Well, Nancy Pelosi promised that the Democrats would take their battle against Second Amendment rights to the House, and now that elections are over she’s making good on her words.
In the same speech in October 2018, she wanted to take on some big issues: campaign finance reform, immigration, drug prices and gun background checks. It didn’t take long after the midterms for Democrats to get riled up again about gun rights, pitching a fight in the House in an attempt to create even more invasive background checks that would negatively impact the rights of all Americans to bear arms — plus make it more difficult for small business owners to sell weapons. While individual sellers were not as heavily regulated in the past, Pelosi’s Army wants to change all that.
Aggressive Strategy Shifts
The Democrats and their gun reform allies are amping up the more moderate bills introduced in previous years. While earlier attempts at legislation would have exempted a large number of sellers, the new and more aggressive legislation would put additional checks and balances on individual sellers or private dealers at a gun show. The bill is being backed by a study from 2017 showing that over 20% of guns purchased in the past two years were purchased legally — but without a background check.
“Common Sense” Background Checks
Pelosi’s statement of pursuing “common sense” background checks is driven by a wave of frustration at the government due to the perceived inaction in the wake of multiple devastating shootings in recent years. While they haven’t always been in completely agreement around gun control in the past, Democrats are increasingly in favor of more restrictive gun purchasing, storage and usage laws.
This rallying around a common theme has provided them with a boost that they haven’t enjoyed in recent years. Even so, there are Democrats who do not go out of their way to favor gun control — but these individuals are increasingly rare. The NRA has even endorsed Democratic candidates in previous years, but this is not something you’ll see much anymore. What Speaker Pelosi calls “common-sense” is likely to be much more restrictive than many gun owners are comfortable with and they’ll make it more difficult for small weapons outfitters, too.
Bills Still Likely to Fail
Even though the Democrats are lobbying hard to make gun control a bi-partisan issue, even if the laws make it through the Democrat-controlled House unscathed — they’re highly unlikely to be voted upon in the Senate and almost certainly wouldn’t be signed by President Donald Trump. Yet again, Democrats are pushing a losing initiative simply to make a statement in the media, and provide a rallying point for their demonstrators and followers.
Even though the bills may not make it into law on the federal level, that doesn’t stop state and local governments for continuing to tighten the laws that they can control. Each step that is taken towards invasive gun control is a step away from American democracy, and the rights of all individuals to keep and bear arms.
~ Firearm Daily