From 19th century efforts in which Democrats strained to keep slaves and former slaves from owning guns to 20th century plans to ban a politically defined category of guns—”assault weapons”—to 21st century efforts to dissuade women from gun ownership, Democrats have certainly proven they are the party of gun control.
In years gone by, Democrats have been successful at using distraction to keep Americans from ascertaining the party’s real goals. They have criticized the Republicans for being the party of the rich, the party of big oil, the party of corporate America, the party waging war on women, and the list goes on. And through this approach, Democrats have been able to divide America—setting one citizen against another—then step in with government-funded compassion to make everything better.
But following the heinous attack on Sandy Hook Elementary, emboldened Democrats began to describe their gun control plans openly. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) pushed an “assault weapons” ban that would have banned over 150 different firearms, and she and other Democrats also supported a ban on “high capacity” ammunition magazines. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) pushed gun control in the wake of Sandy Hook, too. Yet, unlike the other Democrats, Manchin actually admitted his gun control package would not have stopped the Sandy Hook shooting, but he pushed it nonetheless.
These Democrat office holders were complimented by Democrats in the field—gun control proponents like Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly—who pushed new regulations for gun shows, new rules for online gun sales, new laws against gun trafficking, and new laws to empower police to seize firearms from citizens. None of these would have stopped the attack against Sandy Hook, either.
Many of Giffords’ strongest pushes dealt with gun control for women’s sake. And some of her gun control campaigns—whether by chance or by design—ran congruently with Bloomberg/Moms Demand Action campaigns to convince women to get guns out of their homes.
During the Civil War, Democrats worked hard to keep slaves unarmed. And during the Reconstruction period after the war, they worked just as hard to keep former slaves unarmed. During the 20th century, they literally created a class of guns that had not existed before. Breitbart News previously reported that The New York Times says “Democrats created … a politically defined category of guns” called “assault weapons,” and the purpose for doing so was to ban them.
In the 21st century, Democrats have focused on trying to dissuade women from owning guns and on making the purchase of a gun increasingly difficult for every American citizen. They have reacted to tragedies like Sandy Hook by pushing pages of gun control laws that in no way prevent another Sandy Hook from taking place. So, in the end, the midterm elections proved that Americans largely perceived that the Democrats’ real goal was simply gun control for gun control’s sake.
Democrats are the party of gun control. They own it.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.