In the party platform released at the DNC by Kamala Harris & Co., there’s no respect for gun rights, and no mention of the Second Amendment. Like Rodney Dangerfield, your rights get “no respect.” Jacob Sullum reports in Reason:
While this year’s Republican Party platform makes only a passing reference to Second Amendment rights, the platform approved at the Democratic National Convention this week does not mention them at all. But it does include eight references to “gun safety” and a section that brags about the Biden administration’s accomplishments in this area while laying out an agenda of additional firearm restrictions.
That treatment of this subject is similar to the approach that Democrats took in 2016, when their platform mentioned “the rights of responsible gun owners” but did not elucidate the basis of those rights, and in 2020, when the platform did not go even that far. The 2016 platform devoted a paragraph to gun control, which became two paragraphs in 2020 and has now expanded to five. Neither of the two most recent platforms so much as alludes to respect for gun rights.
By contrast, Democrats in 2000 promised to “respect the rights of hunters, sportsmen, and legitimate gun owners.” Four years later, after the gun issue, including Al Gore’s support for banning “assault weapons,” was widely blamed for contributing to George W. Bush’s election, Democrats promised to “protect Americans’ Second Amendment right to own firearms.” The 2008 and 2012 platforms included similar language, in both cases explicitly invoking the Second Amendment, which disappeared in the 2016 platform and now does not even seem like a dim memory for Democrats.
Whatever you make of former President Donald Trump’s evolution on gun rights, which seems to reflect political expendience rather than true conviction, he at least understands the importance of paying lip service to the Second Amendment. The current Democratic Party, by contrast, is intent on pushing gun control without acknowledging any constitutional limits on it.
Action Line: If Kamala Harris wins in 2024, you can expect another push to limit and remove your gun rights. She has no respect for the Second Amendment. Get your gun and your training now, with an emphasis on the training. Proficiency is a must when trouble arises. When seconds count, the police are minutes away, and you’re left with your gun and your training. Without the training, your gun isn’t worth much. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
