The ink was still wet on a reported “deal” involving fixes to current federal and state gun laws before the far-left media organ Axios regurgitated Democratic spin:
The bipartisan gun safety deal announced today falls well short of what President Biden has called for but still marks the first time in decades Republicans have shown a willingness to do anything resembling progress in this arena.
Merde, it appears, comes in many flavors. Pardon my French. This, of course, is a lie from Axios, which ignores years of work by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) to fix our background check system, enhance school safety, and enforce existing laws. Democrats filibustered their reforms.
It is important for those of us who still support our Constitutional rights - all of them, as understood when they were written - to keep our powder dry on the press pronouncements of this purported deal. The proof will be in the pudding when actual legislation emerges, which we are unlikely to see until July. Here is what we know, courtesy of the great writers at Powerlineblog.com:
“As summarized by the senators’ press release, the deal sounds pretty good to me. There is no foolishness about ‘assault weapons.’ It includes a focus on mental health, recognizing the fact that our country is essentially without a mental health care system since the institutions were emptied and closed several decades ago:
Investment in Children and Family Mental Health Services
● National expansion of community behavioral health center model; major investments to increase access to mental health and suicide prevention programs; and other support services available in the community, including crisis and trauma intervention and recovery.
“I don’t have much faith in this kind of government program, but at least it gestures in the right direction–mental health–rather than toward pointless gun control regulations.
“And this, I think, is a great idea. It actually closes a genuine loophole:
Under 21 Enhanced Review Process
● For buyers under 21 years of age, requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement.
“As I understand it, the NICS system currently does not have access to juvenile justice records. Thus an 18 or 19 year old will show up as having no record, and therefore no impediment to buying guns. And yet, juveniles commit a high percentage of violent crimes. This strikes me as a good step in the direction of not coddling juveniles to the extent we have in the past.
“I am not sure what this next point means. Is it intended to incentivize states to enact ‘red flag’ laws? Here we need to see the actual legislation:
Intervention Orders
● Provides resources to states and tribes to create and administer laws that help ensure deadly weapons are kept out of the hands of individuals whom a court has determined to be a significant danger to themselves or others, consistent with state and federal due process and constitutional protections.
“The bill apparently will help to finance school safety officers. This is really a local function and ‘support[ing] school violence prevention efforts’ probably just means putting more liberals on the public payroll. But still, to the extent that it means more armed guards in schools, it is a move in the right direction, not the wrong direction:
Funding for School Safety Resources
● Invests in programs to help institute safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, support school violence prevention efforts and provide training to school personnel and students.
“There is more to the bill, which you can see summarized at the link. The bottom line, based on the descriptions we have so far, is that it could have been a lot worse. In particular, bringing juvenile records into the NICS system is an excellent idea. And if ‘doing something’ deflates the gun control issue politically, at least for the time being, this is not a bad price to pay,” Powerline’s John Hinderaker concluded.
Most Democrats, I suspect, will hate this deal because it does not deprive law-abiding Americans of their ability to defend themselves with guns that shoot bullets.
While many conservatives and gun owners are reflexively recoiling at any new gun laws, we need to appreciate what Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a former GOP Senate Whip and ex-Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, has probably done here - taken “gun control” off the table for the 2022 elections. More importantly, he has agreed to a framework of sensible legislation, with caveats, that addresses legitimate weaknesses in current laws.
Of course, it remains to be seen how gun-grabbing US House Democrats will respond. My popcorn is ready.
To be sure, any new gun law presents a slippery slope. Today’s “red flag” laws become a push for expanded red flag laws, as we’ve seen in the People’s Republic of Canada, which give low-level firearms officials the power to pull licenses to own guns. Once “red flag” laws are established, the Democrats will always push to expand them. Their goal is clearly to disarm law-abiding Americans of guns they believe we don’t need. But until they repeal the Second Amendment - not happening, but their ultimate goal - and the right judges in place (at least if Democrats don’t try to kill them), that slope ends at an impregnable wall. For now. Elections matter.
We know little about the legislation, such as amorphous language about enhancing school safety (how much money? For what?). We know little about mental health investment (for what, exactly, given that over 90 percent of mental hospitals have been closed since “Once Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” hit theaters in the 1970s). Nor what “red flag” laws Congress has in mind (some two dozen states already have such laws in place, but they vary and, in New York’s case, aren’t very effective). No movie has severely damaged America’s mental health system - thanks, Hollywood.
So while ten Republicans have joined ten Democrats in support of this framework - which is all it is - it means little. The proof will be in the pudding. And that is still being cooked up in the kitchen. Harry Potter, call your office.