The Washington Times:
Second Amendment advocates warn of ‘gun apocalypse’ under Biden
Biden rated F by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun control voting record.
Joseph R. Biden’s full-throated embrace of tough new gun laws and firearms bans brings Democrats full circle in the party’s two-decade evolution on guns in presidential campaign politics.
Long skittish that talk of gun bans could cost them rural voters in battleground states, Democrats now proudly champion buyback programs and strict new controls.
“It represents close to a default position for the two parties,” said Robert J. Spitzer, a professor at SUNY Cortland who has written extensively on the politics of gun control.
Though President Trump irked some gun rights activists by banning bump stocks after the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, he has generally pushed policies that expand access to gun rights while trying to hone in on violent crimes committed with firearms.
Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is pushing for bans on large-capacity magazines and certain kinds of semiautomatic rifles, such as the popular AR-15. He also wants to expand background checks to cover all gun sales.
His plan gives current semiautomatic firearm owners a choice: Sell them to the government or register them under the National Firearms Act.
His positioning contrasts sharply with Democratic White House hopefuls in the recent past, when the party tried to court the pro-gun vote or simply steer clear of the issue.
RELATED STORY: KAMALA HARRIS IS WORSE
- Mandatory buyback for 5 million assault weapons
- Executive action on gun control if Congress won’t do it
- Rated 7% by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun control voting record.
