By this time next year, the Supreme Court will likely have declared bans on so-called assault weapons unconstitutional. We know that the gun control lobby isn't going to fold up its tent and disband as a result, but since the 1960s the gun control movement has been predicated on the idea of banning firearms. What happens when the SCOTUS takes that strategy off the table?
For one thing, expect groups like Everytown and Giffords to push for court-packing the next time Democrats are in a position to shape the Supreme Court. If SCOTUS says bans on commonly owned firearms are a non-starter, then the primary objective of the gun control lobby will be overturning Heller and the upcoming decision in Viramontes, along with Bruen and Wolford.
That's the nuclear option for the anti-gunners, and I have no doubt they'll press the button if they ever get the opportunity. But in our current legal landscape, what weapons do they have to deploy against our Second Amendment rights?
We're already seeing more limited attempts to ban firearms, like the bans on Glocks and other striker-fired pistols enacted in states like California and New York. We can expect those efforts to continue until SCOTUS shuts them down, and the lawsuits challenging these bans are probably still a couple of years away from reaching the Supreme Court's doorstep.
What's unfolding in Goleta, California may provide another example of where the anti-gunners will focus their energies. Cities and states may not be able to ban gun stores entirely, but they can put up all kinds of impediments towards acquiring firearms. They can banish gun stores to small swathes of land on the outskirts of town or in industrial areas that aren't exactly warm and inviting places. They can do what New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed to do and implement state laws that negate the reforms that are being put in place by the ATF.
They can also put new burdens on those who want to acquire a firearm. Colorado's "permit-to-purchase" AR-15s and other centerfire semiautomatic long guns is one model for the anti-gunners, but we'll probably see a broader push to impose permits on the purchase of all firearms. Those permits will involve training classes, application fees, fingerprinting, and other onerous requirements that will make it a more time-consuming and expensive proposition to exercise your Second Amendment rights.
While they'll mandate firearms training, they'll also go after gun ranges whenever possible. Lawsuits will target existing ranges over claims of lead contamination and unsafe shooting, while new ranges will continue to face hostility over concerns about noise, even in rural areas. By requiring training to simply possess a gun in the home while shrinking the number of places where people can obtain that training, the gun control lobby can artificially depress the number of new gun owners.
When it comes to new ranges, the gun control lobby can even step back and let locals take the lead. We're watching that play out in Goochland County, Virginia, where a proposed range located on 85 acres is running into stiff opposition.
The Goochland County Planning Commission voted 3-1 just before 3 a.m. Friday to recommend denying a proposal for a new gun range off Walton Road.
The recommendation came after nearly six hours of public comment and more than an hour of discussion among commissioners.
Residents raised concerns about several aspects of the proposed 85-acre facility, including potential noise, impacts on nearby property values and environmental concerns related to ammunition.
The proposed facility would include shooting programs geared toward youth. The proposal does not include handgun or rifle shooting, according to the developer.
The Virginia Sports Park and Training Center wants to open up a sporting clays and archery facility, with an emphasis on youth shooting sports. Even though Goochland County is a pretty rural area where the sound of gun shots on private property is hardly unusual, the "not in my backyard" crowd may very well end up shooting down the proposed range.
“The idea of having to spend time out there listening to gun fire nonstop everyday, 365 days a year for 12 hours a day, it’s unimaginable that anyone could stand that,” said Daniel Dalton.
I wish sporting clays were that popular, but it's asinine to assume that the sporting clays course is going to be in use as often as Dalton claims it will be.
If this is the attitude of rural residents in a Virginia county that's reliably red on Election Day, imagine how difficult it is to find a spot to open up a range in a more populated area or in a deep blue county.
. We're poised to win another major Second Amendment victory in the Court's next term, but we can't get complacent or delude ourselves into thinking that this is the last big fight we'll face. The gun control lobby is already gaming out their next steps, and the legal and legislative fights will continue even if SCOTUS rules that "assault weapon" bans are unconstitutional... as will the anti-gunners' attempt to eradicate a culture of lawful gun ownership.
