Last week we published an opinion piece discussing the disarmament agenda being aggressively pushed by the left, and how similar policies have played out in history with tens of millions eventually being killed by oppressive regimes.
We received lots of great feedback, responses, and thoughtful rebuttals. Among them was a recurring theme: “If someone shows up at my door to take my guns, I’ll never give them up.” You can imagine some of the stronger versions of that.
These responses inspired us to think about and write part two of this opinion piece because we believe that a door-to-door confiscation at gunpoint is the least likely method that tyrants will use to disarm the 100,000,000 gun-owning Americans, or the method of last resort.
Let’s look at many of the other approaches that are already being deployed in real time.
Anti-Gun Laws
New Jersey, New York, and California are leading the left’s disarmament agenda by passing laws they know are unconstitutional (often in the guise of “public safety”), and then accepting the fact they will be litigated in court for years. A perfect example is New Jersey’s Bruen-response bill that labels almost every public location as a “sensitive place” prohibiting concealed carry. They get away with this because they have legislatures that are willing and able to further their marxist agenda, they can lean on activist judges to support such laws, and they can defend their agenda with an endless coffer of taxpayer money in the legal fight.
Tougher Penalties
Along the same lines, anti-gun states are increasing the penalties for non-compliance that ultimately only have an impact on the law-abiding who slip up due to either the complexity of the laws or the ever-changing legal landscape as the laws are challenged. These penalties have a chilling effect on those who would otherwise exercise their Constitutional rights, but are now afraid of the consequences of making a mistake. (It’s also a reason why you need to subscribe to a legal defense fund, like US LawShield.)
Here’s an example: violating many of the new restrictions in New Jersey’s carry-killer bill are crimes of the fourth degree (known as felonies in some states) and have the following penalties:
- Up to 18 months in New Jersey State Prison
- A fine of up to $10,000
- A felony conviction on your criminal record
An unintentional mess-up could make you a felon and prohibit you from ever owning firearms again! And the state does this intentionally, even while giving real criminals a pass.
Insurance
Another backdoor attack on your freedoms by the state comes in the form of mandating “liability insurance” in order to exercise your Constitutional rights. And while this is illegal on its face (just as the New Jersey requirement put forth in its carry-killer bill), the cost and compliance is just one more hurdle intended to chill your rights. You are being disarmed one element at a time.
(New Jersey’s requirement that “Every private citizen who carries a handgun in public in this state shall maintain liability insurance coverage…” is under an injunction as the law is being challenged in federal court.)
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Increased Taxes and Fees
Hitting people in the wallet (or pocketbook) is one of the easiest ways to disarm them – the state simply makes it too expensive to exercise your rights. In a recent budget proposal, Governor Murphy would have doubled the many fees associated with obtaining a concealed carry permit as well as other firearms-related permits, going far beyond covering the administrative cost of issuing permits to the point of profiting. Thankfully, a coalition of Second Amendment rights groups are challenging New Jersey’s fee schemes in a massive lawsuit. Sadly, many lower-income individuals and families are already priced out of exercising their rights – just the way the state wants it.
To that point, our state legislators here in New Jersey shamelessly state their intentions to price minorities out of their right (think poll tax). News2A was in the state Assembly chambers for the live show when then state Assemblyman, now state Senator, John F. McKeon, openly shared his racist views in defense of a bill (now law) that would greatly increase fees related to the exercise of our Second Amendment right. This video and his words are not taken out of context.
Bans on Ammunition and Lead
California isn’t the first state to make it hard to obtain ammo, but they are doing a very effective job with heavy restrictions on where and how residents can buy ammo and burdensome taxes like the “sin tax” on ammo that went into effect this summer. This has an effect of a de facto ban by making it harder to afford or source ammunition, which is critical to owning, operating, and training with a firearm. There have also been attempts to ban lead on federal land. Such an attempt was narrowly thwarted by a bill passed in May of this year by the US House by a slim margin of 214 to 201. It seems our rights are always just a few votes away from being extinguished.
Regulatory Quagmires
Talk to any gun store (FLL) about compliance, especially if they sell NFA items, and they will tell you it’s a nightmare. Increasingly, the ATF is coming down hard on FFLs who make clerical errors that put them out of compliance with a zero-tolerance approach that often includes yanking their license. When the cost of compliance becomes so high that it’s not worth the effort, there will be fewer and fewer places to purchase firearms. It’s a long, slow, death-by-one-thousand-cuts approach that slowly squeezes the life out of business owners and ultimately disarms the law-abiding through attrition.
“Assault Weapons” Ban
Democrats are pushing an “assault weapons” ban that would make it illegal to own one of the most popular firearms in America, the AR-15, and weapons similar to it, along with standard capacity magazines. Make no mistake, even though there are now decades of Supreme Court precedent protecting such firearms that are in ‘common use’ and despite the fact that 99.99% of gun owners are law-abiding, they will pass such a ban if they win the general election. They will also push storage and red-flag laws that will make it easier to confiscate firearms from people they arbitrarily deem to be “dangerous” – a label that can and will be leveraged against those who they disagree with politically, with no due process.
“Voluntary” Buy-Backs
An “assault weapons” ban will likely result in a “buy-back” program, wherein the government offers to “buy back” something they never sold you. Naturally, many Americans will comply because the penalties for not complying will cause weaker-minded people to act out of fear. ‘Better to give up this gun than go to jail because at least I still have my other guns,’ many will reason. Which will lead to…
Gun registration
Once the government has removed one of the most effective tools to fight back, they will require “registration” of all firearms. They have in fact already been working towards this. It’s well documented that the ATF has records of nearly 1 billion transactions, in spite of the fact that it’s illegal for them to have such records. Registration laws will have a window “allowing” people to voluntarily tell the government about the firearms they have (criminals of course will not comply), after which the government will impose SEVERE penalties for failure to comply, including crushing fines and jail sentences. Registration is a necessary element for the next level of enforcement action…
Fear Campaign
Likely before they come to your door (which is logically the last thing the government would want to do – pitting fellow American against fellow American), the government will embark on a fear campaign. They will target and publicly eliminate some high-visibility, prominent voices in the Second Amendment community that would include: social media influencers, leaders of Second Amendment rights groups, “training providers”, former special forces operators. They will do this in various ways. Some will just disappear with no explanation. Others will encounter their demise under mysterious circumstances (car crashes, sudden medical emergencies, unexplained home invasions, etc.). Many will be jailed on false charges with no due process. The message will be clear – they can eliminate or remove any person or group obstructing their agenda, and if they can do it to prominent voices, they can do it to YOU, the average American gun owner.
Confiscation
If you haven’t already succumbed to the death-by-one-thousand-cuts approach outlined above, you are lucky enough (or strong enough) to have safeguarded your rights, and that in and of itself will paint you as a target and enemy of a tyrannical government. There is only one way they can fully disarm you at this point, and it’s by force. While we hope and pray it never comes to this, you have a choice to make. NOW is the time to draw your line in the sand.
