Blame The Gun

I don’t own an AR-15 and never have, but I’ve fired many of them over the years and found some to be a hoot, others to be remarkably accurate and one or two—including the one assembled by my younger son some years ago—to be real gems.

So, for the record, I’m not opposed to modern rifles. Just because I don’t own one doesn’t mean I think nobody else should — quite the contrary. Own whatever you want.

That said, it didn’t take long for anti-gunners to start pushing for a ban on these rifles in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. What else should one expect from a political party that threw its leader under the bus in an effort to retain power and protect the “down ballot” in November? Watch gun control become a campaign issue.

By some estimates, there are more than 24 million such rifles in private hands these days. If they were really a problem, we’d know it. For lots of data on semi-autos, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has the most reliable information.

The modern semiautomatic rifle never got my juices flowing enough to buy one. I wouldn’t care if my neighbor had a house full of them, since it’s none of my business what someone else owns, and in my humble opinion, it’s definitely none of the government’s business. Should we be bothered that the would-be Trump killer used one? The greater concern should still be about how that guy was able to get on the roof with a clear line of sight to the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was standing.

In the days following the shooting, it seemed the gun control crowd was far more interested in blaming and banning guns than they were about Trump’s near-death experience. The Wall Street Journal published a piece on this. Pennsylvania’s Democrat Attorney General Michelle Henry called for a ban, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

There won’t be a trial since the shooter is dead. Whether anyone gets fired for dereliction is another matter. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned. Based on what we know, this was — like all other violent crimes — a person problem, not a gun problem.

Aftermath

Eight days after Trump was shot, Joe Biden announced he wasn’t seeking a second term, passing the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is just as anti-gun as the president. There is no small irony in the fact his long-sought permanent ban on modern semi-auto rifles will go unfulfilled.

An NPR/PBS/Marist poll taken after Biden’s announcement revealed nearly 87% of Americans think he did the right thing. Other revelations from the poll:

• Forty-one percent of Americans, including 65% of Democrats, think Biden’s decision increases the Democrats’ chances of winning in November. Twenty-four percent say his decision decreases their odds, and 34% say it makes no difference.

• Thirty-five percent say Biden’s decision has made them more likely to vote in November. Six percent say they are now less likely to vote, and 59%, including 48% of Democrats, said it makes no difference.

• Overall, 68% of Americans, including 47% of Republicans, said Biden should finish his term, while 32% wanted him to immediately resign.

The next 12 weeks are going to be interesting. Political campaigns really heat up right after Labor Day.

It’s been my observation that some people always look for a scapegoat in the aftermath of a tragedy. After JFK was killed in November 1963, for example, the gun control effort focused on ending “mail order” gun sales.

Sure, Lee Harvey Oswald was identified as the assassin, but the gun ban crowd needed to accomplish “something,” and prohibiting sales of surplus Italian rifles probably gave them a feeling of victory.

There have been efforts to ban handguns, invariably involving intimations that such bans would reduce murder and mayhem. The 10-year ban on semi-autos in the late 1990s and early 2000s produced “inconclusive results,” according to FactCheck.org, citing data from various studies. Still, the gun prohibition lobby sees a ban as some sort of moral victory, which never makes sense because people murdered with other means or weapons are still just as dead.

Firearms have no conscience, so taking anger and frustration out on guns, and the honest people who own them, is pointless, unless the goal is to ban privately-owned guns.

Now that the political conventions are over and we should all know what each party’s platform says, it’s time to start thinking about the November elections up and down the scale. Not just the White House is up for grabs; it’s Congress and many state legislatures, governors’ offices, attorneys general races and more.

Make sure you vote for people who don’t scapegoat guns, their owners or the Second Amendment for crimes committed by people who already break the law. Political campaigns get cranked up next weekend — Labor Day, ya know — so listen to and read what the candidates say. Vote accordingly.

Reagan Bio

Next weekend could be a big weekend at the box office with the Friday, Aug. 30 opening of “Reagan,” the biographical film about the 40th President of the U.S., Ronald Reagan.

Most of us who have been around since the previous century remember Reagan, the actor-turned-politician who became California governor and then president. I still remember the day he was shot, not long after taking office. But he recovered.

One of the most interesting short reads on Reagan is found on Wikipedia, and it covers all of the good and bad. As California governor, he signed the Mulford Act, which banned the carrying of firearms without a permit in the Golden State. Today, 29 states allow the practice, and perhaps someday California will return to common sense gun regulation.

Reagan is portrayed by actor Dennis Quaid, whose performance as John Henry “Doc” Holliday in the Kevin Costner epic “Wyatt Earp” was superb. Sure, Val Kilmer in “Tombstone” turned in a good rendition of Holliday, but Quaid’s Doc Holliday was gripping. Holliday had a very dark side, and I think Quaid nailed it.

Let’s hope he does as well with Reagan as he did with Holliday.

Warp Speed

Next Sunday, Sept. 1, is the dove opener in many states.

Some guys are decent dove shooters. I’m not one of ‘em. I’ve seen doves go through aerial acrobatics and dodge columns of No. 7 ½ shot too many times to think I’ll ever outsmart them. But the good news is that dove season signals the arrival of fall hunting, and other seasons are just over the horizon.

Now’s the time to break out the shotguns and clean them up. Sure, we talk mainly about handguns around here — I’m currently pairing my .357 Magnums to 158-grain Hornady XTPs ahead of 15.4 grains of H110; it’s accurate enough out of my 6-inch Python to hit chunks of broken clay targets at 10 and 20 yards — but maintaining guns is a universal principle.

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