Nancy Pelosi and gun control zealots join to pass ‘assault weapons’ ban

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Nancy Pelosi assault weapons ban gun control

Nancy Pelosi and gun control zealots join to pass ‘assault weapons’ ban

After initially delaying the House vote on a bill banning so-called “assault weapons,” Nancy Pelosi gave gun control zealots like David Hogg exactly what they wanted when, in a backroom deal in the dead of the night, she rescheduled the vote for this past Friday; it passed 217-213.

The bill passed largely along party lines with Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Chris Jacobs of New York voting in favor of it while Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ron Kind of Wisconsin, Kurt Schrader of Oregon, and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas voted against.

Known as the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2022,” the legislation will make it illegal to import, manufacture, sell, or transfer “a semiautomatic assault weapon,” according to the bill’s summary. If passed by the Senate and signed by Joe Biden, it will also be “unlawful for any person” to sell, gift, or loan “a grandfathered semiautomatic assault weapon to any other person,” with few exceptions.

The anti-gun legislation was touted by anti-gun Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) as necessary because “AR-15-style assault rifles” are “the weapons of choice for murderers responsible for America’s deadly mass shootings,” a claim she reiterated during hearings held before the vote when she called such rifles “the weapon of choice in most mass murders.”

Of course, that’s a lie used to advance the agenda of anti-Second Amendment progressives (via Reason.com):

According to a recent National Institute of Justice report on public mass shootings from 1966 through 2019, 77 percent of the perpetrators used handguns. About a quarter of the perpetrators used weapons that would be covered by legislation like H.R. 1808.

Mass shootings represent a tiny share of all gun homicides—somewhere between 0.2 percent and 2.6 percent of the total in 2020, depending on how mass shootings are defined. Contrary to Maloney’s claim, handguns account for the vast majority of firearms used in mass shootings, and they account for an even larger share of weapons used in all gun homicides: more than 90 percent in cases where the type of firearm was specified, according to the FBI’s 2019 data. Rifles of any sort, only a subset of which would qualify as “assault weapons,” were used in less than 3 percent of those cases.

Prior to the federal “assault weapon” ban that expired in 2004, according to a widely cited study published that year, guns covered by such laws “were used in only a small fraction of gun crimes”—”about 2% according to most studies and no more than 8%.” Most of those were pistols rather than rifles.

It is clear from these data that the rifles Maloney wants to ban, contrary to the impression she is trying to create, are rarely used to commit crimes. Given the popularity of such firearms, it follows that they are overwhelmingly used for lawful purposes. (Emphasis mine)

The obvious lie being perpetrated by Maloney and the anti-gun zealots lobbying Congress for more gun control proves only one thing: Nancy Pelosi’s assault weapons ban is about control, not ending gun violence.

There are those in Republican circles — notice I didn’t say conservative circles — who want us to believe that the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 won’t see the light of day in the Senate even though several spineless Republicans, many of them making big money from the NRA, betrayed the gun rights of every American only a few weeks ago.

The Bipartisan Safe Communities Act — so titled because both parties agree on the goal of destroying the Constitution — was supported by 14 Republicans, including 9 out of the top 11 NRA-funded Republican Senators.

Included in the list of conservative Republicans cowards receiving massive sums of money from the NRA are Mitt Romney (UT), Richard Burr (NC), Roy Blunt (MO), Thom Tillis (NC), Joni Ernst (IA), Rob Portman (OH), Todd C. Young (IN), Bill Cassidy (LA), and Pat Toomey (PA).

“Would you look at that!

“9 out of top 11 highest NRA funded US Senators voted FOR selling out your gun rights to the Democrats.

“In other words, this compromise was brought to you by the @NRA. Care to explain Wayne?”

The NRA has nefarious connections with another pro-gun control Republican, Donald Trump, who supported one of the key items in the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act when he was in the White House: red flag laws. Trump was a big fan of the idea of seizing the guns of law-abiding citizens without due process, even if they have committed no crime, using Extreme Risk Protection Orders (aka red flag laws).

The idea of seizing guns without due process (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments) is the basis of how the Constitution-shredding red flag laws are implemented. Red flag laws allow citizens to anonymously petition a judge for an order giving police authority to seize all firearms from people deemed a threat to themselves or others … by force if necessary. No warrant. No arrest. No charges.

When the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act was passed a few weeks ago, John Cornyn claimed it wouldn’t prevent people from buying a gun, nor would it deny people who have their guns seized under red flag laws their due process rights:

“Unless a person is convicted of a crime or is adjudicated mentally ill, their ability to purchase a firearm will not be impacted by this legislation.

“What we’re trying do is prevent dangerous individuals from unleashing violence on their communities, and one way of achieving that goal is through more robust crisis intervention programs.

“One of the things that we’ve agreed upon is they have to have robust due process protections because we’re talking about a constitutional right. So, if the new law does not include due process protections, it will not be eligible for these grants, no matter what form that crisis intervention program takes.” (Emphasis mine)

Sorry, but this is nothing more than political doublespeak to hide the fact that many people will have their ability to purchase a firearm denied while many more will have their firearms seized by law enforcement without due process and/or in violation of their protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Could a similar betrayal by “conservative” Republicans be on the horizon when debate on the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 begins in the Senate? Let’s put it this way: when Nancy — “If I had my way, sporting guns would be strictly regulated, the rest would be confiscated” — Pelosi made “common sense” gun control one of her top priorities as the new Speaker of the House in 2019, Trump and the Republican Party openly embraced her anti-gun agenda.

Based on their history, I’d say odds of another Republican gun control betrayal are better than they should be.

 

David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.

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