This week was terrible—and I’m not talking about the 2018 midterms. In Thousand Oaks, California, at College Country Night, Ian Long, a former Marine, shot and killed twelve people (via WSJ):
The gunman who killed 12 people at a Southern California bar was posting on Facebook and Instagram immediately before and during the massacre, according to a law-enforcement official.
Investigators are trying to figure out why 28-year-old Ian David Long opened fire Wednesday night at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif., during its weekly country-music dance party for college students.
[…]
The nine men and three women killed in the shooting ranged in age from 18 to 54 and included Navy veteran Telemachus Orfanos, a 27-year-old who had survived the shooting massacre at a Las Vegas country-music festival last year, and Daniel Manrique, 33, who like Long was a Marine Corps veteran.
[…]
Two years ago, he legally purchased the .45 -caliber Glock handgun he used in the attack, according to a law-enforcement official.
[…]
After leaving the military in 2013, Long made an effort to enroll in the Department of Veterans Affairs system, but quit the process before receiving any health-care benefits, according to a person familiar with the matter. Curt Cashour, a spokesman for the agency, said that Long wasn’t enrolled in VA health care at any time and didn’t apply for VA health care.
Long appeared to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or at least exhibited symptoms of it. But experts warn his senseless act of violence is not to be blamed solely on PTSD.
Calls for gun control have already emanated from liberal circles. And with a Democratic House, expect the overall anti-gun agenda to be ramped up immensely. After eight years out of power in the lower chamber, anti-gun liberals are ripe to push some of the most outrageous gun control policies in recent memory that will do little to curb violence. We all know their playbook, but one thing is clear: the anti-gun Left is getting better. They’re more aggressive.
The Wall Street Journal noted that this past midterm election saw 15 NRA A-rated members of Congress get replaced with F-rated members, anti-gun groups outspend the National Rifle Association for the first time, and there’s no longer a grace period after mass shootings; these groups push for legislation immediately. The NRA, however, isn’t worried, as pro-gun rights majorities increased in the Senate. Yes, any new gun control legislation that passes in the House dies with Mitch McConnell, but I don’t like giving these people an inch:
15 House Republicans with A NRA ratings lost on Tuesday. All 15 were replaced by Democrats with F NRA ratings. https://t.co/cFScXLmEdM
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) November 9, 2018
2018 marked the first time gun control groups outspent the NRA. Everytown & Giffords spent $37 million (plus another $100m from Bloomberg) while the NRA spent $20 million - some of that went to Gorsuch & Kavanaugh ads. https://t.co/cFScXLmEdM
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) November 9, 2018
Also the gun control advocates no longer pause after mass shootings -- the immediate reaction is to push for legislation. A marked change from Sandy Hook when they waited too long and lost momentum for change. https://t.co/cFScXLmEdM
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) November 9, 2018
Democrats ousted at least 15 House Republicans with “A” National Rifle Association ratings, while the candidates elected to replace them all scored an “F” NRA rating.
“This new majority is not going to be afraid of our shadow,” said Mike Thompson, a California Democrat who is chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. “We know that we’ve been elected to do a job, and we’re going to do it.”
[…]
About 61% of voters participating in the 2018 midterm elections said America’s gun laws should be stricter, according to AP VoteCast, a pre-election and Election Day survey of about 90,000 people who said they voted or intended to vote. About 13% of Democrats and 8% of all voters said gun control was the most important issue affecting their vote.
The 2018 elections marked the first time gun-control advocates outspent the NRA.
The gun-rights advocacy group spent about $20 million in the 2018 election cycle—much of it on advertising backing the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said.
Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control organization backed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and a group founded by former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in a 2011 shooting, spent a combined $37 million in 2018.
Ms. Baker said she is optimistic NRA-backed candidates will prevail in governor’s races in Florida and Georgia that have yet to be called. The NRA also invested in GOP Senate candidates who ousted Democratic incumbents in Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota. NRA-backed Senate candidates lost in Montana and West Virginia.
“The biggest Second Amendment implication of the election is that the pro-Second Amendment majority in the U.S. Senate will continue to confirm pro-Second Amendment judges to the lower courts all the way to the Supreme Court,” Ms. Baker said.
They’re blitzing. This comes on top of the slate of wins after the horrific Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting. These groups got A-rated governors in Rick Scott and Phil Scott of Florida and Vermont respectively to sign terrible pieces of anti-gun legislation into law, specifically raising the age to buy long guns to 18 years of age. Phil Scott’s law also limited the size of magazines. This cave to the anti-gun Left was disappointing, and yes, the NRA has joined a lawsuit challenging the age to purchase long guns provision as unconstitutional.
As always, we have to be vigilant. These people are pushing for gun bans and confiscation. We cannot let up. The Second Amendment fight could be one of the biggest legislative slogs flying under the radar next year.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member