By: José Niño
On January 5, 2021, the fate of the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance, as Georgia voters will determine if Republican incumbent Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler will remain in office.
Beyond the Republican Party keeping its majority in the Senate, the partisan balance of the Senate has strong political ramifications for the Second Amendment. Under the potential leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats will most certainly bring gun control measures up for a vote. Democrats already hold a slim lead in the House and have control of the presidency. So the gun control threat is no longer a hypothetical scenario. Unlike spineless Republican leaders in the establishment, Democrats are actually serious about their agendas and will follow through with what they say.
On top of that, Democrats have allowed Gun Control Inc. to embed itself firmly within its leadership structure. According to Lawrence Keane of the Washington Examiner, Max Young, a former Schumer staffer and now the Chief Public Affairs Officer for gun control organizations such as Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, was placed in the Senate Judiciary Committee during Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing. Young was placed in the committee due to California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s declining health, which has prevented her from functioning normally. Feinstein has been one of the most prominent voices for gun control in American politics over the past four decades.
Young essentially played the role of babysitter during these hearings. The fact that he was given such an active role in the daily operations of the Senate just goes to show how entrenched Gun Control Inc. is within the Democratic Party. Politicians like Schumer ultimately answer to anti-gun billionaire tycoon Michael Bloomberg — who financially props up America’s largest gun control organizations — and do their bidding.
It’s clear that the anti-gun crowd wants to have all its bases covered. Not only do they want the right number of Democratic officials in place to force votes, but gun controllers also want to make sure D.C. is properly staffed with anti-gun loyalists to make sure that civilian disarmament becomes a legislative priority.
Pro-Second Amendment activists can learn from this example and should work to place pro-gun staff in Republican offices throughout Congress and state legislatures. Doing so will allow for pro-gun policy to be prioritized.
A proper legislative strategy involves an “inside-outside” game that features both grassroots activism and clever maneuvering within a legislature. Sometimes the Left can offer us lessons on how to be effective in politics. It would behoove us to learn from these examples and incorporate strategies that work to safeguard our rights.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.