In a January 21 CNN op-ed, gun control proponent Mark Kelly pledged that he and wife Gabby Giffords will fight against the pro-gun Trump administration in general and against national reciprocity in specific.
Kelly wrote, “We will be prepared to fight the new administration and the new Congress on policies that threaten our communities.” He then singled out national reciprocity for concealed carry as one of those policies. He said, “They’re…pushing to ignore states’ rights by mandating the unrestricted ‘concealed carry’ of firearms.”
Two points here: 1. Kelly seems unfazed by the fact that he and his wife spent the last four years seeking to trample state’s rights with federal action on gun control. 2. National reciprocity is not an attack on state’s rights, but a support of God-given, natural rights, which states and federal powers are both barred from violating (see McDonald v. Chicago 2010).
Kelly said that he and Giffords will also fight the deregulation of firearms suppressors. He framed suppressor deregulation with the same tired, scare-tactic language the left unsuccessfully employed in efforts to pass more gun control during the Obama administration by claiming the Trump administration and members of the GOP Congress are pushing “free access to dangerous silencers.”
He suggested suppressors “would let criminals conceal murder.” He did not mention that suppressors are already legal in more than 40 states and are widely owned. Instead, he followed the classic leftist path of presenting suppressors as if they are something new and will only help criminals carry out their evil.
In reality, suppressors are widely owned by law-abiding citizens. Using them reduces noise and recoil, thereby making hunting and target shooting more pleasant while speeding target acquisition for second shot accuracy.
Kelly also made clear that he and his wife will fight any move to allow teachers and staff to be armed for self-defense in schools.
It is interesting to note that guns were banned for self-defense at Virginia Tech (April 16, 2007), Sandy Hook Elementary (December 14, 2012), and Upqua Community College (October 1, 2015). Wouldn’t it have been better if law-abiding people at these locations at least had the option of being armed–the option of having a fighting chance?
On the campaign trail, President Trump made clear his position that teachers and staff should have the option of being armed so they can shoot back to defend their own lives and the lives of children.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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