If ever there were a year to keep quiet about gun control, one might think it would be 2020. The COVID-19 scare and violent mobs roaming in the streets of U.S. cities have sent Americans in record numbers to purchase firearms. Perhaps this is because nothing brings forth the desire to own a gun more than fear, and it is safe to say this year has been frightening on many levels.
Wealthy suburbanites have been forced to defend their property, fights have broken out in stores over toilet paper, gangs of bullies have accosted diners, citizens have been gunned down in the streets like roadkill – and the Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden, has chosen this time to bring up gun control.
Really?
According to Statista.com, “In August 2020, firearm sales in the United States grew by 57.8 percent when compared to the same period in the previous year. Around 1.8 million handguns were sold in the United States” last month. Gun stores have been packed with first-time buyers who stood in line to get their hands on a weapon, and there is constant chatter among firearm enthusiasts about the lack of ammunition available. One can easily make the case that 2020 could go down as the year when “guns are making a comeback.”
All this firearm activity is a backdrop to events that led Biden to tweet: “Weapons of war have no place in our communities. We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
The predicate for Biden’s comment was the ambush of two Los Angeles law enforcement officers. For the moment, we shall ignore the fact that an assault weapon was not used in the incident, which sent two sheriff’s deputies to the hospital in critical condition.
Public statements about a weapons ban – at a time when people clamor for firearms – seems a bizarre political strategy. And it defies logic that all people purchasing guns are Republicans. Surely, Democrats are buying up weaponry as well.
Biden’s stance on gun control is well documented. He explicitly stated that firing a shotgun into the air is his preferred method of self-defense. To CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s 2019 question about whether a Biden administration will come for your guns, the former vice president responded, “Bingo! You’re right if you have an assault weapon.”
The Definition of a Biden Assault Weapon
At a fundraiser in 2019, Biden queried his audience: “Why should we allow people to have military-style weapons, including pistols with 9mm bullets and can hold 10 or more rounds?” As the NRA Institute for Legislative Action pointed out:
“… in targeting 9mm pistols, Biden has called for a ban on one of the most popular firearms in America. In its annual report on the U.S. firearms industry, Shooting Industry reported that 9mm caliber pistols are the most commonly produced pistol and have been for many years. In 2017 alone, there were more than 1.7 million 9mm pistols produced in the U.S. Cumulatively, there are tens of millions of 9mm pistols in the hands of law-abiding Americans.”
Thus, it is a head-scratcher as to why Biden would single out the exceedingly popular 9mm.
There is no question that the Democratic nominee for president is a big “C” gun grabber – with a sincere desire to confiscate guns. Why he felt the need to remind voters of his stance on a topic of such importance to many Americans is perplexing. Just about every police organization one can dredge up has already endorsed President Trump. So, what could be the rationale behind Biden bringing gun control to the forefront of his campaign for president?
Perhaps there is no logic to it whatsoever. It might be we are witnessing just Joe being Joe.
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Read more from Leesa K. Donner.
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