As the Democratic National Convention (DNC) unfolds this week, the party’s platform on gun control is taking center stage, reflecting a significant escalation in the push for more restrictive gun laws. In a clear departure from the Republican stance, which barely mentioned the issue during their convention last month, the Democrats are doubling down on their commitment to tackle gun violence through comprehensive legislation, legislation that will drag law abiding gun owners more than criminals into the sewer with its legal tentacles and chip away at Second Amendment freedoms.
The 2024 Democratic platform dedicates more space to gun policy than any previous platform, underscoring the party’s commitment to what it frames as “protecting communities” from the threat of gun violence. The platform’s gun control section, titled “Protecting Communities & Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence,” is a stark contrast to the Republican approach. While the GOP was largely silent on the issue in its 2024 platform, the party has remained overwhelmingly supportive of Second Amendment rights in past and current messaging. The Democrats, in the guise of pushing “common sense” gun laws and touting their restrictive measures under the banner of “safety,” have outlined a series of specific measures they plan to pursue if they secure control of the White House and Congress in the upcoming elections.
Among the seven key promises outlined in the DNC’s platform are the implementation of universal background checks, a renewed ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and the introduction of a national “Red Flag” law. These measures are presented as necessary steps to curb what the Democrats describe as an epidemic of gun violence sweeping the nation, an epidemic for which they conveniently fail to acknowledge they are partly to blame for as many of these same legislators, Kamala Harris chief among them, sought to defund police departments and have supported no bail policies and the decriminalization of lesser crimes that are often associated with larger ones following the George Floyd killing by a police officer in 2020.
“The 2024 promises also include requiring ‘safe storage,’ eliminating gun industry liability protections, and…Democrats also promise to increase funding for the ATF, the FBI background check system, and CDC ‘gun violence research.’ That list mostly replicates the party’s 2020 platform promises, but not completely,” writes the Reload in an analysis of the DNC platform and compares it to the RNC’s.
The platform also makes a pointed attack on Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump, criticizing his record on gun issues and his relationship with the gun lobby. The Democrats argue that Trump has consistently prioritized the interests of the gun industry over public safety, a theme that is likely to resonate throughout the DNC, but fall flat with a sizable portion of the general electorate.
The platform, finalized before Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party’s nominee, does not fully reflect her positions. However, it does mention her role in establishing the first-ever White House Office of Gun Safety Prevention, a move the Democrats hail as a major step forward in the fight against gun violence and one that places a clear target on her as being anti-2A.
Notably, the platform highlights the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed by Biden in 2022, as a significant achievement. This law included provisions for enhanced background checks, closing the “boyfriend loophole,” and funding for state-level Red Flag laws, which are a blatant affront to our due process. The platform stopped short of outlining more radical proposals, such as a mandatory buyback of assault weapons, which Harris had previously supported but later moderated, though such an idea is almost assuredly set to resurface should she be elected.
“Polling on the issue has been limited, but Americans put Trump slightly ahead of Harris on who would better handle the issue in a recent Fox News poll,” the Reload reports.
As the DNC continues, gun control advocates are expected to feature prominently, with several panels and discussions planned on the topic. One panel is scheduled to include speakers from anti-gun groups Brady PAC, Giffords, Moms Demand Action and March for Our Lives on Thursday just hours before Harris is scheduled to accept the Democratic nomination for president. With Harris set to accept the Democratic nomination, her speech may provide further insight into how the party plans to navigate this contentious issue in the general election.
For those who support the Second Amendment, the DNC’s platform represents a clear and present threat to gun ownership in America. The proposed measures, if enacted, could lead to some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation’s history, posing significant challenges to law-abiding gun owners across the country. One thing is certain, the upcoming election could prove to be a pivotal moment in the battle for freedoms in America, and if the Democrats win, America most assuredly will lose.
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