Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by Lori Roman, President of the American Constitutional Rights Union Action. Col. West is on their policy board.
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The election swept in a legion of Second Amendment foes. Americans can expect them to take James Madison’s statement that disarming the people is “the best and most effective way to enslave them” as less of a warning and more of a directive.
During the campaign, Joe Biden was asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if a Biden administration would mean “they are going to come for my guns,” and Biden responded, “Bingo.”
Vice President Harris proudly supports “mandatory buy-backs” which is just a euphemism for outright confiscation.
President Biden’s Domestic Policy Council Chair Susan Rice announced that the Administration will partner with gun-grabbing organizations. And Judge Merrick Garland, President Biden’s nominee for Attorney General, has a long judicial history of suppressing Second Amendment rights.
The freedom to possess firearms will be attacked by the feds and the states through legislation, taxation, punitive fees, red flag laws, and pressure on banks and credit card companies. The restrictions will be aimed, as they always are, at law-abiding citizens and not the criminals responsible for gun violence.
In Congress, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has introduced a slew of alarming bills. Realizing it is a lot of work to strip Americans of their God-given right to defend themselves from harm, she introduced a bill to hire 200 additional Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and investigators.
Rep. Lee’s H.R. 127 is particularly outrageous as it requires licensing for firearms and some ammunition, registration of all firearms, new and already owned, and a host of other bad ideas. Requirements for a general license include a psychological evaluation done by a psychologist approved by the Attorney General, using standards determined by the Attorney General. It also mandates interviews with the spouse and two friends or family members of the applicant, training as determined by the Attorney General, and purchase of liability insurance through the Attorney General’s office for $800 per year.
The cost of background checks, fees, and insurance will be prohibitive for low-income Americans who will be left defenseless as they are effectively stripped of their rights.
Rep. Lee also introduced H.R. 130, which will make it impossible for Americans to defend themselves in their own homes. This law mandates that firearms must be stored unloaded, separate from ammunition, in an Attorney General approved safe with an Attorney General approved trigger guard. Good luck defending yourself against an intruder, when police and the Attorney General of the United States are nowhere to be found.
Will there be Republicans going after guns? Likely. In 2016, Senator Susan Collins of Maine introduced “No Fly No Buy” legislation that would automatically block anyone from the No-Fly list from purchasing firearms. She now has more allies in Congress to get this unmanageable law passed.
Now that Democrats are labeling about 74 million Americans as extremists, who knows who will end up on No-Fly lists? Senator Chuck Schumer recently called for protesters on January 6 to be added to a No-Fly list. TSA acknowledged that they were “looking at it.”
The No-Fly, No-Buy rule could easily be used for political retaliation and the lists are notoriously inaccurate, having included Senator Ted Kennedy, children, and high-ranking military officers.
Both Democrat and Republican state legislators are sure to continue their attacks on the rights of law-abiding citizens.
In many states, new Red Flag laws allow judges to take firearms away even if the individual has not committed or even threatened to commit a crime. A simple complaint from a third party triggers a court proceeding that could eliminate a person’s Second Amendment rights and cause an avalanche of consequences that could include losing their children in custody battles or to foster care.
The laws completely upend the most important principle in our justice system--presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
This year, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that will affect Red Flag law enforcement. It will determine whether law enforcement is in violation of the Fourth Amendment by entering a home and taking legally owned firearms without a warrant.
In 2020, national background checks for gun purchases were up 40 percent over 2019, and more than 8 million Americans stepped forward as first-time gun owners. Forbes noted that the rise in first-time gun sales was “fueled by women, Black Americans and senior citizens.”
As always, the elites in society are protected by gated homes and armed guards, while regular folks are left powerless. Women, senior citizens, and the poor who live in high crime areas will suffer the most from political gun grabs.
It is obvious that power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats have no qualms about ignoring the plain text of the Constitution.
The founders were clear: “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”