Red flag, white flag?  How the anti-Second Amendment lobby keep losing

By Cass Rutledge
June 28, 2022

When running for President in 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to “defeat the NRA” by banning assault weapons and enacting other radical gun control measures. After recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, President Biden signed gun control legislation into law, but did he deliver on his campaign promises? 

The latest ‘red flag’ law being debated in Washington increases mental health funding, closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” which aims to prevent unmarried domestic abusers from acquiring guns, and most controversially, incentivizes states to adopt “red flag laws.”

Red flag laws allow citizens to go to court to seek an order permitting law enforcement to seize the weapons of a person who has exhibited behavior indicating they might be a threat to themselves or others. Conservatives, wary of big government abuse and overreach, say red flag laws could be used to target people over political beliefs. For example, someone’s leftist ex-girlfriend could pursue a court order against them for posting a picture with guns or sharing a “dangerous” opinion on social media, and if one judge deems it appropriate, those guns could be taken away for some period of time. 

Yes, this new law is another step in the left’s march toward stronger gun control laws, but it does not ban assault weapons or deliver any other major progressive “wins” that President Biden promised. Biden admitted this himself, saying that “this bill doesn’t do everything I want.” Other members of the President’s parties have made even more extreme gun control promises than Biden. Texas Governor Candidate Beto O’Rourke, who has lost two elections within the last four years, famously said “hell, yes” in response to whether certain guns should be taken away by law-abiding gun owners. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that she is prepared to enact gun control so extreme that her state will “go back to muskets.” 

Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the presidency, but they still cannot deliver on their anti-second amendment crusade. As their political capital diminishes, their promises become increasingly vague, from an assault weapon ban to “common sense gun reform” to simply “doing something.” This catch-all phrase is designed to create the façade that something truly special has happened thanks to the President’s leadership when, in reality, that is nowhere near the truth. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has struck down a New York law that required citizens to show “proper cause” to get a concealed carry gun license. According to the left, the right to bear arms is dependent on if the anti-gun government thinks the specific reasoning for doing so is good enough. Thankfully, the Supreme Court can recognize an unconstitutional infringement when it sees one.  For the past thirty years or more, the anti-gun lobby has promised a lot. But they don’t have an awful lot to show for it.

DONATE TO THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION

magnifiercross linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram