ANALYSIS/OPINION:
During the Democratic presidential primary, then-candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris said she would take executive action on guns during her first 100 days in office.
Former Vice President and fellow Democratic hopeful Joseph R. Biden said, at the time, there was no constitutional authority for the president to eliminate assault weapons by executive order and that you “can’t do it by executive order any more than Trump can do things when he says he can do it by executive order.”
Ms. Harris retorted on the debate stage: “I would just say, hey Joe, instead of saying, ‘No, we can’t,’ let’s say, ‘Yes, we can!’”
It’s day 79 of the Harris-Biden administration, and it’s expected President Biden — no, I mean, President Harris — will announce a half-dozen executive actions on gun control. Although an outright ban on assault weapons is not expected Thursday, the Biden administration has made clear these are the first of “major actions” the White House will be taking on gun control.
With Mr. Biden’s advanced age, it’s essential we explore Ms. Harris’ radical gun control plan, for it seems — like with the crisis on the southern border — Ms. Harris is taking the reins.
Make no mistake: The Harris-Biden gun control agenda includes every progressive wish-list item meant to destroy the firearm industry and strip law-abiding citizens of their constitutionally protected right to bear arms.
During her unsuccessful run for president, Ms. Harris called for a ban on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms, the prohibition of imports of these firearms, and a mandatory gun buyback plan to confiscate legally purchased firearms.
She said if Congress failed to send a comprehensive gun legislation to her desk in her first 100 days, she would issue executive orders to implement a universal background check, an assault weapons ban, and a repeal of the National Rifle Association’s corporate gun manufacturer and dealer immunity — actions even the Obama presidency considered illegal.
According to the NRA: “Among her proposed executive actions would be a cap on the number of firearms an individual could privately transact in a year. … The Obama administration explored this avenue of gun control and determined it was outside their authority.”
Ms. Harris holds no regard for the Second Amendment. As district attorney of San Francisco, she signed on to an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court arguing the Second Amendment doesn’t protect an individual’s right to keep and bear arms.
The brief argued the Second Amendment doesn’t apply to state and local governments, which would empower them to curtail or ban citizens from purchasing or owning a firearm. Moreover, the brief argued the Second Amendment doesn’t apply to an individual’s right, it only pertains to a militia-related right. It’s an extremely restrictive and anti-gun viewpoint of the Second Amendment.
Mr. Biden has been a touch more thoughtful on the legalities of gun ownership, but as we’ve seen with his immigration policy, his flip-flop on the filibuster, his support of the federal takeover of state elections and his massive federal welfare “infrastructure” bill, he has a proven record of caving to the radical left of his party.
During the presidential primary, Mr. Biden was asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper: “To gun owners out there who say a Biden administration means they’re going to come for my guns…”
“Bingo,” Mr. Biden interrupted. “You’re right, if you have an assault weapon. The fact of the matter is they should be illegal. Period.”
Mr. Biden admitted the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban didn’t reduce crime and threw his support behind a national buyback program of modern sporting rifles (MSR), of which there’s about 20 million in circulation.
“What I would do is institute a national buyback program,” Mr. Biden explained, admitting outright confiscation maybe legally untenable.
“Right now, there’s no legal way that I’m aware of where you could deny the right if they had legally purchased them,” he told CNN. “But we can, in fact, make a major effort to get them off the street and out of the possession of people.”
Today, the Biden administration is taking their first steps in enacting their radical gun-control agenda. To be sure, more will come — perhaps the reclassification of the MSRs to machine guns, or the enactment of punitive taxes against gun owners, or making it impossible for individuals to buy firearm parts — anything that would erode or destroy an individual’s right to bear arms.
After all, the Harris-Biden ticket has already proposed all of these measures.