Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe wants his old job back. Like the current governor, McAuliffe thinks the way to do that is, in part, to campaign in favor of gun control.
As a Democrat in this day and age, that’s not really surprising. That almost seems to be a given in that party these days.
However, that doesn’t excuse him for making stupid comments, which he did when he said that voting should be easier than buying a gun. For that, he got blasted.
McAuliffe is seeking his second term as Virginia governor after serving from 2014-2018, as state law prevents governors from serving consecutive terms. He won the Democratic primary in June with over 60% of the vote.
McAuliffe is a gun control advocate whose platform calls for a “ban” on “the sale of assault weapons,” and getting “high-capacity magazines, and ‘ghost guns’ off our streets.”
The tweet was slammed by users, with many pointing to the prevalence of mail-in ballots and strictness of gun control measures as evidence that voting is easier than obtaining firearms.
Good news: it *is* easier to vote than buy a gun.
Now, if you want to talk crazy, let’s discuss your idea for a gun and magazine ban. https://t.co/BbzLjuhMkr
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) July 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/Gabby_Hoffman/status/1412443663259557896
That first tweeter looks kind of familiar.
Anyway, Cam’s right. It is easier to vote than to buy a gun. I can have a ballot sent to me so I can vote from home. If I opt to go to the polls, I flash an ID–something I have to also show when buying a gun–sign something saying I’m me, then vote. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
I don’t have to undergo a criminal background check every time I buy a gun. I don’t have to fill out a form asking if I’m insane, a criminal, on drugs, or a number of other things that are downright insulting. I damn sure can’t have a gun sent to my home unless I have specific licenses.
Yet honestly, McAuliffe made this statement because he knows most people will think he’s right. They’ll assume it is easier to buy a gun than vote. That’s because they have never done both.
Anyone who has can tell you how much easier it is to vote. Casting a ballot is simple, even in the toughest of states. Guns, however, are a different matter entirely.
What McAuliffe is counting on with this is ignorance. Cam and Gabby called him on the idiocy because they know better. Especially as it pertains to Virginia since both live there. Yet how many Virginians don’t know this?
This is Twitter campaigning in a nutshell. You make an idiotic statement and it takes a whole lot more than 280 characters to debunk it. Anyone can say anything and it’s hard to debunk it within the limitations of the platform. Which moves the discussion to sites like this where we have to tear it apart.
The problem with that? The average Virginia voter isn’t going to look at Bearing Arms to see if McAuliffe is talking out of his posterior or not. They’ll see that and just accept it as fact.
But let’s also be clear, McAuliffe didn’t invent this line of “reasoning.” It’s been popular with the left for a while now. They want to make it so anyone can vote everywhere and as often as they want–not requiring ID means someone can vote as other people in addition to themselves–while also making it impossible to buy guns. For them, it’s a win/win.
For the American people, though, it’s a disaster. While people should have the freedom to vote if they’re eligible, they should also have the right to keep and bear arms. These are inherent in our system, with the Second Amendment protecting the latter right.
It’s going to take a lot more than McAuliffe’s tweeting to change that. Thankfully.
