OPINION: Finley: Dems set sights on gun rights

Feb. 28—Democrats religiously attach the words "common sense" before "gun control measures" whenever they launch an attack on the Second Amendment.

They lead with items on which there is some consensus — such as a ban on military-style weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines and closing background check loopholes for gun purchases.

Those relatively tame restrictions are the opening through which they hope to drive their real agenda: making it all but impossible for Americans to buy and own firearms.

The Democratic gun control fantasy is clearly spelled out in a bill introduced in the House last week by Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

Called the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act, in honor of a Pakistani exchange student killed in a Texas school shooting, the bill includes all of the items mentioned above. From there, it drops any pretense of common sense.

It starts with a requirement that all firearms be registered with the federal government within three months of the bill's passage. That includes hunting rifles and shotguns, and even great-grandpa's old musket hanging above the fireplace.

It also demands the owner specify exactly where in the house the firearm is being stored and how. That information will be publicly accessible and extremely valuable to thieves and confiscators.

If the owner loans the gun to a friend for a hunting trip or target shooting, the feds must be notified and grant approval.

It gets more intrusive.

Before any firearm can be purchased or inherited, a federal license must be obtained. Licensing would require a multi-step process that includes not just a background check, but a full psychological exam by an approved doctor. Depending on the type of weapon, all members of the owner's household might also have to be checked out by a shrink.

Would-be purchasers would have to complete 24 hours of safety training at their own expense and buy an insurance policy from the government, at a cost of $800. Add in the cost of the mental health exam, the pre-purchase payout could be more than a thousand dollars. How's that for denying the poor their constitutional rights?

Penalties for violating provisions of the act range from $75,000 to $150,000, and from 15-25 years in prison. The licensing process would have to be repeated every three years.

Obviously, this piece of nonsense has no chance of passing, even in a Senate controlled by Democrats.

But it does set the goal line for what promises to be a relentless push by gun control advocates to demolish the Second Amendment.

President Joe Biden is now weighing requests that he declare gun violence a public health emergency, which would give him broader powers to restrict and regulate firearms.

Who knows how many of Jackson Lee's proposals will be on Biden's executive order list, but the result is bound to be a much slower and more onerous process for owning and purchasing a firearm.

Justification for the emergency declaration is that gun violence has soared over the past year. Never mind that the root cause is the marginalization of law enforcement, rather than a sudden surge in gun possession.

But as we've seen with the COVID-19 emergency, Democrats are not going to waste an opportunity to strip away rights they find inconvenient.

Twitter: @NolanFinleyDN

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