In addition to surrendering to the Democrat instinct to tax Americans into oblivion, Republicans in Congress are prepared to go along with knee-jerk legislation rolling back the Second Amendment in the coming year.
Put guns on the table. Also, put video games on the table. Put mental health on the table, Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia said last week as the Republican leadership signaled it is ready to chip away at the right to own firearms.
Kingston said Republicans are likely to move on more anti-gun legislation after a grief stage in response to the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.
In the coming days and weeks, we will engage in a meaningful conversation and thoughtful debate about how to change laws and culture that allow violence to grow, said formerly pro-Second Amendment Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And every idea should be on the table as we discuss how best to do just that.
Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Chuck Grassley of Iowa are ready to trade off the Second Amendment in order to make a political deal with Democrats. Youve got to take all these things into consideration, Grassley said.
Grassley also believes the federal government should legislate on societal issues. He said Congress needs to discuss a culture that tends to be less civil now than it has been for a long period of time.
Arguing that Republicans must abandon libertarian principles in order to remain relevant in a country whose views are changing, the Associated Press cites a Washington Post/ABC News poll published last week in the wake of the Connecticut shooting that shows 54 percent of Americans surveyed want restrictions placed on the Second Amendment.
For statist Republicans, relevance is all the rage. Following the shooting in Connecticut, former Republican congressman from Florida, Joe Scarborough, easily betrayed the Constitution. I knew that day that the ideologies of my past career were no longer relevant to the future that I want, that I demand, for my children, he said.
The party is at a point where it wants to have those discussions in public, where people feel comfortable differing from what is perceived as the party orthodoxy, said Republican consultant Dan Hazelwood, revealing the sad fact that Republican fealty to the Second Amendment and thus the Constitution at large is waning.
Retiring Republican Ron Paul responded to this sudden political sea change on the part of his colleagues.
Predictably, the political left responded to the tragedy with emotional calls for increased gun control. This is understandable, but misguided, Paul said after the massacre. The impulse to have government do something to protect us in the wake of national tragedies is reflexive and often well intentioned. Many Americans believe that if we simply pass the right laws, future horrors like the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting can be prevented. But this impulse ignores the self evident truth that criminals dont obey laws. The political right, unfortunately, has fallen into the same trap in its calls for quick legislative solutions to gun violence. If only we put armed police or armed teachers in schools, were told, would-be school shooters would be dissuaded or stopped. While I certainly agree that more guns equals less crime and that private gun ownership prevents many shootings. I dont agree that conservatives and libertarians should view government legislation, especially at the federal level, as the solution to violence.
Ron Paul criticized reaction to the shooting by the NRA. Following the shooting, NRA boss Wayne LaPierre said the state should respond by placing more armed cops and guards in public education schools.
Paul rightly saw this as an excuse to expand an already bloated police state:
Furthermore, do we really want to live in a world of police checkpoints, surveillance cameras, metal detectors, X-ray scanners, and warrantless physical searches? We see this culture in our airports: witness the shabby spectacle of once proud, happy Americans shuffling through long lines while uniformed TSA agents bark orders. This is the world of government provided security, a world far too many Americans now seem to accept or even endorse. School shootings, no matter how horrific, do not justify creating an Orwellian surveillance state in America.
Republicans in Congress will vote with Democrats to further erode the Second Amendment. The establishment is now exploiting the Sandy Hook shooting to accomplish its long-term objective of disarming the American people.
No state can strip its citizens of their natural rights if they are armed and if a large number of them understand the principles behind the Constitution and the real reason for the Second Amendment.
Poster Comment:
Add in the rest of the liberal congress-critters who endorsed John "Trigger Lock" McCain, and Willard "Semiauto Ban" Romney, and some form of so called gun control seems likely to get passed.