I've still not come to terms with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I'm still angry on a visceral level, and I'm not remotely interested in playing nice anymore. Cam urges calm, and I'm trying to remain so, because intellectually, I think he's right.
However, I'm particularly infuriated by how many Democrats are pushing gun control in the wake of the killing of a gun control opponent.
In the aftermath of the shooting, some demented people started posting out-of-context quotes from Kirk saying that the "cost" of the Second Amendment was worth it. In context, he makes a valid argument, and it's one I urge you to seek out if you're not familiar with it. However, the one thing they got right with these quotes is that Charlie Kirk supported the Second Amendment.
Over at the NSSF, Larry Keane points out how anti-gun lawmakers are suggesting we need gun control in the wake of Kirk's assassination.
Following the heinous political assassination of Charlie Kirk, Founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, during a peaceful open public event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, several politicians have hinted at their renewed commitment to passing new gun control laws.
The calls for more restrictions on law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights by gun control activists in the aftermath of a tragedy aren’t surprising or new. After all, it was Rahm Emanuel – the former U.S. Representative and Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama – who said in 2008, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” in order to ram through new laws.
Kirk was a man who challenged ideological thoughts with commonsense, hard facts and reality by inviting open debate with citizens of every walk of life, regardless of political affiliation or socioeconomic status – especially those who were diametrically opposed to his own beliefs. His assassin texted his roommate, with whom he was romantically involved, that he “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred” and murdered him for his beliefs.
Kirk was also a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and Americans’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
Federal Calls For More
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has spoken out against everything related to firearms from the use of traditional lead hunting ammunition to supporting a ban on Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs), took to the Capitol steps on Wednesday after news broke of Kirk’s death.
“Every single day, there are people in this building that continue to vote against doing anything,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez told reporters, referring to the Capitol building and Republicans in Congress. “They vote against universal background checks. They continue to support legislation and also remove any way to block the mentally ill, to block extremists, to block people with histories and records of domestic violence from getting guns in their hands. So, are we going to do something about this or not?”
“It’s not about taking away people’s right to a firearm. This is about ensuring that we have responsible gun laws in the United States of America, and anything else is a deflection,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez concluded.
Obviously, AOC is far from alone in this sentiment. We've seen a lot of people use this to both dunk on a dead man and to push for the policies they've wanted all along, though only in a vague way.
As Keane points out, the rifle used wasn't one that would have been covered by any of the proposed gun laws anti-gunners continue to agitate for.
But I'm about to get partisan for just a moment. I try to avoid it here because I'll make common cause on gun rights with just about anyone who will support and defend our right to keep and bear arms, regardless of the party, and there are some pro-gun Democrats running around. I've chatted with more than a couple through the years.
Right now, though, I'm stepping away from that for a moment, because I can't just pretend all else is equal here.
I find it absolutely disgusting that people who share the ideology that led to a man killing Charlie Kirk are not just ignoring their role in the murder, such as demonizing Kirk for his views, but are now trying to leverage his murder to push for policies that Kirk loudly and vocally opposed. They killed him, and now they want to use his body as a soapbox to push an anti-gun agenda?
No.
Not just no, but hell no.
I'm not about to forfeit my rights at the moment when it seems I may need them the most. I'm not giving up my guns--any of them, mind you--just to make it easier for some whacked-out leftist to kill me and leave my family without me. I'm not about to make myself more vulnerable to the kind of monsters that killed Charlie Kirk and likely want more of us dead.
I've been called everything but a decent human being in my time as a writer. I've had my opinions on everything dismissed simply because I'm pro-gun and told that I don't deserve to breathe. I've seen people wish for my wife and children to be gunned down in a mass shooting just because I don't want gun control.
I'm not about to just step aside and empower those people to make any of that, or worse, happen.
They can push for whatever they want.
I'm going to push back with every fiber of my being to oppose it.
I have to believe that's what Charlie would want.
