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Biden should get used to disappointment on assault weapons

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

President Joe Biden ran for president in part on a gun control agenda. I can’t remember a Democrat who was so blatant about their desire for gun control while running for the presidency, yet here we are.

And, to his credit, he’s done his best to keep his word. Of course, I use the word “credit” loosely here. For example, he wants an assault weapon ban from the start and he hasn’t stopped pushing it.  Yes, he’s kept his word on that issue, but it’s probably the worst issue in the world to focus on like that.

Yet he’s pushed it just the same.

What’s more, he’s continued to push it.

“Once again I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Biden said in a prepared statement. “Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers…”

Following the shooting, Biden dragged out the traditional gun control wish list. In a tweet, he spoke of a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines,” universal background checks and a safe storage mandate. These are all things he has been wanting for years, long before the mall shooting in Allen.

If Congress were to deliver such legislation, Biden says he would “sign it immediately,” according to Politico.

But Congress does not appear inclined to accommodate the gun control president. While he’s been outspoken on the gun control issue, Biden has also acknowledged he has essentially done all he can, and that the ball is in Congress’ court.

That is, of course, good news for our side of the debate. At this point, we have at least a holding action where little else can or will be done with regard to gun control.

Of course, I can picture the ATF deciding to reclassify some things they previously approved as suddenly forbidden, so we can’t rest easy or anything, but yeah, there’s not much chance of anything big coming down the pipe.

Yet the media will invariably rally behind Biden and his push for a new assault weapon ban. There are issues there, though.

In a story published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in June 2022, it is clearly explained, so that even a reporter can understand, “Nearly two decades ago the Department of Justice funded a study to analyze this very topic, and it concluded that the assault weapon prohibition had ‘mixed’ results.

“Researchers noted there was a decline in crimes committed with firearms classified as assault weapons,” the report acknowledged, “but noted ‘the decline in AW use was offset throughout at least the late 1990s by steady or rising use of other guns.’

“In other words,” the FEE article explained, “there was a decline in crimes committed with firearms that were banned, but the drop was replaced by crimes committed with other types of firearms that were not banned.

A second point author Dave Workman noted that the press tends to omit is that such weapons aren’t commonly used for criminal activity, which we’ve covered here more than once.

In other words, Biden is barking up the wrong tree, but it doesn’t matter. Even if he were focused on handguns–which do, in fact, account for most guns used in criminal activity–he still wouldn’t get anywhere because the House isn’t overly interested in gun control right now.

Yet that also means it’s up to the grassroots activists to make sure that there is no new assault weapon ban, no attempts at a handgun ban, or any other kind of restriction on our Second Amendment rights.

The truth is that those most dedicated to preserving the Second Amendment are also dedicated to preserving so-called assault weapons for future generations. These are the tools we will need if we’re ever forced to defend this nation from tyranny–either from a foreign invader or our own government turned against the people. We’re not letting them go anywhere without a hard-fought battle.

President Biden should get used to that fact.

He should also get used to disappointment if he’s going to keep pushing down this particular road.

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