“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the people’s right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The text of the Second Amendment is remarkable straight forward, though people still get tripped up over that opening bit. The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. It doesn’t get much plainer than that. Despite that, though, we still routinely find states doing everything they can to keep people from buying a gun.

Over at the Washington Free Beacon, we find that a couple of folks have run smack dab into the latest effort, one that’s working surprisingly well for the anti-gun states.

Marine Corps reservist Ben Nordstrom looked to purchase a rifle to defend his new home after moving to California in May. The coronavirus shutdowns of some gun stores in the state proved a minor inconvenience at first, but while stores have reopened, Nordstrom is still without his firearm. State law mandates that weapons can only be legally sold to people with valid California photo IDs. The Marine cannot get one because of coronavirus restrictions in the state. In addition, thanks to a rare restriction on ammunition purchases, California also requires state ID and a background check to purchase ammunition, which means he can’t buy ammo for the gun he already owns.  

…

Jose Pagliery, an investigative journalist who recently moved from New York to New Jersey, said his attempts to buy a gun for home defense have also been thwarted by the continued shutdown of the state’s process for issuing drivers licenses. While gun stores in the state reopened at the end of March, Pagliery said New Jersey will not allow him to buy a gun without a valid photo ID issued by the state. And since he’s still unable to attain one after more than a month of trying, he is effectively barred from buying guns in the state despite his clean record.

“This is a de facto ban on new residents legally acquiring firearms,” Pagliery told the Free Beacon. “Now my concern is that they’ll push it back until it’s clear that COVID isn’t going away, then they’ll push it back indefinitely.”

His repeated attempts to obtain a New Jersey license or provide alternative forms of ID have failed. When the state’s motor vehicle commission announced it would reopen on June 29, Pagliery planned to show up at dawn. Then state officials pushed reopening to July 7.

“It bothers me that a person who is hell-bent on doing this the right way has no option. Especially when the whole point of these kinds of laws is to, reportedly, create a safer atmosphere and environment for the general public,” he said. “When I was in Florida, there was no problem with me getting a firearm and now I’m going to say it was supposed to be safer and I definitely feel less safe.”

The problem for Pagliery is that New Jersey really doesn’t care about him doing things the right way. They don’t want him doing them at all, really. That’s been clear for anyone who has watched New Jersey and the comments from state officials about guns and gun rights over the years.

The same is true in California.

Both of these states have created an effective way to keep new residents from being able to purchase firearms, one which may push reopening dates back even further if they can figure out how to justify it.

But hey, if it helps public safety, it’s all good, right?

Except, it’s not about that. As Townhall‘s Matt Vespa writes:

I’m preaching to the choir here, but you loyal Townhall readers have known for years that gun control was never about enhancing public safety. If that were their aim, Democrats would come to the table to hash out better mental health initiatives and treatment. Most past mass shooters have exhibited signs of mental illness, but Democrats would rather rush to universal background checks, red flag laws, so-called assault weapon bans, and magazine limits. The first being a priority since it establishes the framework for a national registry needed for confiscation. Now, they’re more open about their hatred for the Bill of Rights and gun owners, so there’s no need to sell their explicitly anti-American agenda on this issue. They want to shred the Second Amendment. At any rate, while most of the country has decent gun laws, states that vote Republican, the blue state madness continues—and it’s left law-abiding citizens defenseless from this lefty mob’s latest campaign of destruction.

Could agree with Matt more.