Plan B by Tom Reynolds
The left has plans to get around the Constitution, when it gets in the way of their plans for a socialist world. With small variations, the same plan keeps repeating itself. Gun owners need to pay attention.
Whether or not you are a promoter of the “Green New Deal”, there can be no question that the price of “green energy” products is higher than that of fossil fuels such as Natural Gas and Oil and their related products. This cost difference is a major problem for the left in their quest to replace fossil fuels. So, what is their plan?
Plan A was to narrow the cost gap with the government heavily subsidizing solar, wind energy and “green” products at both the production and retail level; electric cars are a good example. But “green” purchases are still more expensive than conventional purchases, even after the subsidies. Enter Plan B.
To promote electric cars, in 2008, Barack Obama’s future Energy Secretary Steven Chu laid out the left’s Plan B when he said, “Somehow, we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” The week of June 7th, 2021, the median price of a gallon of gas in Europe was over $6 per gallon and over $8 per gallon in some countries. Due to the Biden administration’s policies, the median price per state in the USA was $2.96 with only California exceeding $4 per gallon. Basically, gas is twice as expensive in Europe.
So, what does this have to do with the 2nd Amendment?
The left is trying to implement a similar Plan B to get around that pesky 2nd Amendment of the Constitution.
Estimates are that there are 100 million gun owners in the United States. In 2020, over 20 million guns were sold and 5 to 7 million of these were to first time gun owners. That’s a lot of potential votes against gun control politicians, so the left has to be careful of any anti-gun legislation at the national level and it does not appear that they will be able to amend or legally overturn the Constitution. Enter Plan B; make it so difficult and expensive to own a firearm that most people will not be able to afford one.
Numerous separate bills are being introduced to implement Plan B by running up the cost of owning a firearm. Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee rolled most these into her bill HR 127, which says:
· “…the Attorney General shall issue to an individual a license to possess a firearm and ammunition.” (You will need a federal license to possess a firearm, even those you currently own, not just new ones. This has previously been prohibited to the federal government. Lee’s bill does not lay out the amount of the fee that will be charged for this license but, since the feds have no competition, they can charge as much as they want.)
· To get a license, all licensees will undergo, “…a psychological evaluation. (The gun owner will need to pay for a psychological exam which will cost hundreds of dollars.) In addition, “…as deemed necessary by the licensed psychologist involved, the evaluation included a psychological evaluation of other members of the household in which the individual resides; and as part of the psychological evaluation, the licensed psychologist interviewed any spouse of the individual, any former spouse of the individual, and at least 2 other persons who are a member of the family of, or an associate of, the individual to further determine the state of the mental, emotional, and relational stability of the individual in relation to firearms. (How much do you think all those additional interviews will cost? What about anti 2A psychologists who want to do away with private gun ownership or run up their fee for purposes of greed?)
· All licensees will, ”…successfully complete a training course…in the use, safety, and storage of firearms, that includes at least 24 hours of training. (How expensive do you suppose three full 8 hour days of training will be?)
· “The Attorney General shall issue to any person who has applied for a license…and has paid to the Attorney General the fee (for) a policy that insures the person against liability for losses and damages resulting from the use of any firearm by the person during the 1-year period that begins with the date the policy is issued. The fee specified in this paragraph is $800.” (That’s $800 per year! $800 times 100 million gun owners is $80 billion dollars, annually! As SCOPE pointed out in an earlier email, only 1 in 100,000 gun owners would be eligible to use this insurance as compared to 1 in 40 car owners who use their auto insurance.)
Jackson Lee renames the “Modern Sporting Rifle” as a “Military Style Weapon”. You will need a separate license for that, too. And in addition to all of the regular license requirements, you will need live fire training; a few more $.
“The Attorney General shall issue to an individual a license to display an antique firearm. (Do you have an Antique Firearm you display? That’s right, you will have to have a license to hang an antique firearm on your wall. A few $ more.)
Other anti 2A politicians are a bit cleverer in the way they attempt to implement Plan B. (Jackson Lee was never noted as the sharpest tack in the box.) Their efforts go to the same goal: drive up the cost of owning a firearm to such a level that private gun ownership is too costly for most Americans.
We can still have our 2nd Amendment, but will we have the cash to afford it?
Our best answer to this challenge is to vote. Oh wait, many gun owners won’t vote. I hope they have the cash because deer meat will get really expensive.
