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How the Biden Campaign's Boasts About Trump Losing Gun Rights Could Backfire

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

So far anyway, Donald Trump's conviction in New York hasn't made an impact in polling. Trump continues to hold a narrow lead in national polls, and state-level surveys conducted since Trump's conviction shows the former president is still leading in swing states like Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina. The post-conviction polls show Biden in trouble even in purple states like Virginia, where recent polls show Trump and Biden deadlocked. 

Team Biden appears to be panicking over the fact that the incumbent hasn't received a boost in the polls after Trump's conviction. They've increasingly brought up Trump's status as a convicted felon in recent days, and now the campaign is taking a victory lap over the news that the NYPD Licensing Bureau is preparing to revoke his carry permit. Mediaite reports that the Biden campaign circulated a memo to the press this week highlighting Trump's new status as a prohibited person. From the memo:

Convicted Felon Donald Trump Expected to Lose Gun License

Donald Trump is a convicted felon who may soon lose his right to carry a gun.

Good. Most Americans would prefer living in a country where an unhinged felon who has also been found liable for sexual abuse cannot own a firearm.

Yesterday, Biden-Harris 2024 Spokesperson James Singer released the following statement on Donald Trump losing his gun license:

“When Trump tells the NRA he won’t do a damn thing to prevent convicted felons, domestic abusers, and other dangerous people from getting their hands on guns, he’s talking about himself. The problem for Donald Trump is that Joe Biden is president and he is not — so just like he told the victims of gun violence– he should ‘get over it.’”

The more Biden and his campaign lackeys want to make an issue of the fact that Trump can't legally own a gun because he was convicted of non-violent paperwork crimes, the more he's going to energize those gun owners and Second Amendment supporters who find flaws with both of the candidates. He's also not going to do himself any favors with those voters who've run into trouble with the law themselves; especially those who've had their right to vote restored but are still unable to exercise their Second Amendment rights. 

I had a conversation with a gentleman in that exact predicament a couple of months ago when the roof in my old farmhouse sprung a leak. When the contractor I hired to repair the leak found out what I do for a living, he revealed to me that he couldn't possess a firearm because of a conviction several decades ago. His right to vote has been restored, but as he told me, he still isn't allowed to go hunting with his kids.. at least not during deer gun season. We spoke about some potential workarounds, including using muzzleloaders or bows, and I passed along the name of an attorney in the area who works on rights restoration cases, but as of the last time we spoke he's still unable to exercise his Second Amendment rights. 

When the Biden campaign wants to reach out to voters like my new acquaintance, it uses language like this:

America is a nation of second chances. Our nation must provide people who have been incarcerated meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation. America was founded on fresh starts, new possibilities, and the belief that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Yet, for people returning home to their communities from jail or prison, obstacles often stand in the way of turning this promise into a reality.

When the Biden campaign wants to highlight the partisan attacks on Trump, on the other hand, that dignity and respect goes out the window. Instead of redemption and rehabilitation, everyone convicted of a felony is a "dangerous person" who should forevermore be deprived of their Second Amendment rights.

I guess that means Joe Biden will consider Hunter a dangerous person if he's convicted of lying about his drug use when he bought a revolver in 2018. Well, at least until the day after Election Day. After that, I'm pretty sure Biden's going to decide his son is deserving of a second chance and a presidential pardon. 

No matter how desperate Biden's campaign team is to reverse his slumping poll numbers, I think it's a mistake to tout Trump's new status as a prohibited person; not only because of Hunter Biden's own legal troubles, but because there are an awful lot of voters out there who think it's ridiculous that those convicted of non-violent felonies or crimes punishable by more than a year behind bars face a nearly impossible task in restoring their Second Amendment rights. Biden's glee and eagerness to paint every felon as a dangerous person flies in the face of his talk of redemption and second chances, and it reveals an ugly truth that is more likely to repel voters than attract him to his failing campaign.  

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