Donald Trump, Republicans, and Conservatives have a tightrope to walk. One misstep could end the administration and restore to power a party that has no new ideas.
This tightrope, some would say trap, has been set by the media and the Democrats. The issue is the political right’s response to the recent mass shootings.
One main component of this trap is to liberally apply the term “mass shooting” to show an increase in frequency. There is no FBI standard for what constitutes one of these incidents. Instead, the media has used the term to push their anti-gun agenda.
As with the concocted “Trump supports white supremacy” narrative, there are immediate calls for him to denounce. When the president does mention that he is against whatever the media rails about, the response is usually “he didn’t do it harsh or clear enough” or “those are just words and we need action.”
So the latest trap is the White House response to the horrific murders committed in El Paso and Dayton. In this latest iteration of an attempt to make Republicans and Conservatives look bad, there are again calls to just “do something.” As with most high-profile events, Democrats will look to follow Rahm Emanuel’s urging to “never let a crisis go to waste.”
The left’s calls for gun control started before the crime scenes were even cold. The usual demands were made.
“Universal Background Checks.”
“Ban assault rifles.”
“Permit only [insert random number here]-round magazine capacity.”
These terms (and others) are the bait in the trap.
If President Trump pulls the bait whole, he will isolate himself from his base voters, who are opposed to the implementation of the Democratic gun control agenda.
If he leaves the bait alone, the president will appear indifferent.
There is, however, a third option for our Commander in Chief. He must merely nibble at the bait. He can do this by exposing the left’s true goals with their veiled and misleading terms that hide their true intentions.
Regarding “Universal Background Checks,” they already exist. To buy a gun from any dealer, even at a gun show, one must undergo the NICS background checks. The exception is that a private sale between two free citizens is allowed without government interference, just like buying a couch, a knife, or any other privately-owned item.
Leftists want to use “Universal Background Checks” to create a database of who owns which gun. That is something that the pro-Second Amendment community will never allow or submit to. There is only one reason for any kind of “registration” of firearms. It’s necessary for any eventual attempt at confiscation. The protection afforded by lack of registration is that any change in governmental structure or philosophy, such as the Democratic goal of socialism, doesn’t enable them to disarm the population on the way to complete tyranny. Our founding Fathers understood this.
As for “ban assault rifles,” it is extremely difficult to get an assault weapon (defined as an “automatic rifle”). All privately owned ones are registered with the government. It’s a condition of owning any “Class 3” item. President Trump must use his communications team to explain to the public that:
1) To get a true “assault rifle,” one must become Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL dealer) who has registered as a Special Occupational Taxpayer (SOT). Banning them is unnecessary since they are severely controlled and regulated already.
2) An AR-15 is not an assault rifle. It’s semi-automatic, just like most modern hunting rifles. The “AR” indicates that Armalite was the company that created the weapon design. Merely looking like one should not make it illegal.
Lastly, restricting magazines to X number of rounds is just a case of arbitrarily setting a limit. One only needs to google “fast magazine change” to see that with just a little practice, one could shoot with a sustained rate comparable to “high capacity” magazines. Additionally, a 30-round magazine for an AR-15 is considered “standard capacity.”
Trump needs to understand the gun debate issue by having a strong advisor who has a solid respect and grasp of the Second Amendment, firearm capabilities, and the applicable terminology. Going too far in either direction in the gun rights debate will hurt him politically. He must not only walk the line; he must expose the hypocrisy of his political opponents and the media.
After all, the people calling for the most gun control are the same people who continuously remind us about the evils of government, from a history of condoning slavery and voter suppression, to Trump and his administration supposedly being fascists.
John Cylc is a conservative Christian and eight year U.S. Army veteran who primarily speaks out on the Second Amendment, gun rights issues, and contemporary topics. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he currently resides with his wife and youngest son in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in beautiful East Tennessee. He is the founder of ThirteenFox.com and a contributor to LifeZette. Follow John Cylc on Twitter @The2ndA. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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