The stunning election of Donald Trump as president was a major backfire against Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Democrat party – which put gun control as a cornerstone of their 2016 election effort – but there have been other monumental failures and blunders for the gun prohibition movement this year.
Clinton’s declaration that the Supreme Court was “wrong” on the Second Amendment, and her repeated attacks on the so-called “gun lobby” brought gun voters out of the woodwork in key states. Calling those voters “deplorables” only exacerbated her troubles with gun voters.
But Clinton has company when it comes to gun control gaffes.
In California, new restrictions on so-called “assault weapons” drove gun sales into the stratosphere. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Monday that “new gun control legislation, six bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in July, was a boon to 2016 gun sales already on an upward trend.”
“Nearly one million firearms were purchased in California as of Dec. 9, the most recent state data available, compared to just over 700,000 guns sold in all of 2015,” the newspaper reported. “Sales have likely soared beyond one million guns since then.
“Semiautomatic rifle sales have more than doubled,” the story continued. “The California Department of Justice reported 364,643 semiautomatic rifles had been sold by Dec. 9. Only 153,931 rifles were sold last year.”
The very guns that lawmakers in Sacramento want to be rid of are now in more hands than ever. Anti-gunners never seem to learn from their earlier mistakes.
Maine voters rejected an effort to pass a “universal background check” initiative in November. A small but significant victory for Second Amendment activists, it proved that billionaire-backed efforts to erode the privacy rights of gun owners can be beaten. All it takes is for gun owners to vote.
Wealthy Washington State anti-gunners were a busy bunch, buying another election victory with passage of Initiative 1491. But while they were campaigning, more than 57,000 new concealed pistol licenses were issued in the Evergreen State, and that was only up through the end of November. By this weekend, chances are the number will have risen to 60,000-plus, based on monthly CPL averages.
In Arizona, where no permit to carry is necessary, the state still added more than 48,000 permits, enabling that state’s armed citizens to carry in other states that have reciprocity with Arizona. More than 299,000 permits are now active.
Nationwide, it is now estimated that more than 15 million citizens are licensed to carry.
Strict gun laws in Chicago haven’t stemmed the violence. With more than 700 dead so far, including 11 over the Christmas weekend, gun control has failed.
Hollywood’s latest attempt to push gun control at the box office was a financial disaster. John Lott, writing in the National Review, called “Miss Sloane” a dud, and provided the figures to back it up.
The new year will bring new challenges, with more attempts by anti-gunners to buy elections and push state legislatures. With Trump in the White House, there is a chance federal courts will take a new direction and the Supreme Court will not be threatened.
If the past is any indicator, the gun prohibition lobby will be proven wrong again…and again…and again.
