President Donald Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. He said he would defend the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Maybe he will, and maybe he won’t. Talk is cheap, Mister President. Show us.
Mr. President, you can prosecute the federal agents who broke the law. The Obama Department of Justice and the Hillary Clinton State Department sent thousands of guns to Mexican drug lords. The Obama administration then falsely charged and prosecuted gun shop owners who called and asked why the BATFE approved gun sales to suspected criminals. Attorney General Jeff Sessions should open an investigation and prosecute the government agents responsible. The law is clear. The time for talk is past.
Mr. President, protect the innocent citizens who are arrested as they traveled from state to state. Enforce the Firearms Owners Protection Act and prosecute the local officials who violate it. Furthermore, use 18 U.S. Code § 242 and charge the local officials with deprivation of rights under color of law. The penalties can be severe. Yes, I know that some of these government employees were “just following orders”. Sorry, Officer, but there is no qualified immunity because there is no right to violate the rights of others.
Mr. President, defend all of our rights. Put federal money where your mouth is. Colleges with “free speech zones” the size of a phone booth should not receive federal funds. Nor should schools and hospitals that establish themselves as “gun free zones”. Prosecute local officials for infringing on the right to bear arms. There is precedent, Mr. President. We called out the national guard to protect our rights before. Now it is your turn.
Stop the malicious prosecutions of armed citizens by local officials. We’ve had Boy Scouts arrested in New York City for having a pen knife on their key chain. We’ve had homeless people arrested for owning a stun gun for self-defense. Poor people in our inner cities are priced out of defending themselves in their home and on the public street. Local officials infringe the rights of the poor through fees and excess regulation. Stop treating self-defense as a second class right. Show me, Mr. President.
I must grant President Trump some leeway since his administration still contains some Obama appointees who hate our rights. These holdovers must be removed or sidelined. Also, some fault lies with Senators McConnell and Grassley since a number of Trump’s agency secretaries have not yet been confirmed. To his credit, President Trump appointed a worthy successor to Judge Antonin Scalia.
Here is the hard truth. The politicians who say they support our rights would rather leave our rights at risk than act to protect them. They leave our rights in jeopardy so they can raise campaign funds before the next election. No more. Time is running out for both the President and the Republican majority we elected. It is time to act.
Image: photo credit: Excerpted from: Gage Skidmore Donald Trump via photopin (license)
