President Joe Biden is at it again. The Commander-in-Chief quite literally threatened Americans with unprecedented military action in an attempt to justify the most radical antigun agenda ever thrust on the nation.
History, facts and even the U.S. Constitution don’t matter when it comes to his nouveau interpretation of the Second Amendment. The more President Biden speaks on guns, the more he’s turning out to be the least trusted man to understand them and their place in America.
President Biden’s remarks from The White House, with the U.S. Attorney General standing by his side, completely missed the purpose of the Second Amendment. The president attempted to justify banning modern sporting rifles (MSRs) and standard capacity magazines by reinterpreting the Second Amendment as a Constitutional clause to protect hunting in America.
Rights, Not Needs
He said, “…no one needs to have a weapon that can fire over 30, 40, 50, even up to 100 rounds unless you think the deer are wearing Kevlar vests or something.”
That’s not what the Second Amendment is about. It’s a Bill of Rights, not needs and anytime anyone in the government attempts to dictate to Americans what their needs are, be worried. The president wasn’t done, however.
“And I might add: The Second Amendment, from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could own a gun and what type of weapon you could own,” President Biden said. “You couldn’t buy a cannon.”
Actually, Americans could own cannons then and still can. In fact, America relied on private citizens and their cannons for military success. The Austin American-Stateman reported this when President Biden attempted to peddle this same falsehood during the presidential campaign.
“Privateers were privately owned and operated ships that in wartime captured enemy ships for profit,” the newspaper reported. “While privateers received a license from the government that allowed them to avoid being prosecuted for piracy, they were not a part of the official navy. So any cannons they set sail with (or that they seized from the enemy) would be private property, not the property of the government or the regular military.”
Washington Post fact-checked the president’s preposterous claim not once, but twice, and gave him Four Pinocchios, the most that can be given. Politifact rated the statement as “False.”
Did He Just Threaten Nukes?
If that wasn’t bad enough, President Biden went so far as to threaten the use of unprecedented military force against American citizens to make the case to ban guns.
“Those who say the blood of lib- — ‘the blood of patriots,’ you know, and all the stuff about how we’re going to have to move against the government,” President Biden explained. “Well, the tree of liberty is not watered with the blood of patriots. What’s happened is that there have never been — if you wanted or if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons.”
“The point is that there has always been the ability to limit — rationally limit the type of weapon that can be owned and who can own it,” he added.
Setting aside the fact that this wasn’t the first time President Biden threatened military force against American citizens, he actually justified why the Framers had the foresight to ensure the American citizens were never left without the means to defend themselves against a tyrannical government.
The only part of what the president claimed that came close to the truth was restrictions on who could possess a firearm. The federal government placed no restrictions, but states did. They banned black slaves and indigenous Americans from the right to keep and bear arms. That’s hardly a historical point to make a case for disarming Americans today. As we have noted before, the origins of gun control are rooted in racism.
Set The Record Straight
David Harsanyi, writing for National Review, pointed out that President Biden not only edited history to fit his antigun narrative, he also edited quotes. The quote referenced by the president is derived from Thomas Jefferson’s letter to William Stephen Smith, son-in-law of John Adams. The full quote reads: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
A government that would threaten the lives and liberty of its own citizens is exactly the reason the Founding Fathers included the Second Amendment in the list of things the government couldn’t do. When it comes to guns, it’s clear – shall not be infringed.
President Biden is the last person who should be dictating gun policy to America. Time and again he speaks about a subject of which he has no practical understanding of, at best, or totally ignorant of, at worst.
President Biden infamously told his own wife to blindly fire two blasts of a shotgun if there was ever an intruder. This advice was actually invoked in a court case, where the accused, Jeffrey Barton, was charged with aggravated assault. Prosecutors ended up dropping those charges and instead charged him with police obstruction, of which he was convicted.
President Biden once argued to ban 9mm Glocks, claiming in an interview with Charlie Rose that he could kill more people with a .38-caliber revolver. He also oddly told police they should shoot “unarmed” attacking criminals wielding knives “in the leg.” Police ripped that suggestion. Fox News reported the Fraternal Order of Police said it was “completely ridiculous,” “unrealistic” and a “pandering talking point.”
President Biden is the last person America should be looking to for firearm policy. His ideas are beyond ignorant. They’re dangerous.
Larry Keane is Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association.
