Could Pro-Gun Alaska See Texas-Like Deluge of Gun Control Bills?

Alaska is one of the most pro-gun states in the country. We don't talk a lot about it because, well, it's Alaska. Of course they're pro-gun. Considering the rural nature of the state, the wildlife that shows up just about everywhere, like bears, and the fact that outdoor sports are such a big part of the state's identity, it's just natural it's pro-gun.

Plus, let's be real, this is a state where their state capitol isn't even a midsize city anywhere else. It's got roughly half the population of my town, and my neck of the woods isn't particularly large by Georgia standards these days.

But with the outcome of elections, some are wondering if the deluge of anti-gun bills that just poured out of Texas might be coming to Alaska.

For Alaska gun owners, however, the Texas filings raise a question about what could follow November’s elections in Juneau.

Alaska’s election, due to ranked-choice voting’s drawn-out schedule, remains unfinished. Outstanding ballots and ranked-choice tabulations could still affect legislative races. But preliminary results clearly point toward an expanded Democratic and fake independent presence in the House and continued Democrat-dominated control of the Senate. Both chambers were already governed by coalitions that included Republicans, Democrats and the fake independents; the emerging shift would strengthen the left side of that existing arrangement.

Incoming Senate President Cathy Giessel is Republican but has explicitly supported gun control, including:

• Red flag laws: Restrictions on firearm purchase/ownership for people with mental health illness, allowing temporary removal when grounds exist (she referenced a prior bill, HB 75, that should be reconsidered).
• Universal background checks, which she called “a basic requirement.”
• Regulation of “ghost guns.”
• Restricting purchase of AR-15s or military-style rifles to people aged 25 and above (with an exception for 18-year-olds in military service).

The advocacy network is already present. Everytown’s event listings identify a Juneau local Moms Demand Action group within its Alaska chapter, including a meeting organized to write postcards supporting candidates the organization favors. Moms Demand Action is part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network.

Its Alaska affiliates have previously pushed for the same general legislation now appearing in Texas.

While there still isn't an official winner in the Alaska gubernatorial race, a Democrat holds a sizable lead. I'm not sure if the numbers I've seen take rank choice voting into account, but if it has, then it seems like the once super-red state of Alaska is about to become blue, and not just because winter is fast approaching.

Like most Democrats, though, guns weren't a major issue brought up during the campaign. Most of the rhetoric was about affordability, which is especially important for Alaska since they have to deal with the Jones Act for shipping. That drives up the costs of shipping goods from elsewhere in the United States, thus driving up the costs for people in states like Alaska and Hawaii, as well as US territories like the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Now, let's understand that Alaska has a high violent crime rate, especially compared to the rest of the United States. However, most of those violent crimes don't involve guns.

Gun control, even if it worked, wouldn't do a thing to address the actual problem of crime in the state.

But anti-gunners don't actually care about crime. They care about guns. They want to see them restricted not because of crime, though they'll use that as an argument when convenient, but because they don't trust you to bend the knee when demanded.

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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