Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has never hidden the fact that he's anti-gun and wants to implement stricter gun control laws. Most recently, Booker said he'd like to license gun owners on a federal level, something that has a number of gun rights activists alarmed – and for good reason.
In a rather strange turn of events, the Washington Post fact checked Booker's recent claims that toy guns are more regulated than actual firearms. And guess what was concluded? That's right. That Booker's take is straight up bogus.
Let's review the evidence, shall we?
“Most people don’t know that consumer product safety literally — one industry that’s been exempted is the gun lobby. So we have different regulations for toy guns and no regulations for the weapons on our streets that are killing so many people," he said during a CNN interview.
In a medium post that same day, Booker's campaign repeated the talking point.
“Nowadays, there is more regulation over toy guns than real ones. While medicine, children’s toys, and any number of other consumer products are subject to regulation by the federal government, firearms are exempt. In other words, gun manufacturers have little incentive to make their products safer. Cory will work to close this loophole in federal oversight and allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure gun safety by making safety warnings and issuing recalls for faulty firearms.”
He reiterated that point again on Twitter:
Why should toy guns be subject to more federal regulation than real ones? It’s time to change that. pic.twitter.com/pCmlGGL22Q
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 7, 2019
And who better to run with that idiotic notion than David Hogg?
Toy guns are more regelated for safety than actual guns.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 7, 2019
We need to
Put ??guns ??under ??the ??consumer ??protection ?? act ??
There are a few points that Booker seems to forget and National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) spokesman Mark Oliva pointed them out to the Washington Post.
“Our industry is the most heavily regulated industry in the country. No other industry is regulated at the federal, state and local level to the extent our industry is regulated, which include design and performance standards," Oliva explained. "The federal agencies that regulate the industry include ATF, FBI, State Department, Commerce Department, IRS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. No other consumer product requires the licensed dealer to conduct a criminal-background check on a prospective purchaser before they can sell the product. Firearm manufacturers can be sued for product defect claims, although such claims are exceedingly rare given that there are over 400 million firearms in civilian possession in the United States.”
How many times have you gone to the store and put a water gun in your cart? When you got the register were you asked to:
• Fill out a government form with sensitive information, including a full legal name, address and social security number?
• Answer questions about whether or not you smoke marijuana or are a convicted felony?
• Provide a valid form of ID?
• Go through a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System?
• Pay an additional fee for said background check?
• Prove you're not a criminal?
• Wait 10 days to take the toy gun home (assuming you live in certain states)?
Oh, and if you lied about any of your answers or documents, did you know you could face a felony conviction, five years in prison and a fine? I highly doubt a water gun or toy gun carries that much weight. Actually, I'd be willing to put my life savings on that bet.
These are the kind of seriously stupid talking points making their way through the gun control community. These are the idiotic talking points that presidential hopefuls are running with. You know why? Because people like Booker know nothing about guns, how they function or even the legislation that regulates them. Instead of talking about actual issues and actual facts, these anti-gunners have to stick to layman terms because they can't talk anything substantive.
If people, like Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and all the rest of the Democrats in the clown car want to talk about gun control, fine. So be it. But can we please stop pulling stupid talking points out of our butts and start a dialogue around facts? There are plenty of people out there who would be more than willing to explain the difference in firearms and how they're regulated to politicians.