Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times via AP

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper wants to be the Democratic nominee for president. In this day and age, that means he has to offer up a gun control plan if he wants to even be considered. It won’t guarantee he will, mind you, but not having one will guarantee no one pays him any attention in the primaries.

Yesterday, he offered up his anti-gun agenda.

Former Colorado Governor and Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper unveiled his plan today to address gun violence in the US.

The proposal includes raising the age to purchase all firearms to 21 years of age, universal background checks, a standard for gun licensing, limits on magazine capacities, and banning “weapons of war”.

Not mentioned are things such as a national safe storage law, a ban on 3D-printed firearms, and a repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act among other tidbits.

The plan includes a lengthy list of thoughts, some of which aren’t completely stupid if done correctly, for example, “invest in community-based efforts to reduce gun violence by partnering with local and national groups,” while others outlined above are.

It’s a comprehensive plan that breaks relatively little new ground except in that it’s all-encompassing. It hits the low-points of everyone else’s plans and then a bit more all under a single umbrella.

What’s sad is that in this day and age, this plan doesn’t get Hickenlooper labeled as a complete and total loon. Instead, this is what passes for mainstream discourse in the Democratic Party. There’s little chance of anyone within the party calling these ideas out as extreme or an infringement on our liberties.

Because to them, it’s not.

While I try to remember that there are some pro-gun Democrats out there, people who genuinely believe in the Second Amendment while also supporting the Democratic Party as a whole, it’s important to remember that these folks seem to represent a distinct minority within the party. No one is willing to try and court their votes because doing so would alienate the vast majority of the Democratic base, thus making it political suicide.

This is the world we live in now, unfortunately.

More troubling is that Democrats are convinced that this issue is a political winner. They’re sure they can campaign on this issue and win in November, potentially taking not just the Senate but the White House as well, all while holding onto the House. As we can see, they aren’t hiding gun control, which means they’re either much dumber than I think they are or they’re sure the American people will side with these policies.

Frankly, that’s outright terrifying.

People like Hickenlooper, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and the rest of the bunch are trying to one-up each other on their anti-gun credentials, but I’m not willing to bet that they’re ignoring the portion of the electorate who won’t vote in Democratic primaries. No, I think they honestly believe those people will side with this nonsense. It’s terrifying because I can’t be sure they’re wrong.

Hickenlooper has had time to look at the reactions to Booker’s licensing proposal and to see how Eric “Nuke ’em All” Swalwell’s “assault weapon” ban rhetoric has served him. He’s had the opportunity to gauge how well those ideas will play in the primary versus how well they’ll do in the general election. There’s a reason he’s trotting this out.

Luckily, it’s a long time before November 2020. We have a good long time to show all of them the error of their ways.