An Epidemic Of TDS

Inside the Election Aftermath, How Guns Matter
104

The election of Donald Trump last month ignited a
wave of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ and a lot
had to do with his promise about CCW reciprocity.
Photo by Dave Workman

In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s smashing victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last month, Democrat governors across the American landscape went through political meltdown, declaring immediately and reflexively they were bracing to fight the new administration.

It was, say some observers, an outbreak of what has come to be known as “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS). It might be amusing for Congress to introduce an amendment to the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as “Obamacare” — to allow coverage for TDS treatment. Sure, it would be “kind of” for laughs and some interesting headlines, but it underscores how ridiculously those governors were reacting.

Behind the headlines, however, is a story that directly involves gun rights. The anti-gun crowd was, and remains, “alarmed.” Inside the Trump victory is a little thing known as the president-elect’s “Agenda 47,” and the seventh tenet of that program is this: “President Trump will sign concealed carry reciprocity legislation.”

This is brick-upside-the-head language to Democrat governors and some folks on Capitol Hill, not all of them Democrats. Back in February 2023, Trump said in a video describing his Agenda 47, “(I) will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege. And I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.”

The prospect makes Governors such as Gavin Newsom (California), Kathy Hochul (New York), Maura Healey (Massachusetts), JB Pritzker (Illinois), Tina Kotek (Oregon), Phil Murphy (New Jersey) and Ned Lamont (Connecticut) shudder. Their states do not recognize out-of-state carry licenses.

They will certainly have a soulmate with incoming Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, although the Evergreen State already recognizes a handful of licenses issued by other states and has a healthy 700,000-plus active CPLs in circulation. Non-residents can also apply for a Washington license.

Incoming Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson filed some 90
lawsuits against Trump during his first term. Ferguson is
an ardent gun control advocate. (Official photo)

On Election Night, one of the very first remarks out of Ferguson’s mouth was, “I want to be very clear. There is nobody running for statewide office this year anywhere in the United States who is more prepared to defend your freedoms against that administration (Trump) than I am.” That sound like TDS?

Ferguson is perhaps best known for having filed some 90 lawsuits against the first Trump administration back in 2017 and 2018 as Washington’s attorney general. Now, instead of focusing on the Evergreen State’s problems, including police manpower, inflation and the state economy, state highways — including the state ferry system — and rising violent crime, this guy comes out swinging against his favorite bogeyman. It plays well for his far-left voter base, but in the long run, people are asking what it’s going to accomplish. His personal war on Trump was discussed in a story at The Seattle Times.

CCW Reciprocity

Nobody despises concealed carry reciprocity more than governors of states with very strict gun control laws. There is no small irony that Washington is among those states because it is an open-carry and concealed-carry state, one of the first with a license/permit statute dating back to the mid-1930s.

The state constitution reads, “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.”

Translation: The right to bear arms belongs to individuals, not the state. In a report appearing in TheGunMag.com, the two parts of this constitutional tenet were explained.

But let’s not dwell on Washington. Immediately south is Oregon, and then California. New York lawmakers are horrified at the potential of a Republican Congress passing such a law and President Trump signing it. But as Trump observed, nobody leaves their Second Amendment rights at their home state’s border.

Reciprocity would allow Dave to take his trusty Colt Commander
to any state and carry it on his Washington or Florida carry license.

Back when this legislation was first proposed, anti-gunners erroneously claimed it would make strict states allow armed citizens from other states to pack guns in their jurisdictions, thus eroding their own state laws. It was a canard; you know, a lie.

The legislation, known as H.R. 38, included this language: “This section shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that:

“(1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or

“(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.”

Mr. Trump, who lost his gun rights with the felony conviction in New York — which are on the road to appeal unless they are set aside by the judge — has promised to sign the reciprocity legislation at several events, including the National Rifle Association convention.

Meanwhile…

Regarding Illinois, the Second Amendment Foundation last month scored a major federal court victory, which declared the Prairie State’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines” to be unconstitutional. Gov. Pritzker made it clear the ruling would be appealed, and that may have already happened.

The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, a Trump appointee (see, elections do matter). His 168-page decision was hailed by SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, who observed in a prepared statement, “Today commonsense prevailed with the finding that Illinois’ AWB and magazine capacity ban are an unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment. It is high time the Supreme Court weigh in and put finality to this issue once and for all. Our win today is a step in that direction, but our pending cert petition on this issue from Maryland provides the Court an opportunity to resolve this issue expediently without more unnecessary appeals in other cases.”

SAF was joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, C4 Gun Store, Marengo Guns and Dane Harrel, for whom the lawsuit is named. The case is known as Harrel v. Raoul.

Was That “Knife Violence?”

A story that made national headlines recently was a vicious knife attack in Seattle’s International District, where a deranged man attacked and stabbed five people over the course of just a few minutes.

I’ve seen a grainy video of one attack, and the suspect, who is now in custody under a $2 million bail, was also a suspect in at least four other knife attacks in the city prior to the bloody rampage. Alan Gottlieb at the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, headquartered in nearby Bellevue, said the attacks demonstrated once again that restrictive gun control laws adopted in Washington “do not prevent violent criminals from carrying out mayhem, but only prevents honest citizens from defending themselves.”

There are no background checks or waiting periods
for knife purchases. Knives are used in lots of assaults
and homicides. This is not a suggestion for new legislation!

Of course, there’s more to this tale. The suspect had nine felony convictions over the past 10 years on his record, along with several misdemeanor convictions. At the time of the attacks, there was a warrant for his arrest on a different charge.

Not surprisingly, the aforementioned Ferguson didn’t have much to say. But Gottlieb did: “Just what does it take for anti-gunners, in Seattle and elsewhere, to figure out their gun control policies have been abject failures?” He said the incident was proof that making the state’s gun laws more restrictive amounted to a snow job by anti-gun politicians; all flash and no substance. State lawmakers passed legislation requiring a 10-day waiting period and “enhanced background checks” on firearms sales, but Gottlieb reminded everyone there are no background checks or waiting periods on knife purchases.

It was Gottlieb, incidentally, who credited America’s gun owners with helping Trump amass 312 Electoral College votes and capture the popular vote on Nov. 5.

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