Opinion: President Trump and the Bump Stock Ban
Kevin Felts 02.21.18
President Trump signed a letter instructing Attorney General Sessions to look into ways to ban bump stocks. At first this may seem like President Trump is throwing gun owners under the bus. From a law-abiding citizen’s point of view, we have already given up too many rights.
However, if President Trump does not do something, Democrats will use the inaction against Republicans during the 2018 mid-term elections. Something has to be done to appease the bloodthirsty masses. So what do we do? We throw them the least-important firearm accessory as a sacrificial lamb.
Ban bump stocks, and pass some kind of mental health public safety law that would address people such as Nikolas Cruz (Parkland, Florida school shooting) and Devin Patrick Kelley (Sutherland Springs church shooting).
On a personal note, am I in favor of banning bump stocks? Of course not. We have to stand our grand against the gun-grabbers. However, sometimes we have to sacrifice a pawn to save the queen. Which would we rather see banned – bump stocks, or all semi-automatic firearms?
With a Republican-controlled congress and President Trump declaring himself a friend of gun owners, there is little chance of an Assault Rifle ban passing. That is short term thinking because the 2018 mid-term elections are right around the corner.
Should law-abiding gun owners pay a price for deranged people? Of course not. However, gun grabbers play on emotion. Let’s not mention how Devin Kelley was not reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), or how Nikolas Cruz was reported to the FBI multiple times, or how the local police visited the home of Nikolas Cruz 39 times.
In the eyes of gun-grabbers, law enforcement dropping the ball does not matter. All that matters is that the nation is facing a tragedy, and they have to use that tragedy as leverage to pass gun control laws.
Never underestimate the power of emotion as a weapon. The anti-gun establishment has harnessed the power of a perfect emotional storm to turn public opinion against gun owners.
So what does Trump do? He throws the rabid dog a bone.
If this were a hungry dog, it would have been happy after the Federal Firearms Act of 1938, or even the Gun Control Act of 1968. This is not a hungry dog, it is a rabid dog out to destroy everything in its path.
We do not have to like what President Trump is doing, but what is the alternative? Have public opinion turned against semi-automatic firearms and face an all-out ban?
Let’s deal with this just like we deal with sacrificing a pawn to protect the queen. We may not like it, but we have to keep the end game in mind.
