Lawful gun owners make up a negligible percentage of those who perpetrate violent acts, and so-called “assault weapons” are used in very few crimes.
But a high-profile act by an obviously deranged individual is all it takes to summon the call for owners of 24 million sporting rifles to magically be transformed into criminals.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) ran for office largely on a platform of cracking down on violent crime. Now, however, he is focused on stripping gun rights away from those who are clearly not responsible for his city’s crime issue.
In this sense he echoed his predecessor, anti-gun zealot Michael Bloomberg (R). The former leader of the Big Apple founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns and has an apparent blind spot as to why criminals do not fall in line with the law.
Not surprisingly, Adams is co-chair of the organization.
The consortium of mayors sent a letter to new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). They demanded that Congress act to ban “assault weapons, even though not long ago the majorities of both chambers along with the White House were anti-gun rights.
Still nothing was done.
But now that the House is controlled by Second Amendment supporters, a new call is issued for harsh gun control measures. The missive was signed by 62 mayors.
In the press conference announcing the letter, Adams deplored the “disturbed” Maine man who took 18 lives in a recent mass shooting. What he ignored is that the perpetrator gave loud warning signs that he needed help.
The man issued repeated threats of violent acts, including against a National Guard center. He unquestionably should have been in law enforcement’s crosshairs and is yet another example of the failures of the mental health system.
But there are over 24 million modern sporting rifles in the hands of law-abiding Americans. Adams and his colleagues desire to rip them away under a misguided attempt to “protect” the public.
In the same press conference, Adams repeated the debunked mantra that in some states it is easier to purchase “a weapon of war than it is to buy a Sudafed.”
Adams’ mentor, former Mayor Bloomberg, is a prime example of the hypocrisy that permeates the gun control lobby. Besides founding Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the billionaire also bankrolls Everytown for Gun Safety, gun control propaganda outlet The Trace and Moms Demand Action.
At the same time, he employs armed security guards to protect himself as he travels the country. The former presidential candidate brushed off questions about the blatant hypocrisy, noting that most voters are not important enough to warrant such an entourage.
This is typical of anti-gun elitists — what is good for me is not good for you.
Adams, a former police official, is also well acquainted with having an armed escort as he makes his way through the city that is the result of his and his predecessors’ labors.
Make no mistake, the goal of the mayors who signed the letter to Congress is nothing less than the disarming of their citizens. The Constitution, courts and state preemption laws prevent them from implementing this scheme, but their intentions are obvious.
Meanwhile, violent criminals are treated to a revolving door system of justice. With little if any time served, they are back among the population to prey on those who political leaders wish to disarm.
