July 30, 2020
By Mark Chesnut
While some who identify themselves as Democrats respect and even work to defend the Second Amendment, there’s little doubt that the national Democrat Party is decidedly anti-gun and has been for years. Now, their newest party document, the 2020 Democratic Party Platform, assaults guns and gun owners more aggressively than ever before.
Yet, a closer look at that same party platform reveals a combination that could prove deadly to law-abiding Americans—support for drastically reducing police forces while at the same time trying to ban entire categories of guns.
A draft of the document posted at Politico.com includes only a small section dealing with gun control, misleadingly titled “Ending the Epidemic of Gun Violence.” Yet that small section has some big things to say about the party’s stance on gun ownership.
In fact, the second paragraph reads like a long laundry list of wishes from the nation’s most gun-hating prohibition groups, including such proposals as gun owner licensing, so-called “red-flag” laws and bans on entire classes of firearms.
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“Democrats will enact universal background checks, end online sales of guns and ammunition, close dangerous loopholes that currently allow stalkers and some individuals convicted of assault or battery to buy and possess firearms, and adequately fund the federal background check system,” the document reads. “We will close the ‘Charleston loophole’ and prevent individuals who have been convicted of hate crimes from possessing firearms. Democrats will ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. We will incentivize states to enact licensing requirements for owning firearms and ‘red flag’ laws that allow courts to temporarily remove guns from the possession of those who are a danger to themselves or others. We will pass legislation requiring that guns be safely stored in homes. And Democrats believe that gun companies should be held responsible for their products, just like any other business, and will prioritize repealing the law that shields gun manufacturers from civil liability.”
In truth, that pretty much covers every gun control scheme proposed over the past decade.
While any of those arguably unconstitutional proposals would greatly diminish gun owners’ freedom, things get even worse when you consider the statements a few pages earlier in the document. Under the header “Protecting Communities and Building Trust by Reforming our Criminal Justice System,” the party platform puts America’s police squarely in the crosshairs, painting them as the enemies of the country, not the violent criminals who prey on the helpless.
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“Police brutality is a stain on the soul of our nation,” the document states. “It is unacceptable that millions of people in our country have good reason to fear they may lose their lives in a routine traffic stop, or while standing on a street corner, or while playing with a toy in a public park. It is unacceptable that Black parents must have ‘the talk’ with their children, to try to protect them from the very police officers who are supposed to be sworn to protect and serve them.”
Those and other statements make it clear that the national Democrat Party is fully behind “defunding” police and moving toward so-called “community-based solutions.” Of course, hardened, violent criminals will, now doubt, simply laugh at such solutions.
Now, just do the math. The same party that has always told us we don’t need guns to protect ourselves because we can simply call the police is now pushing for ultra-restrictive gun laws, complete gun bans and fewer law enforcement officers on the street. It’s a deadly combination that shouldn’t be supported by anyone who understands the Second Amendment and values freedom.
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.
