The incoming Trump administration has the potential to reorient gun policy in a markedly pro-gun direction. A trifecta in all branches of government at the federal level affords Trump this chance to make history.
Passing pro-gun measures will be a tall order, despite Republican control of the White House and Congress. As most gun owners know all too well, Republicans can’t always be trusted to stand up against gun control, much less reliably pass pro-gun legislation. However, the Trump administration can set the narrative straight about gun violence at government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC was caught intentionally deleting defensive gun use data sets it usually recorded. At the time, there was considerable evidence that gun control organizations were placing pressure on the CDC to modify this data to undermine pro-gun arguments. There was email correspondence between the CDC and Mark Bryant, the executive director of the Gun Violence Archive, who allegedly expressed in the email “that 2.5 Million number needs to be killed, buried, dug up, killed again and buried again. It is highly misleading, is used out of context and I honestly believe it has zero value — even as an outlier point in honest DGU discussions.”
The CDC is ostensibly a taxpayer-funded agency tasked with promoting public health and protecting Americans from public health threats. However, when it’s controlled by leftist actors, it will step outside of its lane and begin to advance anti-freedom causes that have nothing to do with its original mission. With the CDC showing its willingness to engage in such perfidy, pro-gun advocates have to correct its devious ways.
Defensive gun use cases are arguably the strongest empirical forms of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of firearms in the hands of lawful gun owners. According to a study carried out by researchers spearheaded by respected criminologist Dr. Gary Kleck of Florida State University discovered that there are roughly 2.1 to 2.5 million defensive gun use cases yearly wherein law-abiding Americans use firearms to defend themselves and their property from criminals.
The corporate media downplay such cases. It’s natural when one thinks about it. The media runs a business model of “if it bleeds, it leads” where it’s more fixated on instances of mass shooters mowing down innocent individuals or other cases of criminals causing harm with firearms. However, it doesn’t care to cover the majority of cases of lawful individuals using their firearms for legitimate self-defense purposes.
Moreover, there are numerous cases where individuals draw out their firearms and scare the perpetrator away, all without having to fire their weapon. Such cases will obviously not be picked up by the media. However, they show the many benefits of having a population of armed, law-abiding individuals.
It cannot be stressed how important it is to make sure government agencies don’t spread anti-gun disinformation. Gun controllers understand full well the importance of having all of their bases covered. That’s why they’re not only electing politicians but they’re also fully inserting anti-gun zealots into prominent government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations.
Trump nominated former Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL), who represented Florida’s 15th district from 1995 to 2009, to serve as the head of the CDC. Weldon should not fall for the trap of playing nice and go along to get along like so many of his Republican predecessors. He should use prudential state power to not only publish comprehensive information on defense gun use cases but also launch investigations on the foul play that happened under the Biden-era CDC.
The time for gun owners to go on offense is now. Please stand with Texas Gun Rights as we continue to hold gun grabbers accountable at all levels of government.
