Anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety “isn’t feeling the courage of their purported convictions these days,” according to the National Rifle Association, which has zeroed in on political advertisements in several “swing” states that “have nothing to do with firearms.”
With the election just one month away, and the announcement that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for the coronavirus, there is no telling how the well-financed gun prohibition lobby may try to exploit that news. Already, vehemently anti-gun House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to capitalize on the news, raising “concerns” about the reliability of testing at the White House.
“Their message of civilian disarmament won’t play with an electorate wracked with concerns over COVID-19, a spike in violence in many jurisdictions and politician-tolerated civil unrest,” the NRA says.
To prove it, the gun rights organization provides links to advertisements running in Arizona, Minnesota and Pennsylvania attacking candidates on health care and other issues, but carefully avoiding any mention of guns or the Second Amendment. According to NRA, “the Bloomberg front has sent mailers criticizing candidates’ supposed positions on health care and pharmaceuticals. In Texas, Everytown targeted at least one candidate on the topic of public school funding.”
The president’s announcement about his positive COVID-19 test result will not delay the confirmation process for Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. According to Fox News, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a tweet he had spoken to the president and declared “full steam ahead” with the confirmation effort.
Just finished a great phone call with @POTUS. He’s in good spirits and we talked business — especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) October 2, 2020
But the NRA’s observation appears to have merit. Everytown’s Action Fund has been busy trying to flip Congress to the Democrats, and the advertising shows that. But the question remains: Is Everytown afraid of its own message?
The gun prohibition lobbying group has likely been viewing Trump’s campaign stops and rallies. They have noticed that whenever the president mentions his support and defense of the Second Amendment, audiences erupt in loud cheers. Trump has been consistent with his comments about gun rights, and they always get a positive reaction from the crowds. NRA is suggesting anti-gunners have decided gun control is a toxic subject in many states.
As noted by the NRA, “There is good reason for this conclusion. In recent months, the U.S. has seen an unprecedented surge in firearms and ammunition purchases.”
The organization is reporting that “four of the five busiest months ever for the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) have been in 2020. In the first eight months of 2020 there have been more total NICS checks than in 18 of the 21 complete years NICS has been in operation (the first full year was 1999).”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimated a couple of weeks ago that the tidal wave of gun sales during the first half of this year created nearly 5 million first-time gun owners. Larry Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel, described this as “a tectonic shift in the firearm and ammunition industry marketplace and complete transformation of today’s gun-owning community.”
If that translates to 5 million new “gun voters,” the elitist-backed gun prohibition lobby needs to tread very carefully, because a message of disarmament to a huge voting bloc that has only recently started to exercise their rights could easily throw the November election into chaos, with anti-gunners coming out the losers.
