By: Teresa Mull
President Joe Biden is pushing gun control on the anniversary of the Parkland High School shooting again. This time as national support for Second Amendment rights is at record levels.
Biden said in a statement released by the White House:
My Administration stands with those working to end this epidemic of gun violence. I have put forward a comprehensive plan to reduce gun crime that includes curbing the proliferation of “ghost” guns, cracking down on gun dealers who willfully violate the law, issuing model extreme risk protection order legislation for states, and promoting safe firearm storage, among other efforts. The Department of Justice is also helping more cities adopt smart law enforcement models like the one I recently saw in New York City, in which federal, state, and local law enforcement work together to share intelligence and remove shooters from our streets.
I’ve asked Congress to pass a budget that provides an additional half billion dollars for proven strategies we know reduce violent crime — accountable community policing and community violence interventions. I have also requested increased funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals. And Congress must do much more — beginning with requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers.
The NRA, of course, is not taking kindly to Biden’s attacks. In a piece responding to Biden’s recent trip to New York City, where he exploited the death of two NYPD police officers, claiming they had been killed “with a stolen Glock with a 40-round magazine” and renewed his call for a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” the NRA writes:
Biden recently went to New York City for a Gun Violence Task Force meeting, seeking to exploit the deaths of two police officers to push his anti-gun agenda. And, as we would expect, he lied.
Some may consider it a bit harsh to accuse Biden of lying, rather than saying he misspoke, had bad information, or just committed another one of his ubiquitous gaffes that have become standard fare for his public appearances.
But it can only be considered a gaffe if it is a one-time mistake, which later gets clarified. With Biden, he is clearly lying when it comes to certain comments about the Second Amendment.
While using the tragic deaths of two of New York City’s finest to try to revive his push to eliminate our right to keep and bear arms, Biden revived a false argument he has used several times.
Biden is getting it from all sides, and it seems no one on either side of the gun debate is pleased with him.
The father of a Parkland victim scaled a crane near the White House as a means of demonstration, saying in a Twitter video: “I asked for a meeting with Joe Biden a month ago, never got that meeting.”
What’s more, “March for Our Lives, alongside Change the Ref and Guns Down America, launched the Shock Market, a gun-violence tracker keeping pressure on the Biden administration,” reports Teen Vogue.
A “Shock Martet” press release says:
“Each piece of content is paired with actionable requests to apply pressure, create progress, and help save lives. The first step is to get Biden to deliver a comprehensive plan at the state of the union.”
Biden may very well deliver a plan proclaiming to “fight gun violence,” but he’s done that before, and so far, crickets. Politicians know the anti-gun schtick isn’t a popular one right now, as a record number of Americans – especially women and minorities – are embracing their Second Amendment rights and are arming themselves for the first time.
Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.