In the course of my day, I read a lot of letters to the editor. A proverbial ton of the. Many are pro-gun, many are anti-gun, but most simply restate things we’ve seen a thousand times in a thousand different places. While the editorial page of the local newspaper used to be the place to engage in political debate, the modern era has rendered it to a spot where new facts or ideas are rarely introduced.

However, the reason I still read them is that you sometimes find a letter that voices an opinion that you’ve heard before but never in a place where you could readily address it. I mean, if I wrote a post addressing an odd opinion without being able to link to someone actually saying that, I run the risk of being accused of presenting a strawman argument.

I wouldn’t want that.

So, that’s what brought me to this one. It seems the letter writer would like all of us pro-gun people to have some faith in the democratic process.

The last time we heard this hysterical rhetoric was after the elections of 2008 and 2012, only then it was Obama and his cohorts taking the guns away. That hyperventilation amounted to a windfall for the NRA in donations and for sporting goods stores in gun and ammo sales. But: no guns were taken from lawful gun-owners under the Obama administration, and none will be taken away by Biden. Indeed, when a heckler made a similar accusation last March, then-candidate Biden shot back with characteristic bluntness, ‘You’re full of s**t.’

…

It has often been said that you can’t reason a man out of a position he didn’t reason himself into. The extreme right media exploits the fears and prejudices of many anxious citizens. Mr. Sather may genuinely believe that his Second Amendment rights are in danger. I would urge him to read more broadly (not just Breitbart and Fox News). I would further urge him to trust our laws and institutions. The Second Amendment, for good or ill, is enshrined in the Constitution. Amending the Constitution is possible, but exceedingly difficult.

What the letter writer fails to realize is that people didn’t have to “reason” themselves into a position because Joe Biden’s intentions are very well documented. Some things are so obvious, they don’t require much effort to see them clearly.

First, let’s remember Biden’s vow to have Beto O’Rourke spearhead his anti-gun efforts. O’Rouke famously vowed to come after our guns during one of the televised debates. “Hell yeah,” he said, “we’re going to take your AR-15s and your AK-47s.” It’s not unreasonable to assume Biden shares that opinion.

Especially when Biden’s own assault weapon ban proposal would require millions of Americans to either turn their guns in or risk becoming criminals.

Oh, sure, you can keep your gun if you pay the $200 tax, but that tax extends to any magazine that holds more than 10 rounds. For many of us, just keeping our property would cost thousands of dollars that we simply don’t have.

So yeah, Biden’s proposal will result in taking our guns away. You can rationalize otherwise all you want, but it doesn’t change the reality.

Further, bringing up the lack of gun control during the Obama administration really doesn’t contribute anything to the discussion. After all, Obama wanted to enact gun control. We just didn’t let him. Even during the first two years of his presidency when he had Congress on his side, there was no political will to enact gun control because Democrats knew it would mean an end to their majorities.

Now, things are different. Democrats no longer care what rural voters think. They will pass gun control if they get half the chance, and much of that includes taking guns from people who have done nothing wrong. From the assault weapon ban to red flag laws, they involve disarming people who haven’t been convicted of any wrongdoing.

Oh, but all that should be ignored because Biden told some guy in an auto plant he was full of s**t.

No, the only one full of it in that discussion was Joe Biden.

Politicians lie, and gun rights advocates know that better than most. We’re not interested in trusting the institutions or democracy or anything else when it comes to our rights. Instead, we dig in and fight because that’s the only way we don’t end up defenseless against tyranny. The institutions have let us down far too many times for us to fall for that one again.