December 23, 2021
By Mark Chesnut
An anti-gun compromise recently reached by U.S. Senate Democrat leadership and a few anti-gun Republican senators on the (VAWA) has some on the pro-gun side of the debate sounding the alarm.
According to a Dec. 16 announcement by anti-gun senators Nancy Pelosi,
“After nearly three years of negotiations, we have reached an agreement on a bipartisan framework to strengthen, modernize and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act ,” the release stated. “This important legislation will help prevent violence, support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable for their violent actions.
“We are committed to introducing a bipartisan, modernized VAWA reauthorization next month. Every day that goes by without action puts lives at risk, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that this framework becomes law as soon as possible.”
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Of course, there’s nothing wrong with opposing and fighting violence against women. In fact, doing so is quite admirable. The problem occurs when some provisions of the legislation directly infringe on the Second Amendment-protected rights of law-abiding Americans.
And according to Aiden Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America (GOA) , that’s exactly what this compromise legislation does.
“Senator Feinstein went on to brag that this compromise would expand the misdemeanor gun ban,” Johnston said in a GOA news alert. “Given the makeup of the Senate, there is no reason that gun control should pass this Congress. And to be sure, Senators who were elected on a pro-gun platform have no business helping the Biden Administration enact its gun control agenda.”
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Five sections of the VAWA compromise are of particular concern to GOA and other pro-gun advocates. They include Section 102, which provides federal grants to fund firearm seizures; Section 801 and 802, which provides for a new form of “red-flag” gun confiscation orders, and new and expanded misdemeanor gun bans; Sections 1201 and 1202, which allocate greater funding to prosecute tens of thousands of NICS denials, including law-abiding gun owners who receive false-positive denials; and Section 12034, which authorizes special appointments and deputizations to prosecute new gun controls.
“Gun owners demand the removal of these anti-gun sections from the bill,” Johnston said. “These sections have nothing to do with reducing violence against women and everything to do with enacting President Biden's gun control agenda. Which is why it's disturbing to see the anti-gun compromise that was just cut.”
Johnston added that Democrats have been trying to get such anti-gun provisions into the VAWA for years, and for years the response of pro-gun advocates has been the same.
“Republicans have been negotiating with the Democrats over this for years,” he said. “And for years our grassroots activists were clear: No gun control in VAWA.”
The compromise legislation is expected to be considered sometime early next year. GOA asks its members to email their senators here and ask them to oppose the measure because of the gun control provisions it contains. Additionally, all gun owners should phone their senators through the U.S. Senate switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and express their opinion on the measure.
Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for the past 20 years.
