Following the mass murder and wounding of nearly 100 people in Orlando by an Islamic extremist–a word officially stricken from the White House talking points–I wrote about how liberals immediately jumped on the bandwagon calling for the denial of Second Amendment rights for law-abiding Americans. They’ve tried this before, but little did I know how fervent they would be this time around.
In no particular order, here’s what has transpired over the past 48 hours.
Several Democrats walked out of the House of Representatives during a moment of silence honoring the victims of the Orlando shooting to protest the lack of “meaningful gun reform.” This was followed by the entire membership of the Democrat party shouting down House Speaker Paul Ryan as they demanded new gun control laws.
https://youtu.be/ir819xSBJRc
David Cohen, a constitutional law professor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law, wrote in an opinion piece for Rolling Stone that America should abandon the effort to control guns, and just flat-out repeal the Second Amendment because it is “outdated (and) a threat to liberty.”
Donald Trump, in another of his numerous flip-flops, joined Chuck Schumer, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in calling for new gun laws that would block suspected terrorists from acquiring guns using an unreliable and completely subjective “watch-list,” which would be modeled after the flawed “no-fly” list used by the TSA.
I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2016
And Mitch McConnell, who promised to protect the Second Amendment back in 2014 when he was groveling for votes in order to keep his job, has announced that he is open to “serious suggestions on gun control.” He will meet with members of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
McConnell’s meeting with Johnson is particularly troubling after the DHS secretary announced yesterday that gun control issues would now become an administration responsibility operating under the auspices of Homeland Security. In other words, the administration has determined that the executive branch will be the sole authority on whether so-called “watch list” individuals will be granted their constitutional right to own a gun.
It’s important to remember that those on the watch list are denied their Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process simply on the say-so of the government. And Obama has already used this watch list approach to deny gun rights to seniors and veterans, again without due process. It’s also important to remember that not a single suggestion contained in this article would have prevented Orlando.
John Adams once said, “But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
I hope we aren’t there yet, but right now, it’s not looking too good.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
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