Remember all the times the anti-gun Left talked about common sense gun control? They only wanted to pass so-called universal background checks, remember that? Well, that’s expanded to increasing the age to purchase any firearm to 21, limiting magazine sizes, and in some cases, banning certain firearms altogether in certain parts of the country. In Deerfield, Illinois, the local authorities banned AR-15s within the village limits; Deerfield is a Chicago suburb. For Deerfield gun owners, June 13 was doomsday, but a judge blessedly blocked the law from going into effect. The ordinance banned certain rifles, but also scores of handguns. The only recourse was to either destroy them or turn them over to the police. The law carried a $250-$1,000/day noncompliance fee. Oregon could have a similar ballot initiative that forced law-abiding gun owners to register, surrender, destroy, or transfer their firearms out of the state. And now, a Florida Democrat is proposing banning AR-15s through decree.
After twenty years of total NRA control of Tallahassee, I am so proud of the Stoneman Douglas students and their ability to get something done. As governor, I will sign exectuive orders to ban the sale of assault weapons and implement universal background checks. #FLFreedomForum
— Gwen Graham (@GwenGraham) June 11, 2018
On June 11, Democratic Rep. Gwen Graham tweeted she was open to such a maneuver saying, “After twenty years of total NRA control of Tallahassee, I am so proud of the Stoneman Douglas students and their ability to get something done. As governor, I will sign exectuive [sic] orders to ban the sale of assault weapons and implement universal background checks.”
She made similar overtures in February:
"After the largest mass shooting in modern American history, Rick Scott sat on his hands. After 13 school shootings, Rick Scott looked the other way. After the massacre of children, Rick Scott won't even say the words common sense gun safety laws," Graham said in a Friday release. "If Rick Scott and Republicans in Tallahassee won't even confront the problem we face, how can we expect it to ever stop? Rick Scott's legacy will forever be covered in blood."
[...]
But Graham did not end her proposal at the AR-15. She also said all Florida assault weapons licenses and sales should stop for the time being. A Graham spokesman confirmed that Graham defines "assault weapon" along roughly the same lines as a federal law that was in place from 1994 to 2004 that restricted access to certain semi-automatic weapons. The suspension would end, the spokesman said, when the Legislature "passes common sense gun safety laws."
As we’ve said before, this is why you can’t trust the Left or give them an inch on this issue. They will take as many miles as they can until they can get as close to what they really want: gun bans, confiscation, and the repeal of the Second Amendment. This will surely face a lawsuit, by the way should Gwen win the primary and the general election. Two things that are unknown right now; there are six other candidates running. The primary is on August 28, but the gun control issue is one where Democrats think they have some momentum. They, the scored some serious wins in Vermont and Florida, both of which have GOP governors who were up until recently NRA-friendly. Still, the liberal enclaves of South Florida and the echo chamber of the liberal news media that rings from New York, Los Angeles, and other deep blue bastions of the country is no representative of the public on this issue. The Left will overreach and energize the conservative base. Or at least that’s what we hope in 2018.
(H/T Bearing Arms)
