October 2nd, 2024
Vice Presidential nominee and Ohio Senator JD Vance displayed a stunning masterclass in political messaging and rhetoric during his debate with Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Hosted on CBS, the only Vice Presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle spanned nearly two full hours and included discussions on a wide variety of hot button issues, including gun violence and how the two candidates would address the problem. Although the firearm segment only lasted a mere 7 minutes, striking dichotomies between both candidates’ approaches towards the issue were revealed. This comes as no surprise considering that Tim Walz is running alongside the most virulently anti-2nd Amendment presidential candidate in American history, Kamala Harris.
For provided context, Kamala Harris has, throughout her career, continuously called for gun bans and confiscations, praising the country of Australia for their mandatory buy-back program, and expressing desires to see a similar policy enacted in the United States. She has announced plans to prohibit the sale or possession of so-called “assault rifles,” through executive order, superseding congress and the Constitution. Kamala is also in favor of extensive red flag laws, and has worked alongside Joe Biden to pressure states into implementing these overt violations of due process across the nation.
Although she has toned down her confiscatory rhetoric in the lead up to November, claiming now that she herself is a gun owner and that “no one is coming after your guns,” Kamala continues her calls for an assault weapons ban (which inherently entails confiscation). As her running mate, Tim Walz has stood firmly by her side and in support of her tyrannical propositions every step of the way.
In his own career as both U.S. Congressman and Minnesota Governor, Walz boasts a particularly totalitarian record on firearms, having supported bills that ban “semi automatic military-style assault weapons,” as well as bans on certain triggers and enforcement of uniform gun storage protocol in one’s own home.
Despite this highly unconstitutional record, Walz doesn’t shy away from posing in pictures holding his own guns and proudly proclaiming that he himself is a gun owner and a hunter. It’s arguable that he was chosen specifically to ease the fears of independent voters that Kamala is too radical on guns by portraying Walz as a classical, middle-American gun owner who only wants to ban the scary, black guns. Most everyone, however, can see right through this facade, understanding that both Kamala and Walz are two of the most ardently anti-2nd Amendment politicians in the entire country.
This reality was once again revealed during the Vice Presidential debate. The firearm segment opened with the CBS moderators stating the oft-repeated lie that guns are the leading cause of death for children in America. JD Vance was then asked if he agreed with a recent case in which the parents of a school shooter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and the precedent set by prosecuting parents of mass shooters. Vance explained that such decisions would have to be made on a case-by-case basis, based on the facts of each individual situation.
The Ohio Senator then expressed his shared desire with Democrats to end gun violence, especially in schools, but also his intense disagreement with their proposed method of solving the problem. In doing so, he provided a scathing rebuttal of left wing calls for gun control, pointing out the fact that over 90% of gun violence involves illegally obtained firearms, many of which have poured into the country through Kamala Harris’ open border.
In the following remarks, Vance laid out an actual, effective solution to school gun violence, which involves enhancing school security and increasing the number of school resource officers. Although lamenting this necessity and conveying dejection at the idea of his children feeling unsafe, Vance acknowledged that these are the only real solutions to school shootings. “The idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn’t fit with recent experience, so we’ve got to make our schools safer.”
Vance is absolutely correct here, as history has proven that gun control laws and eviscerations of 2nd Amendment rights have done little to curb gun violence or keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. Ratherm, gun control serves only to disarm well meaning and law abiding gun owners, rendering them defenseless against evil individuals who won’t follow the law anyway. If someone is planning to commit perhaps the worst crime of all, murder, they will see little problem with breaking lesser laws pertaining to getting a gun.
In his response, Tim Walz provides little more than a non-answer, policywise. He details his meetings with the victims of school shootings as well as his own son’s experience with gun violence. Walz then repeats his assertion that he is a hunter and acknowledges that “the 2nd Amendment, it, it’s there, but our first responsibility is to our kids.” Following these remarks, he commends his own state’s work in implementing red flag laws and brings up the nation of Finland, which has a high gun ownership rate but little gun violence.
In closing, Walz once again lies and asserts that “no one is coming for your guns.” JD Vance then regains the floor and elaborates on Walz’s point about Finland. Vance explains that Finland has far lower rates of drug abuse and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. He then mentions the often-ignored reality of inner city and gang violence that ravages the most densely populated areas of America, but creates far less headlines. Vance reinforces his belief that police officers need to be enabled to do their jobs and put bad guys away, while emphasizing his tough on crime beliefs. Before finishing, he once again expresses the need for stronger security in American schools.
Being given the last word, Walz concludes the discussion by accusing JD Vance of stigmatizing mental health and using the issue as a scapegoat. “Sometimes it just is the guns. It’s just the guns.”
Throughout the debate, Walz let out a number of bizarre gaffes, including saying that he has become friends with school shooters. There are many details within his performance to nitpick, but focusing solely on the arguments laid out by both candidates, Vance provides legitimate policy proposals and solutions, while Walz espouses platitudes, emotional rhetoric, and unconstitutional, totalitarian propositions.
Leftists have universally refused to accept any solution to gun violence that doesn’t involve stripping away the 2nd Amendment rights of American citizens. Bring up the reality of mental health and drug abuse and how those factors contribute to gun violence, they say “no, it’s just the guns.” Bring up ideas to improve security in schools and enable police officers to protect children from hostile threats, they say “no, it’s just the guns.” Bring up the fact that gun control laws have not prevented gun violence in any capacity and that the vast majority of crime is committed with illegally obtained firearms, they say “NO, IT’S JUST THE GUNS. WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY THE GUNS.”
This pattern is revealing of a group that does not actually seek solutions to the reality of evil and violence in human society, but rather solely the pursuit of power. Americans everywhere must understand the tyrannical threat that is faced by a Kamala/Walz ticket. The two politicians hold no regard for the God-given, fundamental, constitutional rights of the American people, and they will not hesitate to enforce their totalitarian will upon receiving the power they so desperately desire.
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Article submitted to Texas Gun Rights by Blake Kresses
