Anti-gun politicians in Illinois, New Jersey and other so-called “blue” states are in a pre-holiday rush to adopt tougher gun control laws in the aftermath of June’s Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which reinforced Second Amendment protections at a time so many are trying to erode them.
According to the Washington Examiner, New Jersey legislators “are advancing a bill that would severely restrict where lawful gun owners could carry their firearms with a permit that, under the new law, would cost significantly more money to obtain.
In Illinois, lawmakers have started hearings on House Bill 5855, dubbed the “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” which seeks to ban so-called “assault weapons” and magazines designed to hold more than 10 cartridges. It would require registration of such firearms already in private ownership, and raise the minimum age for purchasing firearms to 21 years. There is also a ban on .50-caliber rifles and ammunition in the package. The National Rifle Association is warning its Illinois members about this legislation, following an emotion-laden first hearing Monday.
In Oregon, proponents of Measure 114 are fighting in court to enact the law, passed by a narrow voter margin Nov. 8 but stalled by a Harney County circuit court judge. At least four federal and one state-level lawsuits are challenging the constitutionality of the new law.
Not surprisingly, states moving to adopt new laws to sidestep statutes nullified by the Supreme Court when it declared New York’s concealed carry “proper cause” permitting requirement are trying to adopt even stricter laws. Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, told the Washington Examiner, “They know they’re getting laws struck down, so they’re trying to pass laws to get around it, and their problem is, all these laws they’re passing are more restrictive.”
SAF is a plaintiff in two of the Oregon lawsuits, and it has also filed lawsuits in New York challenging the Empire State’s new gun law.
An NBC News report on gun control accomplishments in the ten years since the Sandy Hook tragedy quotes a report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which said 525 “significant gun safety” laws have been passed during the past decade. According to NBC, the report “found that 21 states passed community violence intervention laws, 37 states took up domestic violence prohibitions, 20 states embraced “red flag” protection measures, and 29 states toughened background checks. In addition, 18 states approved laws that make it more difficult for children and young adults to access firearms.”
But the obvious question is, would any of these new laws have prevented Sandy Hook, had they been in effect?
And another query: Will any of these laws prevent a determined individual from committing another mass shooting?
Writing at the Washington Examiner, Jim Nelles—a Chicago-based supply chain consultant—declares, “Once again, law-abiding gun owners find themselves under assault by both federal officials and many state governments.”
A few paragraphs later, Nelles raises a point the establishment media seems to routinely overlook.
“Banning ‘assault weapons’ will also have very little impact on the number of murders in the United States,” he says. “In 2020, handguns were involved in 59% of the 13,620 U.S. gun murders and non-negligent manslaughters for which data is available, according to the FBI. Rifles — the category that includes guns sometimes referred to as ‘assault weapons’ — were involved in 3% of firearm murders.”
According to FBI data, more people are stabbed or beaten to death than are killed with rifles of any kind on an annual basis.
Also in the ten years since Sandy Hook, there have been significant gun rights advances, not the least of which has been the swing by many states toward permitless, or “constitutional” carry. Under these statutes—adopted by 25 Republican-controlled states—no license or permit is required to carry a firearm for personal protection. The number of concealed carry licenses has continued to climb, to more than 22 million, according to the latest report from the Crime Prevention Research Center.
So, when Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a perennial gun control proponent, tells NBC News the “anti-gun violence movement” has become more powerful than the so-called “gun lobby,” NRA’s lars Delseide replied, “There are residents in 25 states with constitutional carry with more to come and tens of millions of new gun owners who would disagree with his assertion.”
Meanwhile, SAF has emerged as a powerhouse in Second Amendment litigation, with dozens of legal actions currently in progress and more on the horizon. No doubt, the new laws now bring pushed will be challenged on constitutional grounds, fulfilling SAF’s long-acknowledged goal of “Winning firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time.”
