Opinion
Colorado/United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Last year, we discussed the threat that the National Popular Vote Compact poses to the Second Amendment. Well, that threat has increased a bit with Colorado signing on, making it a total of 12 states and the District of Colombia – comprising a total of 170 electoral votes.
This means that a major threat to the Second Amendment is not that far off.
Delaware, with three electoral votes, is reportedly considering joining this compact as well. Both states were controlled by a party that has lost two Presidential elections in the last decade despite having won the national popular vote. In both cases, California was where they ran up the huge margins.
In 2000, Al Gore, who had called for the licensing of handgun owners, won the popular vote by about 500,000 – aided by a 1.3 million vote margin in California. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 popular vote margin of 2.9 million was aided by winning California by 4.3 million votes. California – where just about any anti-Second Amendment scheme gets passed into law.
We have the Electoral College to thank for keeping those anti-Second Amendment extremists out of the Oval Office. It fulfilled its purpose. The Founders of this country wanted to ensure that no one state could have the power to flip the entire country in a completely different direction.
This same principle was why the Senate was set up for equal representation – so that Wyoming or South Dakota had a forum where they would be on equal footing with California. What upsets many anti-Second Amendment extremists is the fact that America was never meant to be a pure democracy. It was meant to have safeguards against the type of passionate rush to deprive people of their rights we just saw in New Zealand, in Australia in 1996, and elsewhere. It was having enough senators to maintain a filibuster that saved us from a permanent ban on modern multi-purpose semi-automatic rifles (not to mention pistols and shotguns).
The fact of the matter remains that this compact remains a threat – one that is looming. The next time anti-Second Amendment extremists seize control of a state legislature and governorship, they will try to pass this with the goal of making it easier for California to effectively have all the say in a Presidential election. We could see a legalization of such tactics as “ballot harvesting” to help states like California, Illinois, and New York – all of which are controlled at the present time by anti-Second Amendment extremists in both their legislative and executive branches – proceed to rack up a decisive popular vote margin.
Don’t believe me? Look at H.R. 1, the so-called “For the People” act that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year. This 706-page monstrosity is intended to effectively rig the system against Second Amendment supporters. Thankfully, it won’t pass for now, but it does mean that Second Amendment supporters must maintain their vigilance.
But all of our eggs cannot be placed into just thwarting the National Popular Vote Compact and bills like HR 1. Second Amendment supporters expand their outreach to areas they normally don’t go, and that groups like the NRA and GOA must start hiring good translators. If not, then the National Popular Vote could be the eventual death blow for efforts to defend the Second Amendment.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
As a Colorado resident it looks like big city Denver is deciding our vote looking a hole lot like taxation without representation
The only people who complain about the Electoral College is the liberals who want us to become Socialists or and Communists. The EC has serve us well for over 200 years and we do not need people who think like nancy PIG-LOSI to change it. The phony numbers of voters in the Communist state of Los Angeles would elect scumbags every 2 years if the rules were changed. There are other areas that have more registered voters than citizens eligible to vote. I call that illegal don’t you? We don’t need the rules changed we need the prosecutors to do… Read more »
Not EXTRA POWER but EQUAL POWER.
If you think the electoral college is bad, look at states like New York and Pennsylvania where large populations in small parts of the state determine socialist outcomes. NYC determines socialist laws for the rest of the state. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton population centers vote for socialist laws while the rest of the state votes against them. Why do you think democrats are pushing reparations and illegal immigration? Buying votes, boys and girls, buying votes. If Americans won’t vote for democrats, illegals will. Democrats / socialists / communists – the best liars America has to offer. Remember Venezuela?
It would seem this plan is unconstitutional and a class action suit would end it.
Increasingly I am of the opinion that only a well engineered blue state /red state “divorce” will save us from a civil war bloodbath. There is still time.
I’m a Coloradoan gun owner, and I fully support the popular vote. This article is horse shit. The popular vote doesn’t ‘give California all the power’ it gives every voter a vote that matters. The electoral college was created because without computers, actually counting every ballot was near impossible.
Contrary to what another commenter here says, this is a serious threat to the 2A, but also to the Republic overall. When one party cannot get their way, they seek to undermine the electoral college so they can get their way. That’s TREASON, people!! So are you just gonna sit there and let it happen, or are you gonna MAN UP and DO SOMETHING to these traitors and enemies of liberty??
If you aren’t willing to water the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants, then you are COWARDS.
npvc commie d-sucker states
We’re not voting ourselves out of this cluster folks.