The Federalist has just posted David Harsanyi’s column on “The ‘do something’ gun control bill.” Harsanyi is the author of The First Freedom: A Ride Through America’s Enduring History With the Gun and someone whose opinion I respect. Here is a salient paragraph:
[Republican bill sponsor Senator John] Cornyn spent more time bragging about the things he rejected than championing the useful ideas he brought to the bill, because it is almost surely the case that he brought none. This bill exists so that Republicans can say they did something. Not nothing. Something.
One more:
On federal red flag law funding, perhaps the most controversial provision, the bill makes a big show of demanding protections for “due process rights” and against “infringement of the Constitution.” It demands there be penalties against “abuse of the program.” All of this is unenforceable, as Republicans know. A number of blue states have already passed red flag laws that nullify gun rights on the word of third-party accusations—sometimes, ex parte—and not only demand the accused prove their innocence before having their rights reinstated but allow for property searches without the usual evidentiary standards. Until the Supreme Court undoes these laws, highly unlikely, states will receive funding. But it’s one thing for California or Rhode Island to do so, and it’s another for national Republicans to fund their efforts.
The whole thing here is worth reading.
STEVE adds: But at least we’re closing the “boyfriend loophole.” Which I didn’t know existed before last week. I’m still not sure just what the hell the “boyfriend loophole” is, but I wish I had been able to take advantage of it back in my single days.
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