July 31st, 2024 

The failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, was a godsend for demagogic gun controllers nationwide.

The average Democrat politician abides by former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s axiom of never letting a crisis go to waste. The events of July 13 were tragic to say the least.  A deranged gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump and his supporters, which resulted in Crooks piercing the upper part of Trump’s right ear. Even more tragic, was the death of Corey Comperatore, a volunteer fire chief who heroically threw himself in front of his family to shield them from gunfire. On top of that, two other people were struck by gunfire during this assassination attempt but were thankfully able to survive their injuries. 

Naturally, gun controllers are using the horrific tragedy of July 13 to justify a slew of gun control measures. In an appearance (D-MA) on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show on July 16, Sen. Elizabeth Warren declared that Republicans and Democrats should prohibit “assault weapons” in an effort to promote unity.

The Massachusetts senator wants to prohibit these firearms through the imposition of a national ban.  Such a proposal is clearly a demagogic ploy to justify further encroachments on the Second Amendment. Warren is convinced that banning this arbitrary category of firearms is a justified response to the failed assassination attempt on Trump.

 Warren posted the following on X:

“We didn’t hear about gun safety reform at the RNC this week—but it’s an issue where Republicans and Democrats should be able to come together. Let’s ban assault weapons nationwide.” 

“Assault weapons” are an arbitrary category of weapons that often include AK-47 and AR-15 style rifles. Despite being single-shot weapons, these rifles’ cosmetics may appear intimidating to those not plugged into the broader culture. Many erroneously believe that these kinds of rifles have burst or automatic fire settings. In the case of Trump’ s failed assassination attempt, the gunman used an AR-15 style rifle — a firearm the anti-gun Left is obsessed with banning. 

There were some Republican politicians that did not buy the hype surrounding the calls for banning so-called weapons. During a speech he gave at the Republican National Convention on July 16, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) defended the concept of owning AR-15 rifles.

“There are 400 million guns currently in circulation,” Hunt noted. “Guns aren’t going anywhere. The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. And that son-of-a-b**** is now dead because a good guy with a gun shot him.”

Hunt correctly warned that “the left is using the AR-15 as a scapegoat for infringement on your rights.  “So what they’re going to try to do is demonize the AR-15 to make it seem like everybody is a crazed mass shooter even though that’s completely false. So my message to you all is to be vigilant here. They cannot go after a pistol braces, they cannot go after bump stocks, they cannot go after AR-15s. Because the second we allow them to infringe on that we are letting the fox in the henhouse,” Hunt concluded. 

The US already had an assault weapons ban from 1994 to 2004. The 1994 assault weapons ban was part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which received the signature of then-president Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994.

Pro-gun researchers have contended that the 1994 assault weapons ban had no real impact on crime. According to research from pro-gun economist John Lott, “there was no drop in the number of attacks with assault weapons during the 1994 to 2004 ban. There was an increase after the ban sunset, but the change is not statistically significant.”

Ultimately, there’s nothing magical about an assault weapons ban. The research clearly demonstrates they have a minimal impact on crime. What’s more at play here is the Let’s endgame of complete civilian disarmament. 

It’s no secret that the Left hates the right to bear arms. However, they recognize that there are many institutional constraints and a well ingrained pro-gun culture in the American polity that makes it increasingly difficult to pass gun control. As a result, Gun Control Inc. will turn to gradualist measures such as “assault weapons” bans to gather more momentum. 

We must not give the Left an inch here. Any gun control they pass puts them one step closer to their goal of abolishing the Second Amendment. Any wrench we throw in the Left’s plans to subvert the right to bear arms, gives the pro-gun community more breathing room and more flexibility to go on offense to restore our rights.