By Matt Manda

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is in full swing in Chicago and they’re offering voters a double-dose of gun control while the criminal misuse of guns on the street streets of Chicago continues. Nothing in the DNC’s gun control agenda seriously addresses stopping crime. For Vice President Kamala Harris – the Democratic presidential nominee, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate – it’s just more punishment for the firearm industry, more restrictions on law-abiding gun owners and nothing to stop criminals.

Sadly, the City of Chicago has led the nation in yearly homicide totals for 13 years running and last weekend tragically saw 30 people shot with five of them losing their lives. Crime is rampant in the Windy City and law enforcement is horribly treated. Citizens are at the mercy of emboldened violent criminals who know that even if they are caught on camera in gunfire exchanges involving police officers, they will get off the hook.

The DNC is casting a blind eye on those issues. Metal fencing has been erected all around the convention site, protestors have descended on the city and businesses have taken the proactive steps to board up their windows and doors.

Regarding the official platform, the party of “defund the police” is unsurprisingly doubling down on its belief that law-abiding Americans should have their Constitutional rights infringed, rather than supporting law enforcement and jailing those who commit violent crimes.

The clear message coming from the Chicago is “More gun control!”

Gun Control Wish List

The 2024 Democratic party platform section on gun control is a kitchen sink wish list. Gun control activists and antigun groups including Michael Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, along with Giffords and Brady United must be salivating.

Mandatory firearm storage? Check. No problem that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled mandatory storage unconstitutional in its 2008 Heller decision.

Universal background checks? Check. No problem that a universal background checks on all firearm transfers are unworkable without a nationwide firearm registry that is barred by law from being established, and for good reason. Registration is a precursor step to confiscation. More on that topic below.

A ban on Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs), the most popular selling centerfire rifle in America that gun control supporters purposely mislabel “assault weapons?” Check. No matter that the Supreme Court has ruled banning entire classes of commonly-owned firearms is unconstitutional. Besides, a ban on MSRs is increasingly unpopular and a near majority of Americans now outright oppose one. And don’t forget, from 2021-2022, when Democrats held The White House and majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, they couldn’t even gain enough votes to impose a new ban.

It wasn’t long ago that Vice President Harris supported forced confiscation of lawfully-owned MSRs. She abruptly ditched that policy idea when the DNC ditched President Joe Biden. However, both she – and her running mate Gov. Walz – support banning the semiautomatic rifle from lawful possession.

National so-called “red flag” laws? Check. Even though every existing extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law in place denies the accused Due Process rights to stand before a judge and plead his or her case before their firearms are confiscated.

The “White Whale” of gun control activists was also listed within the platform.

“Eliminating gun industry liability protections” is included. That’s gun control speak for doing away with the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), the bipartisan law enacted in 2005 prohibits frivolous lawsuits seeking to blame the lawful firearm industry for crimes committed by criminals. Democrats claim the firearm industry is “immune” from lawsuits. President Biden loves to say, “The only industry in America you can’t sue is the – is the gun manufacturers.” Only problem is it’s flat out wrong. CNN fact checked the falsehood, reporting, “Biden’s claim is false, as CNN and other fact-checkers have previously noted. Gun manufacturers are not entirely exempt from being sued, nor are they the only industry with some liability protections.”

If you can believe it, there are even more gun control wishes written into the platform.

A Dose of Reality

Criminals – including those running rampant in Chicago – don’t follow the law to obtain their firearms and they surely don’t follow the law when they commit acts of violence.

Democratic officials should look beyond the metal fencing for a dose of reality. Chicago, a city run by Democrat mayors since 1931, implemented a blanket ban on handguns in 1982. No law-abiding citizen could protect themselves and only criminals ended up with guns. Even the Chicago Tribune editorial board pointed out the absurdity.

“In the decade after it outlawed handguns, murders jumped by 41 percent, compared with an 18 percent rise in the entire United States. One problem is that the bans didn’t actually have any discernible effect on the availability of guns to people with felonious intent,” the editors wrote. “Who places the highest value on owning a firearm? Criminals. Who is least likely to fear being prosecuted for violating the law? Criminals. Who is most likely to have access to illicit dealers? You guessed it.”

If the gun control measures Vice President Harris and the DNC want to enact made America safe, DNC convention goers wouldn’t have to step over the bodies lining the streets of Chicago every weekend.

Since 2020, more than 22.3 million law-abiding Americans purchased a firearm for the first time. Concerns for personal safety drive most decisions to empower themselves by passing an FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) verification and purchasing a gun. Recent polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support their right to own a gun for protection.

New gun owners won’t be fooled by a party platform’s flawed logic when it comes to protecting their families, homes and businesses. New gun owners must register to vote and #GUNVOTE on Nov. 5 so they don’t risk their rights.