On this Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” guest-host Chuck Todd was interviewing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) about the current status of the Senate’s gun legislation, specifically what is being called the “Universal Background Check” which Democrats and their media counterparts favor as a “common-sense measure” in reaction to the Newton murders a few months ago.
Forget the fact that a background check would have had absolutely no impact on Newtown, or Aurora, or Tucson, or Columbine, or Virginia Tech, or any other high-profile crime; progressives are bound and determined to use these massacres to slowly whittle away at Americans’ constitutionally protected, God-given right to bear arms and defend themselves.
Enter Chuck Todd, who truly doesn’t understand why a law-abiding gun owner would have a problem with a “Universal Background Check.” After comparing an extensive background check to going through a TSA screening at airports, Todd asked Sen. Flake, “What’s wrong with law-biding gun owners – what do they have to hide? What’s wrong with going through an extensive background check?”
Would Todd apply the “What have they got to hide?” standard to the other amendments to the constitution? The fourth or the fifth perhaps? Did Todd use the “What have they got to hide?” standard when reporting on the Bush Administration’s efforts to analyze cell phone dialing data in an effort to detect terrorist activity?
Of course not. But Todd’s question reveals much more about the real attitude of “gun control” advocates than any argument a 2nd amendment proponent could bring to the table. This is and always has been a “Washington, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco versus the rest of America” kind of story. And the truth is, Chuck Todd truly doesn’t understand where most Americans stand on this issue. Otherwise he never would have asked the question in the first place.