the goal is to hoover up all the weapons, only going door to door will work.
Well then I suppose you’ll all just have to learn to fight with your bare hands!
I can see where you are coming from too.
Another choice:
What if, state by state, the citizens vote to ban guns? Including amending the Constitution according to the recognized, accepted formula?
The “out of my cold dead hands” rhetoric is not helping, y’all. Seriously.
(In the meantime, I’d just do a massive gun buy-back: $100 apiece, no questions asked. Imagine the drug addicts…)
There is no way a repeal of the 2nd amendment will happen. It requires 3/4ths of the states and there are a lot of rural gun owning states. Montana would likely declare open rebellion if the Feds tried to confiscate guns.
Guns are the only thing Montanan’s agree on – we agree that we like them.
I am not so sure that this would not be seen as a more serious crime to the government. Without the money government is no fun.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/425775/some-eye-popping-poll-numbers-guns-and-self-defense-jim-geraghty
Massive gun grabs are not happening any time soon.
Republican politicians need to forcefully declare that guns are not the problem in mass shootings. They are the solution.
Amusingly, you were the only one the said anything about cold dead hands. Y’all. Seriously? Could we hear your African American impersonation?
Do you think drug addicts are big gun owners? If they had any they were pawned long ago. Most likely they would try to burgle them from law abiding citizens, subsidized by a government program. You have thought of a government program where the innocent are punished all the way around. That is quite a talent.
Odd. I know drug addicts that have guns. Where do you get your knowledge of the behavior of addicts? I have worked directly with them.
If you are not careful you will talk yourself into believing that the left has not passed a lot of anti-gun laws in almost all blue states and all blue cities. All they need is their Anthony Kennedy and it will be the law of the land. Put her in jail, er, I mean put them in jail.
I believe you. I was related to a drug addict and got a little look at how he lived. He is dead now. I did say big gun owners and I will stick by it. I was referring to the class of folks that are made dysfunctional by drugs and take to stealing to pay for their habits. Are you endorsing a government buy back program or just quibbling? Don’t bother I know the answer. I committed the sin of questioning the gay marriage decision. Quibble away brother. By the way I know gamblers that have hit the big time, smokers who never suffered any bad health effects, drunks that went to work every day and maintained it though it all. I would never try to make a rule out of any of that.
I don’t think buy back programs will eliminate guns. Nor, has anything you said here lead to the elimination of guns nation wide in the USA
No, buyback programs will not eliminate guns, especially when there is aleady a thriving market for guns.
And people own guns for a reason. If they wanted the money, they never would have bought them to begin with.
Funny you two are arguing like this, roadrunner and Bryan, when you’re both right. Obviously the government and leftists could make progress with the incremental approach; Bryan is also correct that our current vigilance against it makes this less likely to actually happen.
Of course, buying more guns never hurts, in addition to the voting.
Strongly agree. The 3D printer will do for prohibited objects what the printing press did for prohibited speech–make it very difficult to control.
Yeah. That’s why we have card check, expanded abortion provisions, and all the other stuff he campaigned on, right?
Obama can’t pass gun control by executive order unless he has a statute give him the power to do so (other than, eg., gun control for federal employees etc.) The “feckless” GOP have beaten back all federal efforts at gun control and state gun rights and self defense rights have dramatically increased.
Perhaps a closer analogy might be to the internet and traditional printing for child pornography. They can’t stop it from existing, but as Roadrunner says, they just need one SCOTUS justice and the Second Amendment vanishes, and a good 2016 election and a lot of gun control passes.
3D printing means that it’s not hard to get hold of guns even when guns are illegal. Online child pornography is pretty simple to access, too. Nonetheless, you get a fair number of convictions and the laws banning it are pretty effective.
Reason’s video makes sense if you think like a Libertarian. If you think like anyone else, you know that the point of criminal laws is not to eliminate behavior, but to reduce it. We’ll still have murders until the end of time, but criminalizing it helps. The police would have to go door to door if you think that the goal is zero guns soon.
The police can decide not to bother and simply accept the easy convictions when they search people’s houses for other reasons. If guns are banned, most people will turn them in, because for most people it’s not worth a substantial prison sentence not to. If you close down gun ranges and make it essentially impossible for those not living in the wilderness to hunt, you reduce the number of people who will want a gun. Gun ownership isn’t like drugs; most people don’t have much of an acute need for it.
Most developed countries lack America’s gun ownership. Like America’s other fundamental rights, the Second Amendment does not exist inevitably. It exists because Americans have fought for it, with particular success of late.
The current rhetoric seems to be working pretty well to me. There aren’t a lot of anti-gun laws passing, and there’s a ton of positive measures. You can take guns into churches, airports, bars and such in Georgia, you can open carry in Texas, ever more states have stand your ground laws. We shouldn’t be complacent, but we also shouldn’t abandon an approach that has been working successfully.
Please please please please please PLEASE let the Dems run in 2016 on a platform of gun banning and confiscation. Is there a PAC we can donate money to in order to encourage this?
Sure it will, it will just take time. Just like it will take time to eliminate and criminalize Christianity. Will it happen in a year? No. A decade? Maybe. A couple of decades? Sure.
HRC has already declared the NRA her sworn enemy. If she wins do you not think she will act on that?
We were just having the conversation around the dinner table a few nights ago. Your pa-in-law is right.
I wish they’d do a buy back program, though. Might be an opportunity to get some guns cheap.