Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Right now, there’s a lot of gun control bills flying around. So many, in fact, that is not difficult to miss something in all the comings and goings. Plus, frankly, legislation is written in language that makes most people’s eyes glaze over. It’s not exactly entertainment, even for people who like to read and like politics.
But luckily, enough people read these things that we can find interesting little tidbits, such as how Stephen Gutowski over at the Washington Free Beaconreported about this little nugget.
A controversial gun bill backed by House Democrats could steer taxpayer dollars to a leading gun-control ally to consult on a federal study of the background check system.
Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn’s (D., S.C.) H.R. 1446 would require the attorney general to work with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms to report how the bill affects victims of domestic violence and empower the group to suggest other reforms. The center is a partner of the gun-control advocacy group Giffords Law Center, according to its website. The Giffords PAC spent more than $11 million backing Democratic candidates in the 2020 election.
The connection between the report and a prominent gun-control organization could hinder the appeal of the legislation. If Republicans or moderate Democrats are turned off by the provision, it will make the job of passing it through a closely divided House even more difficult. A similar bill passed in 2019 but saw seven Democrats join Republicans in opposition; H.R. 1446 would likely not survive such defections in 2021 following GOP gains in the House.
As a reminder, this is the bill that would quash the “Charleston loophole” and extend the number of days you may have to wait while purchasing a firearm. Currently, after three days, a dealer can assume the check is good to go and send you on with a firearm. This would extend it to 10 days.
“This bill is so partisan, that even the scientific studies it commissions are tainted by politics,” [Rep. Jim] Banks said. “If Republicans commissioned a pro-gun group to conduct a ‘study’ on the effect of, say, concealed carry permits, Democrats would be up in arms. And they’d have every reason to be.”
Banks is absolutely correct. He also said the provision underminds the bipartisan label Democrats are attempting to drop on this piece of legislation. In this, he’s also right.
The problem here is that Democrats are being Democrats. They think nothing of putting in a provision that requires the government to work with a gun control group, but would absolutely lose their minds at the suggestion of passing a law that would force the Department of Justice to work with the NRA. They’d go bonkers and we all know it.
What’s happening here is they’re empowering a partner to basically push their agenda for them, which is something that should trouble every single person in this country regardless of your stance on gun control. If they can get away with this, where else could they get away with it?
Our government should not be beholden to special interests, but a certain degree of that is inevitable. Special interest groups represent real people, after all. What cannot be allowed, though, is for special interest groups to be given power by force of law.
https://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2021/03/11/background-check-ag-gun-control-group-n42001