Buried in the eighth paragraph of a story in USA Today report on a gun control demonstration outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday is an admission from organizers they’re not through demanding more gun restrictions, even though Joe Biden recently signed a new gun control law.
“But organizers of Wednesday’s rally say while the legislation was a step forward, it is not enough,” the newspaper reported. “They are calling for added stipulations on background checks and a ban on assault weapons. The suspect in the Highland Park attack legally obtained an arsenal of weapons before the attack even though there were warning signs about his mental state, exposing cracks in the system and the limits of state laws.”
In other words, the gun prohibition movement will never be finished. Despite a string of losses at the U.S. Supreme Court—in 2008 (Heller), 2010 (McDonald) and last month with the ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, striking down the century-old “good cause” requirement for those seeking concealed carry permits in the Empire State—the anti-Second Amendment lobby is determined to impose as many restrictions as possible on gun ownership.
In Oregon, supporters of a gun control initiative (IP 17) delivered an estimated 160,000 signatures recently to the Secretary of State’s office in Salem to get their issue on the ballot. IP17 would require a permit to purchase a firearm, training and a ban on the future purchase or manufacture of so-called “high capacity magazines.” Magazines already owned can be retained and used on a restricted basis, but they may never be transferred to anyone.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed more gun control legislation, as did New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
In New York, as reported at Ammoland, new legislation was adopted to skirt the Supreme Court ruling by making it a requirement now that carry permit applicants allow issuing agencies to access their social media accounts.
On the other hand, recent reports of surging concealed carry permit numbers in Maryland and Washington suggest gun owners are weighing in with their exercise of rights. A clash of cultures seems inevitable, perhaps showing up in November during the midterms, when gun owners are expected to turn out and take Congress away from Democrats, putting the more Second Amendment-friendly GOP in charge.
