I'll confess up front that I'm not spending a minute of my evenings watching the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. Even if I did want to subject myself to the torture of the Democrats' dog-and-pony show, I'm too busy dealing with domestic issues to plop myself on the couch and watch a stream of politicians and public figures tout Kamala Harris as the greatest thing since sliced bread. 

I will, however, be interested in the highlights of two of the speeches slated for Tuesday night. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are both scheduled to take the stage in Chicago this evening, and I'm curious to see if either one of them plays up their gun control edicts that are the subject of legal challenges in federal court. 

Tuesday's theme at the DNC is "A Bold Vision for America’s Future." For Lujan Grisham, that vision includes stripping New Mexico residents of their right to bear arms in self-defense through an "emergency" order declaring gun violence a public health epidemic. It was almost a year ago that New Mexico's governor tried to ban lawful concealed carry in the city of Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County through an executive branch edict. A federal judge quickly suspended her order, noting that it would likely cause irreparable harm to residents, but the governor revised her order to bar lawful carry at parks and playgrounds in the city and county instead. 

Lujan Grisham has repeatedly renewed her "emergency" order over the past year, while the lawsuits filed against her carry ban are scheduled for oral arguments in late September. An injunction has limited her carry ban even further, so at the moment it only applies to playgrounds in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, but if the governor had her way she would have declared it illegal for anyone other than police to legally carry a firearm for self-defense in the state's most populous city and county. That is indeed a bold vision for America's future, and one that is completely out of line with the U.S. Constitution. 

Pritzker, meanwhile, is the champion of the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which (among other things) banned the sale of so-called assault weapons and large capacity magazines, while requiring existing owners to register them with the Illinois State Police. The new law hasn't made a noticeable dent in homicides or violent crime in cities like Chicago, and many sheriffs and state's attorneys in downstate counties say they have no plans of enforcing the bans or registration requirements. The gun and magazine ban has been widely praised by anti-gun activists, however, like Brady president Kris Brown, who declared that the state's ban a "critical step" towards a nationwide prohibition and vowed to continue the group's efforts until "the sale of assault weapons is banned everywhere in the U.S." when Pritzker signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act into law. 

The gun and magazine ban is heading to trial in southern Illinois in September after a panel on the Seventh Circuit refused to halt enforcement of the law, declaring that AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles fall outside of the Second Amendment's protections because they're "like" machine guns. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, could accept an "assault weapons ban" case of its own when justices return to D.C. in the fall. The Bianchi case challenging Maryland's ban on so-called assault weapons has been fully decided by the lower courts, with the Fourth Circuit upholding the ban earlier this month.

I expect that Pritzker will bring up his gun and magazine ban when he addresses the DNC tonight, but I'm very curious to see if Lujan Grisham touts her own anti-gun actions from the stage. Not curious enough to watch in real-time, but the very fact that she's been given space in prime time is a signal that anti-2A extremism isn't seen as a negative at the DNC, regardless of whether she publicly pats herself on the back for trying to single-handedly strip hundreds of thousands of New Mexico residents from bearing arms in self-defense. 

Whether it's banning commonly owned rifles, pistols, and shotguns or attempting to eradicate the right to carry with the stroke of a pen, assaulting the Second Amendment is a good way for politicians like Pritzker and Lujan Grisham to boost their standing among their fellow Democrats. It's up to us to highlight the real harms that have resulted from these attacks on a fundamental civil right, and you can help Bearing Arms in our mission by becoming a VIP or VIP Gold member. Act now and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership! You'll get exclusive content and other benefits, and you'll also help combat the big plans and bold vision of the future that Democrats and their allies in the gun control lobby have in store for our right to keep and bear arms.