So, the new President has transplanted his proposed policies from his own site directly to the official White House site. Under the “Urban Policies” header, we have a blueprint for his ideas on gun control.
Spin: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade.
Fact: This is a defacto gun registry. The Federal government will have access to all information a buyer includes on Form 4473, without having to obtain a warrant or prove cause. Remember, Obama voted for the Patriot Act, which included the ability of the government to engage in wiretaps on citizens without warrants.
Spin: Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals.
Fact: For Obama, “common sense” measures have included total registration, blanket bans on handguns and “assault” rifles, and a nationwide ban on concealed carry.
Spin: They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof.
Fact: Only 2% of guns used in crimes come from gun shows.
“Childproofing” was part of Washington DC’s onerous regulations, which were ruled unconstitutional in last year’s Supreme Court decision, DC vs. Heller.
Spin: They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.
Fact: Of course they do; Biden authored the original AWB, which did nothing to reduce firearms-related crime. Violent crime in the United States had been steadily declining since 1992, and continued to decline after the sunset of the original ban.
None of this is anything new. This stuff is all taken directly from the Brady Campaign’s playbook. The real question is, can they achieve any of it?
It seems highly unlikely that they’ll try.
Right now, Obama needs to be the Great Redeemer. He’s promised to fix the economy, end unemployment and get us out of Iraq. I don’t envy him; he’s going to have his hands full with any one of those promises.
And, no matter how well-intentioned, he’s going to fail.
History shows that government intervention can’t help this situation. FDR tried, and sadly, his attempts at a managed economy led to a crippling recession in 1937. It took World War II to get us out of it.
Still, Obama has to look like he’s doing something, so he’ll spend the next four years throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
So, where does gun control fit into all this? It doesn’t. This isn’t 1993. We have a number of factors on our side that we didn’t have then:
- The internet is far more pervasive and widespread. Sneaking things in under the radar (ala the Hughes Amendment) doesn’t work anymore.
- Large portions of the legal and academic community accept the 2nd Amendment literally.
- The Heller decision, in hindsight passed in the nick of time, remains the 800lb gorilla in the room.
Any gun-control measure this administration tries to pass will end up being a bloody fight all the way. It will get tied up in court being weighed against Heller, and every such case runs the risk of having further precedent set for our side. The Left can’t have that.
While all of this is going on, what about the guy who’s jobless and expecting his promised relief from the government? He’s going to wonder what the heck the government is doing wasting their time on gun control when he’s about to lose his house.
John Feinstein, writing for the Washington Post, sums up what even the Left must be thinking:
Now, let’s not start screaming about the Second Amendment. To begin with, the amendment should be abolished (…) It would be nice if President-elect Obama had the time to focus his energies on repeal of the Second Amendment, but he first has to deal with a broken economy and the incredibly wrong-headed war started by his predecessor.
Gun control is a losing issue in this administration. Sure, Obama’s got to appease the folks who got him where he is, but there are other bones to throw. He’s already gone with the first: closing Guantanimo Bay (do not call it “Gitmo”). The second will likely be gay marriage.
Either of those is a pretty easy push. Gun control will not be. Already, the NRA has itself worked up into a frenzy over Eric Holder, and it seems any utterance from the Capitol on guns will be pounced upon quickly.
If there’s one bright spot in this whole mess, it’s that the climate isn’t right for gun control this time around.