No sooner did Attorney General Pam Bondi’s memorandum announcing the creation of a Second Amendment Task Force become public than social media erupted with messages from gun owners in embattled Democrat-dominated states expressing hope for Justice Department attention.
Bondi’s memo to DOJ employees declared, “For too long, the Second Amendment, which establishes the fundamental individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms, has been treated as a second-class right. No more. It is the policy of this Department of Justice to use its full might to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
Quite possibly the most energetic reactions came from Washington state, where gun owners are presently under direct attack by the Legislature. Within a couple of hours of the story being reported at The Gun Mag (formerly GUN WEEK), more than 125 people had read about Bondi’s announcement, and many had left comments on the order of, “We need this in Washington state,” and “PLEASE come to WA.”
One respondent named Matt Occhione said he “Can’t wait till Pam Bondi shows up in the state of Washington and introduce(s) our government to the federal constitution!”
In Florida, one fellow responding to the story posted on Florida Carry’s Facebook page declared, “I love it!”
A reader responding to the same story link at the New York S.C.O.P.E. Facebook page suggested that Bondi “should have a chat with (New York Gov. Kathy) Hochul! Bring Tom Homan with her!”
Another respondent on yet another Facebook site suggested, “Anti-gun groups exist to deprive people of their constitutional rights. That’s a federal crime. They should be prosecuted under the RICO statute, imprisoned and all assets seized.”
Clearly, Second Amendment activists across the landscape are delighted and energized by the news from Bondi and the DOJ. Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, released a statement hailing the announcement.
“This is the news we’ve been waiting for,” Gottlieb said. “From the wording of Attorney General Bondi’s memo, it looks like ‘gloves off’ time may have finally arrived. It marks a significant, and welcome change at the Department of Justice, because it is clear we now have leadership in place which treats gun owners as allies instead of antagonists.
“It’s great to have a Department of Justice defending Second Amendment rights,” he said, “instead of attacking them.”
Not only could the DOJ task force likely go after laws already passed and others facing certain enactment in Washington, but there would be fertile ground in neighboring Oregon, farther south in California, and in several other states in the east. The one thing they all have in common is a Democrat-controlled legislature and anti-gun Democrats in the respective governors’ offices and the offices of Attorneys General.
In his remarks, CCRKBA’s Gottlieb recalled how the Joe Biden administration “declared war” on the Second Amendment and this nation’s gun owners, by some estimates numbering between 85 and 100 million. It started almost immediately after Biden was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021, and it continued throughout his four-year term, either at his direction or that of his subordinates.
That much was intimated in another CCRKBA statement reacting to the Trump administration’s reversal of Biden’s “zero-tolerance policy” toward even minor paperwork errors by federally licensed firearms dealers.
“Joe Biden, and whoever was guiding his anti-gun agenda while he suffered from diminished capacities, clearly intended to treat gun rights as regulated privileges,” Gottlieb stated at the time. “Their disdain for gun owners, gun shows and neighborhood retailers was well-established, and by trashing Biden’s Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy, the new administration continues to treat America’s Second Amendment community as allies, rather than enemies.”
Just where and how the DOJ’s Second Amendment Task Force will direct its attention remains to be seen, but the announcement is considered by many to be an affirmation of his campaign promises to protect the Second Amendment, and his executive action in March setting Bondi on the course she now appears to be following zealously.
One thing is clear, however. Bondi has all of the key players involved in this effort: FBI, ATF, the DOJ’s Office of the Solicitor General, the Civil Division, the Civil Rights Division and the Criminal Division.
What signal should this be sending to state officials who have been laboring feverishly to adopt the most stringent gun control laws ever? Karma may be on the horizon, and beleaguered gun owners from coast to coast are anxious for relief.
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About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
Talk is cheap. Actually, it is very cheap. Action speaks louder than words.
In the words of the immortal patriot Todd Beamer…”Let’s Roll!”
If you are hoping for action, send a note directly to A.G. Bondi:
https://www.justice.gov/doj/webform/your-message-department-justice
She’s not going to read or take direction from your forum or social media posts.
Colorado needs to be on the “look here” list, for sure, even as we speak!
Yesterday, Colorado DemocRAT Governor Jared Polis signed into law, the “Polis Gun Control Law” or Senate Bill 003. It is the most UNCONSTITUTIONAL gun control legislation Colorado has passed to date. It will forever be known as the “Polis Gun Control Law”! A.G. Bondi needs to take a long hard look at this law, as it flies in the face of every recent SCOTUS decision!
“For too long, the Second Amendment, which establishes the fundamental individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms, has been treated as a second-class right.
Righ out of he gae, she’s got it wrong. Our Constitution establishes nothing. It simply recognises we already HAVE that right to arms, then tells government “HANDS off”
She needs to draft a demand letter to the rogue states informing them they are out of line and WILL come back in line else there WILL be harsh consequences. Perhaps even get specific a to which laws in particular violate the term of
New York here we’ve been drowning since initiation of the safe act in 2013. Throw us a lifeline what a novel idea to have legal gun owners considered as allies for the DOJ working together to solve crime. Or at least to be treated with the respect that is deserved.
I’d love to have hope that WA (among the other states suffering the same) would respond to a DOJ repudiation of these unconstitutional “laws”. However, the judiciary here in WA (and it’s represented 9th Circuit) don’t care what SCOTUS says, so why would they pay attention to the DOJ? We need some simple to understand plain words to stop infringement by the government on the citizens right to keep and bear arms. Maybe something so clear a 2nd grader could understand it. A promise that is guaranteed in an unshakable document that holds supreme law over the laws of man… Read more »
Yay, another “task force” to suck-up tax dollars and do nothing…
IF and I mean a BIG IF one of the communist states gets snatched up by the short hairs then MAYBE states like New Mexico can be saved. I would love to see these communists that stomp on the 2nd Amendment put in prison where they belong for violating their citizens’ rights.