While many freedoms in America have been dissipating with the growth of government and cultural decay, this does not include the right to firearms or Second Amendment protections. Immediately after the Las Vegas massacre, gun control advocates began spouting off for everything from increased regulation to firearm confiscation. The rush to politicize the tragedy with “blood on their hands” remarks while bodies had yet to be identified or recovered only adds to the ghoulish nature of our contemporary politics. Late night comics were quick to lecture Americans on gun control, often advocating for many policies already in place. Hysteria, hypocrisy, and ignorance of firearms on the left is doing little to nothing to curtail Second Amendment rights, and that is good thing for inherent rights in North Carolina and the nation. After all, Barack Obama’s lectures and threats for gun control by executive order was a boon for gun sales.
In one of the most egregious examples to elevate politics over human life, a CBS executive attacked the victims after the massacre. “I’m actually not even sympathetic [because] country music fans often are Republican gun toters,” executive CBS Hayley Geftman-Gold wrote on her Facebook page. She was quickly terminated. Hillary Clinton chimed in with her tone-deaf remarks with an attack on the National Rifle Association a few hours after the shooting: “The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots. Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get.” She vowed to keep fighting for more gun control on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
In an interview with the Daily Caller, New York Congressman Charlie Rangel said that “Law abiding citizens just shouldn’t have to carry a gun.” After the Daily Caller reminded Rangel of his own armed taxpayer police protection Rangel laughingly responded, “Well that’s a little different. I think we deserve–I think we need to be protected down here.”
If that wasn’t enough, celebrities and journalists took to social media to declare that the American Founders did not envision a nation with rapid fire weapons, presumably implying they would have never approved the Second Amendment if there was ever to be anything beyond slow loading muzzle loaders. British comedians and journalists piled on smugly bragging that mass shootings are rare in Europe because of strict gun control. Some celebrities, like actress Debra Messing, took to Twitter to praise Australia’s gun confiscation initiatives, presumably implying it was a good model for the United States. Some even demanded a ban of automatic weapons, which has been in place for over three quarters of a century. Predictably, many editorial boards rushed to call for more gun restrictions, blaming the GOP for expanding firearms rights.
In truth, attacks against the NRA and other gun advocates lose momentum after tragic shootings for two simple reasons: The NRA is backed by millions upon millions of law-abiding Americans who are vocal. Congress has made little effort to clamp down on gun rights because their constituency opposes more regulations. When pending legislation on firearms are brought before Congress, as many congressional staffers can attest, it’s the pro-gun constituency who flood the office with mail.
Despite the unfortunate tragedy of mass shootings, there is little to no evidence that angst for more government control and regulation of firearms will prevent shootings. Chicago and other urban enclaves with stricter gun control far outpace settings with much laxer restrictions. Brazil has stricter gun laws than the U.S. and has twice the amount of gun deaths per capita than our own country.
Part of the reason there is an increase in screeching and emotional outbursts after a tragedy where a firearm is used stems from the realization that expanding gun rights are the new norm. One of the best arguments for the rights to bear arms is not just that it is an inherent protection enshrined in our Bill of Rights, but that tens of millions of Americans safely exercise that right daily.
