Will Democrats Take Away Our Guns?

Democrats’ calls for tighter gun control are louder than ever following the mass shootings in Boulder, CO and Atlanta, GA. Democrats will stop at nothing to try to take away guns.

“We cannot seem to finish grieving one tragedy before another takes place,” said Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of the twin attacks. “It’s a reminder that we must confront a devastating truth in the United States: an unrelenting epidemic of gun violence steals innocent lives with alarming regularity.”

President Joe Biden has urged lawmakers to ban assault-style weapons and is considering executive action to address the problem.

“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save lives,” said Biden. “This is not and should not be a partisan issue…It’s an American issue that will save lives, American lives. We must act.”

Biden has expressed support for enhanced background check requirements, the repeal of protections for gun manufacturers, a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons, a program to buy back assault weapons from civilians, and other reforms.

“We can ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines in this country once again,” he said, referencing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004. “It was the law for the longest time…And it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again.”

With the Senate split 50-50, Democrats are pushing to end the filibuster rule so they can advance gun control legislation and other objectives with a simple majority vote. Without this change, they will need support from at least 10 Republicans to get a bill to Biden’s desk.

“Senators in Washington have a choice to make: save lives or save the filibuster. You cannot do both,” argues Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat who hopes to replace outgoing Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA).

Republicans aren’t convinced that gun control laws will stop the violence. 

“Every time there’s a shooting we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders,” argues Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R). “What happens in this committee after every mass shooting is Democrats propose taking away guns from law-abiding citizens because that’s their political objective.”

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) compared the issue to drunk driving: “I’m not trying to perfectly equate these two, but we have a lot of drunk drivers in America that kill a lot of people…What many folks on my side of the aisle are trying to say is the answer is not to get rid of all sober drivers. The answer is to concentrate on the problem.” 

Senators will soon vote on House-approved bills to extend the review period for gun purchases and expand background check requirements to include nearly all firearm sales and transfers.