Opinion By Larry Keane
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- The recent Iowa Democratic Caucus has gone off about as smoothly as a sheet of 24-grit sandpaper. Only 71 percent of results were initially reported nearly two days after the caucuses were held and there are still very few concrete answers, mostly questions remain.
South Bend’s former Mayor Pete Buttigieg appeared to be holding the lead, just ahead of Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts’ Sen. Elizabeth Warren rounding out the top three. Former Vice President Joe Biden trailed a distant fourth.
Glimpse of Gun Bureaucracy
American voters concerned about Second Amendment rights are watching, and the fiasco is demonstrating the party of gun control that wants to run national firearms registry and licensing schemes can’t even run their own election process. When it comes to firearms and the law-abiding Americans who own them, the Democratic party’s leaders are offering just more varying shades of the same gun control and rights restricting message.
The Hawkeye State results are telling and show a stark choice for gun voters. None of the candidates placing in the top three have any respect for law-abiding gun owners. Each has made it their stated goal to enact onerous restrictions on Second Amendment rights and will attack the firearms industry.
Where They Stand
Buttigieg stated the president is partially responsible for criminal misuse of firearms, and among other goals supports universal background checks, a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and standard capacity magazines, and instituting “red-flag” laws that deny due process to citizens. Each of these solutions has been called “dubious” as none have shown how they’ll reduce crime. They will only infringe on the rights of those who follow the law.
Sen. Sanders is running as far and as fast as he can from the views he once espoused. He voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). Just two weeks ago, though, the self-described democratic socialist said, “I certainly have changed” when it comes to guns. Sen. Sanders also favors a ban on modern sporting rifles and standard capacity magazines and wants a national universal background check system, which would only work if it included a national registry, which is forbidden by law.
Sen. Warren, along with her general “plans” for every other issue offered the same on guns, stating numerous proposals, specifically looking to punish the firearms and ammunition industry by raising taxes on gun manufacturers, from 10 to 30 percent on firearms and ammunition from 11 to 50 percent. Warren also wants a national firearms licensing scheme, federal waiting period to purchase firearms, a ban on modern sporting rifles, suppressors and magazines, repealing PLCAA and hold exposing firearms company executives to jail time through her expanded definitions of negligence.
Even fourth-place former Vice President Biden’s proposed gun control plan “would make the biggest changes to U.S. gun laws in decades,” including expanded universal background checks, a ban on modern sporting rifles and a requirement for “James Bond-style DNA and fingerprint match” in order to pull the trigger.
Sliding under the radar was the anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg, funder of Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. The former New York City mayor declined to play in Iowa caucuses and because of that, he’s able to stay above the fray, point to the mess and separate himself from the debacle. His campaign announced they were doubling their $300 million advertising buy, pushing the spending to over a half-billion to spread his gun control message.
Get Out and #GUNVOTE
Second Amendment voters across the country, supporters of the firearms industry, and the manufacturers, suppliers, and those working every day within the industry need to keep a watchful eye on the full results from Iowa, as well as what’s in store for the candidates as they compete in New Hampshire next week. That’s why NSSF offers the #GUNVOTE voter education initiative, so voters can know where the candidates stand, where to get registered to vote and where to find polling places.
Iowa showed what’s at stake. These “top tier” candidates are collectively dismissive about lawful firearms ownership, the hard-working men and women producing the firearms Americans purchase and are advocating stripping law-abiding citizens of their God-given rights.
About The National Shooting Sports Foundation
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 10,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. www.nssf.org
Career criminals in Congress have endangered the American public.
Anti-constitutionalist’s sense of morality is situational, based on incident and emotion, instead of rooted in God’s word and law.
Anti-constitutionalist’s stand for nothing. The situation determines their support for an issue and their emotions rule, not reason and rationality.
Anti-Constitutionalist’s=Anti-Americans=Enemies of the United States…
Term limits are needed in this Republic, not life long criminal Politicans/Puppets.
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Every one of these people is vowing to break their oath of office if/when they get elected. They are all vowing to break the law if/when they get elected. I wonder why they can’t see the consequences of their work? Do they really believe the armed American citizenry is just going to roll over, surrender their firearms, ammo, magazines and gear then purposely walk into slavery? Are they really that stupid or are they so caught up in power they will do anything to get it… Read more »
The ONLY reason to count the votes is that the PEOPLE, millions of them, own guns. Dictatorship is the real reason for gun control. Crime always goes up with new gun control laws because that is the reason for gun control.
115 years ago Tim Sullivan , a leader of the Five Points Gang got New York’s SULLIVAN LAW passed. The purpose was to aid Sullivan’s gang and make it possible to deny rival gangs or increase crime organization.
It is simple! It is in the Bill Of Rights. They may be stupid (do not give them that alabi out), they are very dangerous and they mean it. So what ya gonna do when they come for you….
@USA, But not Trump. Trump is an outsider. Trump is pushing for term limits. If we give Trump the House and Senate, he has term limits planned.
The “Iowa Fiasco” wasn’t a failure of the system, it did exactly what it was designed to do – cheat Bernie Sanders of an electoral victory, yet again. The plan is to push Buttiegieg to the top and go head-to-head with a Mikey Bloomturd / Hitlery Clinton ticket.
The Demorats like to pander to their radical communist base, but are scared to death that a Sanders/Trump showdown will only (and correctly) give Trump a 2020 victory!
Why bother going over the same BS time and again? bloomberg will be the democratic contender and the one to be feared the most for his campaign will outspend and OUT ADVERTISE any and all opponents. It’s the repeated ads that try to(will)convince folks to vote for him just like buying car insurance , laundry soap, or beer or any other heavily advertised products. That is his philosophy . sell the bloomberg “product” to the masses, those too busy to actually become educated voters ,just vote for that guy whose face has been on the TV so often. The masses… Read more »
Reminds me of the incompetent civil servants in Minnesota. Their “Minncare” website crashed for weeks when they tried to implement Obamacare. They spent something like $125 million to set up a new drivers license system a few years ago. Now, this shouldn’t be hard…they’ve only been issuing DL’s for over a hundred years. Anyhow, the system was so bad, they finally threw it out and started over…necessitating more millions of taxpayer money. If you’ve ever driven MN roads, they are rutted, potholed messes. They never have enough money to fix the roads because they are wasting money on failed websites… Read more »
So the Chinese government is responsible for the coronavirus, a biological weapon of war, as it hales from exactly the city of Wuhan as an epicenter. When is a coincidence no longer a coincidence? When the outbreak of Lyme’s disease hails from Lyme, Connecticut, is when. Or when only black men and “others” are infected with syphilis in order to study it from start to finish, and they die because of it. Or when only Jews are exterminated. The list is long in which governments take part in the “cleansing” of another race. And hell, it takes practice to get… Read more »
That’s some crazy stuff. Haven’t read Koontz in many years, time tk give him another look.