John Adams’ observation that “Liberty, once lost, is lost forever” has mostly held true in human history, but not so for the Second Amendment, which, having been ignored, redefined and abused by the political class, has recently been resurrected by the people, thanks in no small part to their association with the NRA.
In the late 1970s, the idea that the U.S. Supreme Court would affirm the plain meaning of the Second Amendment was almost unthinkable, as was the resurgence of concealed carry and the repeal of illegal and counterproductive measures such as registries, waiting limits, one-gun-per-month rules and bans on commonly owned firearms. We have come a long, long way in a short period of time.
But it could all go away in an instant.
The Joe Biden/Kamala Harris agenda calls for the resuscitation of every single one of the measures that have been dismantled during the last 30 years—and more. If elected—and especially if gifted a pliant Democrat Congress—Biden and Harris would set about returning Americans to 1975. And this time they’re playing for keeps.
The progress that has been made in the courts would be reversed. Biden’s record in the U.S. Senate shows that he opposes judges who interpret the U.S. Constitution as it is written in favor of judges who read their personal preferences into the text. Kamala Harris’ record in the U.S. Senate reveals identical instincts, and her record as attorney general of California confirms her to be a radical on the question. Not only did Harris side with the government in D.C. v. Heller (2008), she even joined an amicus brief that argued that a total ban on handguns was constitutionally permissible and that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right. If Biden and Harris get their way, such fringe notions will become America’s highest law.
Having neutered the courts, Biden and Harris would be free to pursue the remainder of their agenda. Commonly owned firearms and magazines would first be redefined as “assault weapons” and “high-capacity” devices, and then banned. Biden’s platform calls for the registration or confiscation of any gun he deems an “assault weapon,” and both he and Harris have publicly endorsed confiscation of the AR-15, the most-popular rifle in America. Notably, Biden has promised to appoint Beto “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15” O’Rourke to “take care of the gun problem” for him. It is no great secret what that would involve.
Ultimately, under a Biden-Harris administration, all guns would be at risk, thanks to Joe Biden’s ignorant fascination with ensuring that “100 percent of firearms sold in America” use a “smart-gun” technology that does not, in fact, exist. Biden has said over and over that “we have the capacity now in a James Bond-style to make sure no one can pull a trigger unless their DNA and fingerprint is on it,” and he has promised to “transition” the firearms industry to this fantasy.
And then there’s the suffocating bureaucracy that Biden and Harris seek to impose. Under their rules, private transfers would be so heavily regulated that merely lending a friend a hunting rifle would be legally perilous. Gun purchases would be limited to one per month, with no exceptions. The online sale of ammunition would be prohibited. States would be encouraged (bullied) into requiring permission slips for every aspect of firearm ownership. As for concealed carry, Biden thinks it is “irrational.” That all of these measures were tried before, and that they failed—indeed, that they coincided with historical spikes in crime—does not seem to matter.
Time and time again, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have told us who they are. We should believe them—and vote accordingly.
