Today’s show was recorded before Dr. Oz released the following statement about his views on the Second Amendment, so it’s not referenced in the video link above, but I’ve got plenty to say about it below.

“As a proud gun owner myself, I’m a firm believer in the Second Amendment and our constitutional right to bear arms for protection. I do not believe there should be any policy or law, state or federal, that prevents a law-abiding American from purchasing a gun without due process and fair adjudication,” Oz said. 

Why did Dr. Mehmet Oz release this statement? Well, he’s running for the Senate seat currently held by the retiring Pat Toomey, and could be a genuine contender, in large part to his deep pockets and high profile as a television personality. But his support for gun control, including a ban on semi-automatic firearms, could prove poisonous to Pennsylvania conservatives and Republican voters.

David Codrea was the first to point out Oz’s longstanding hostility towards the Second Amendment, even before the celebrity physician officially declared himself a candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, and today Fox News joined the fray by highlighting Oz’s pro-gun control positions on “red flag” laws and possessing some of the most commonly-owned firearms in the country.

Oz has been an outspoken advocate for gun-control policies in the past, promoting a call from the American College of Physicians for a ban on semi-automatic weapons. Oz has also historically championed so-called “red flag” laws, which would allow the government to confiscate guns from individuals without proof of malicious intent.

“Part of the hope, I gather, is that we’ll make a system so that I can call in and say ‘There’s evidence besides my testimony that this person is dangerous. Look at their Facebook feed or social media postings. Or comments they’ve made to coworkers beside me. Do a little investigating. I’m alerting you, putting a little red flag up there saying this person is a concern,'” Oz told the audience on a previous episode of his show.

On today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co (which you can watch in the video window above) I focused more on Oz’s comments about “red flag” laws, but we shouldn’t ignore Oz’s promotion of a semi-auto ban, especially as Codrea noted that Oz’s handlers “redirected the link to the ‘This Is Our Lane’ page [that Oz was promoting] to his [current campaign] website.”

It’s bad enough to tacitly endorse criminalizing the possession of tens of millions of lawfully owned firearms, but it’s even worse in my opinion to try to memory hole your previous positions because they put you at odds with the voters you’re currently trying to woo. As I said yesterday, I’d rather deal with a politician who openly holds a position I disagree with than one who lies to my face in order to convince me he’s on my side.

I’d wondered how Oz would respond to his past support for gun control, which was completely on brand for his Oprah-adjacent talk show. Would he try to reinvent himself? Or would he double down on his anti-gun ideology and try to win the Republican nomination by bashing things like Constitutional Carry and talking up his support for a ban on modern sporting rifles?

He decided for the makeover, and I’d love to know who he consulted with on how to sound like an authentic supporter for the Second Amendment, because they failed spectacularly. Oz doesn’t believe there should be any policy or law that prevents me from purchasing a gun without “due process and fair adjudication”? Who talks that way about their right to own a gun, or the right to carry one in self-defense?

And the “As a proud gun owner myself” is meaningless without some specificity. I mean, no offense to Dr. Oz, his voter registration history in Pennsylvania is pretty recent. Someone who bought a gun the day before he filed for office is a gun owner just like the person who’s owned one for years. So yeah, I’d like to know a little more about Dr. Oz’s gun ownership, and his views on the Second Amendment.

It’s a good thing I have a show where I talk to other people, isn’t it? Consider this an official invitation for Dr. Oz to join me on Cam & Co (I’ve reached out to his press team as well). Hell yes I’m skeptical of his 2A bona fides, and I’ll cop to my bias up front. But I’m also open minded, and I’m willing to be convinced. And frankly, if he’s gonna win the Republican primary, he’s going to have to convince a whole bunch of 2A voters that he’s not lying to their face about his sudden change of heart.

Heck, I’ll even give him the first question so he can prepare (though I suggest he find someone other than the comically inept consultant who crafted his statement to help him out): Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf just vetoed a Constitutional Carry bill. Do you support Constitutional or permitless carry, and why or why not?

That’ll get us started, and who knows where we’ll go from there. But the invitation is sincere, and I’ll let you know what I hear back.