Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi isn’t a fan of guns.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Breaking news and all that. She, like most Democrats in Congress, have been on the gun control bandwagon for a while now. The lack of movement during her previous stint as Speaker wasn’t because she liked guns, but because she knew it was political suicide. Now, though, Democrats are emboldened and ready to push through efforts to infringe on the Second Amendment.
Now, Pelosi is ready to deal and it looks like Republicans are willing to give Democrats at least some of what they want on guns.
Democrats are feeling pretty full of themselves. So full, in fact, that they’re making demands.
Lawmakers hope to gain support for a Senate vote on House Resolution 8, or HR 8, a bipartisan bill that would require background checks for private gun sales — including those from gun shows and made over the internet — and would close loopholes for certain kinds of gun sales. The push comes in the wake of recent shootings in Texas and Dayton.
The Democratic-controlled House passed H.R. 8 in February in a 240-190 vote, with eight Republicans and all but two Democrats supporting it. It’s been stalled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ever since.
“I’ve talked to Leader Schumer, I’ve talked to Leader McConnell about getting something done,” Pelosi said Monday. “There is not anyone in this institution or in this walk of life whose political survival is more important than the survival of those in our communities.”
“Background checks are the base from which we must do anything,” Schumer said on Monday. “Two people in Washington can decide if the background check bill passes: Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. It is totally up to them and is on their shoulders. They can’t escape that responsibility.”
In other words, without universal background checks being passed and signed into law, absolutely nothing else is going to be done.
Nevermind that there’s no evidence universal background checks actually stop mass shootings. Nevermind that almost every single mass shooter passed a background check when they purchased their guns, including a couple who shouldn’t have been able to do any such thing. None of that matters.
Why? Because it’s simply what Democrats want passed.
They’re incensed at the idea that people can buy and sell guns without government permission. They can’t handle the idea that I may pass a firearm down to my son or daughter without them having their say-so.
After all, it’s not like this will actually impact crime. Criminals don’t get their guns through legal means. We know this. We’ve known it for a long time. Anyone with half a brain knows this.
Black market gun dealers aren’t going to be looking at a Chicago-area gangbanger and saying, “I’ll be happy to sell you this stolen Glock, but first, you need to pass this criminal background check and fill out this Form 4473. We don’t want to break the law or anything.”
Honestly, that’s what’s so damn insulting about universal background checks. It does nothing to the actual criminals, it just makes law-abiding citizens feel like the government views them as criminals.
Perhaps the worst part of this? I have a bad feeling that we’re going to get saddled with just this kind of stupid, do-nothing law that won’t stop crime but will make life more difficult for people like you and me.
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