Believe It or Not, Second Amendment Supporters are Winning the Argument

It’s time for gun owners to take a step back and see the big picture of the current gun-rights vs. gun-control debate. Despite the constant drum of left-wing progressives and their ally, the mainstream media – Second Amendment supporters are winning the argument.

How can this be? The editors of AmmoLand.com asked the same question.

You’re wondering, “How could we be winning the arguments?” Well, my first response is to point at what some of the most visible anti-Second Amendment extremists have been doing. Does their behavior look like that of a person who is secure about the strength of their arguments?

Those who are pushing for more gun-control certainly don’t behave as though they are on the winning side of this argument.

Consider New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. If his policies have Constitutional merit, he would persuade his own State House to fashion laws that can stand the test of District Courts and ultimately the Supreme Court.

Instead, Cuomo has a long track record of wrongfully blaming law-abiding gun owners for gun crimes in his state and then punishing them rather than the criminal.

Other tactics employed by Cuomo are to quarterback lawsuits against gun manufacturers and lead in abusive financial regulations that target gun-rights lobbies like the National Rifle Association.

Rather than persuade people in the marketplace of ideas, politicians like Cuomo adopt methods more in line with the tactics of the likes of Venezuela’s Maduro, Turkey’s Erdogan, and Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia.

That Cuomo is not working to peacefully persuade people but rather bullying his political opposition is proof positive his ideas are invalid and winning the day.

Governor Cuomo and those who side with him lost the argument over a decade ago. Their actions show that.

In 2008, the Heller Decision ruled the 2nd Amendment is an individual right. Before Cuomo first won the governorship, the McDonald decision of 2010 clarified the Second Amendment applies to the states.

Virtually every ruling by the high courts over the last 20 years have reaffirmed the essence and basic tenets of the 2nd Amendment.

The Department of Justice and Second Amendment Foundation, for example, reached a settlement. In that settlement, the federal government agreed to pay the major portion its legal fees.

In question was the Second Amendment Foundation’s right to free speech over the issue of semi-automatic sport-utility rifles. After the decision, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said, “Not only is this a First Amendment victory for free speech, but it also is a devastating blow to the gun prohibition lobby. For years, anti-gunners have contended that modern semi-automatic sport-utility rifles are so-called ‘weapons of war,’ and with this settlement, the government has acknowledged they are nothing of the sort.”

Not that gun-rights advocates have nothing to be concerned about.

Some anti-gun groups are seriously advocating the repeal of the 2nd Amendment. State bodies in Hawaii and Oregon have both passed resolutions to either redefine or repeal the 2nd Amendment.

Democrat state senators of Hawaii Stanley Chang and Karl Rhoads recently introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 42 that would urge the U.S. Congress to adopt an amendment to eliminate the individual rights of citizens.

A proposed ballot constitutional amendment in Florida reads:

This Amendment recognizes the Florida National Guard and other organized police forces as the well-regulated militia of the State and authorizes them to keep and use military-style weapons. Possession of military-style weapons is prohibited except for the militia. Other persons convicted of various types of crimes or investigated for abuses are also prohibited from possessing guns or firearms.

While Hawaii is an exception, the good news is the people of Florida are not likely to approve a change to their state constitution.

More than one in the crowded Democrat field of presidential hopefuls for 2020 have openly promised to “pack the court” in order to flip pro gun case results. Afraid that would not be sufficient, one progressive group is advocating adding four more seats to the Supreme Court.

There can be no doubt any justice nominated by a Beto O’Rourke, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren or even Joe Biden would “rubber stamp” any and everything that appeared to be supporting the Second Amendment.

But for now, the Second Amendment is far from dead. Despite the current narrative that there is a groundswell of public approval for a Constitutional change, polls and court decisions show differently.