The hysterical reaction by Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords lobbying group, and the Brady gun control group to the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez which declared Minnesota’s restriction on handgun permits only for those over age 21 unconstitutional is proof these organizations are interested only in banning handgun ownership by young adults.
Everytown, Brady, and the Giffords group all claim to support background checks and training, yet they want to keep young adults, who have the training and can pass background checks, from having guns. This is hypocritical dishonesty.
Their alleged concerns are unfounded, and they know it. Two years ago in Kansas, lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of HB 2058, which creates a special concealed carry permit for young adults, with training and background check requirements. So far, there have been no issues.
In Montana, the age of majority has been 18 since a state constitutional change in 1978. There have been no issues in Big Sky Country as a result, either.
What these experiences prove is that the gun prohibition lobby has a head-in-the-sand approach. They want the rest of us to bury our heads to recent history. In Minnesota, a handgun permit doubles as a permit to acquire a handgun. This permit also allows an individual to carry a rifle or shotgun in public under various circumstances.”
Another example is California, where for many years prior to the enactment of the 1968 Gun Control Act, the minimum age for a Dealer’s Record of Sale for handguns was 18 with most of the people going through the process being women. While there were other issues with 18–21-year-olds with handguns, the individuals who went through the process were acquiring handguns registered to them after going through the waiting period background check system. They were not a problem. When California adopted through-dealer processing on intra-state private party transactions in the state, California had to create a work-around, just as was judicially mandated in Virginia to address 18-to-20-year-olds.
The Second Amendment Foundation has several cases in progress challenging laws that discriminate against anyone under age 21 where handguns are concerned. This is an issue that must be addressed because young adults are considered mature enough to vote, join the military and possibly be killed in combat, get married, sign contracts, start businesses and even own their own homes. Yet they cannot legally purchase handguns for personal protection.
The importance of Judge Menendez’s decision is also highlighted by unique Minnesota factors. One, a handgun permit acts a permit to acquire a handgun under Minnesota law. And, two, the handgun permit allows an individual to carry rifle and shotguns in public under various circumstances so as to not rely on various other exemptions.
Everytown and the Brady Campaign should pay more attention to the views of the Founder of the Democratic Farm Labor Party Hubert Humphrey and Eleanor Roosevelt on the importance of the Second Amendment. And they should remember that it was not only 18-20-year-olds but women – particularly women of color – who are exercising these rights.
Alan Gottlieb is the Founder of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
Step one:
BAN GUN GRABBERS FROM OWNING ANY FIREARMS.
Step two:
NO ANTI GUNNER CAN HAVE ARMED PROTECTION OF ANY KIND, EVER.
Step three:
THOSE IN OFFICE FIGHTING TO DISSOLVE SECOND AMENDMENT, MUST BE IMMEDIATELY EXPELLED and INDICTED. VIOLATION OF OATH OF OFFICE IS BREECH OF CONTRACT. INSTANT REMOVAL.
ALL ENEMIES OF OUR CONSTITUTION MUST BE DENIED THOSE RIGHTS.
Brilliant! Awesome thoughts!
I SO completely agree, Fred! Well done! I really want to see this promoted. It should be an obvious position by any of our representatives. Support and defense of our Constitution is the whole point of their office, after all.
I don’t believe that guns should be banned. However, due to the proliferation of shootings by people who shouldn’t have had access to firearms, there needs to be a way to prevent this from happening.
Whether it’s a psychological evaluation or a pre authorization to purchase with any firearms seller being notified that these prerequisites must be met before a sale can be initiated.
It seems to me that the NRA along with any law abiding gun owner would gladly abide by this notion and be in favor of it. Of course, criminals get guns illegally, so that supply must be curtailed.
Along with measures to ensure firearms sales are properly initiated, endeavors to have law enforcement take illegal guns off the streets and arrest sellers and users of them must be enacted.
OK – Howard, exactly how do you intend to implement your suggestions WITHOUT needlessly infringing on the right of people to keep and bear arms? Perhaps you can get some advice from Carolyn Bown, oh wait, she was murdered before the state of noo joisee ‘decided’ she was ‘worthy’ of getting a firearm to protect herself from a domestic abuser.
I won’t disagree that there are folks who likely shouldn’t have guns but the reality is that they are a very small statical minority. You do realize that when each of these atrocities are perpetrated, something on the order of 110 MILLION gun owners did absolutely nothing wrong but the gun grabbers want them punished.
to start there is no such thing as an illegal gun.
there are already measures to ensure firearms sales are properly initiated in effect. these DEMOCRAT SOROS FUNDED PROSECUORS need to prosecute criminals, gun crimes and quit the SJ look at crime and race. stop giving a pas on punishment. stop giving criminals a pass based on race.
REQUIRE all States report all crimes. not pick and choose which.
the mental community needs to be reformed. the mental health community needs to be held responsible for not reporting in the NICS system known violent patients or those with potential to be violent. the days of giving a known person that has the potential for violence a pass has to stop. the days of a couple counseling sessions and a prescription in the hopes they will continue to take has too change.
see where this is heading. so many solutions / measures ARE NOT be followed.
I’m afraid their kind of stupid can’t be fixed. The greatest cause of the problem is failed parenting and failed public education systems.