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May 24, 2023
Gun Control Gov. Makes All-Call for Gun Control, Fails on the Basics
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham knows exactly where to go to get fawning media coverage and an agreeable viewing audience for her all-call gun control platform.
Gov. Lujan Grisham joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe just days following the murders of three innocent Americans by a mentally troubled 18-year old. She knew there would be no serious pushback or correcting by the host of her false statements about firearms and lies about the firearm industry.
Then again, that was most likely her goal. And, sadly, its standard operating procedure for much of what passes these days for “mainstream media” and journalism.
Facts and Details
Gov. Lujan Grisham’s support for gun control restrictions is already well-known. It’s why she was in consideration to be President Joe Biden’s running mate back in 2019. One of the pillar planks of the Governor’s platform is to ban the possession, sale and transfer of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) in New Mexico. There are currently more than 24.4 million in circulation since 1990. That means they are more commonly-owned than there are Ford F-150 pickup trucks. I’d venture you couldn’t drive five minutes in New Mexico without seeing an F-150 on the road.
New Mexico’s governor started with the “weapons of war” false allegations to demonize all lawful ownership because of the crazed acts of a lone, mentally disturbed individual.
“This is a weapon of war…Frankly, no one that isn’t in the military…or trained police department, in my view, no one in America…should own an automatic weapon,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “There is no reason to own one of those.”
In a common tell of how quickly gun control advocates push for more restrictions over the rights of Americans, the governor added she’s still looking for answers following the tragedy. Specifically, she’s looking for answers that indict the firearm and not the crazed criminal.
“I don’t have any of the details yet,” she admitted.
Here’s one. The AR-15 isn’t an automatic firearm. Facts are important and the governor ignores them or simply isn’t bothered about lying to viewers. Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) are not “automatic weapons” as the governor suggests. MSRs are semiautomatic rifles and use the same one-trigger-pull-one-round-expended firing technology that has been in existence for over a century. It’s also the same technology used by thousands of varieties of handguns and shotguns. Semiautomatic firearms are used every day by millions of law-abiding Americans for self-defense, hunting and recreation and it’s their Constitutional right to do so.
Automatic firearms are highly regulated and are subject to all local, state and federal regulations, including the 1968 Gun Control Act and the 1934 National Firearms Act.
Gun Control’s Favored Lie
Gov. Lujan Grisham answered questions to throw out all the gun control priorities she could think of. It wouldn’t make for a successful media appearance if she didn’t repeat one of gun control’s favorite lies – that the firearm industry has immunity from lawsuits.
“We’re also looking at, you know, legislation that didn’t pass our last legislative session, to go after gun manufacturers,” the governor added.
She’s talking about repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). President Biden utters the claim that firearm manufacturers have “immunity” from lawsuits but they don’t. Gov. Lujan Grisham’s staff should show her the numerous fact checks by Washington Post, PolitiFact, CNN, the Associated Press and others who have all stated the claim is false.
PLCAA is bipartisan legislation signed by President George W. Bush that simply codifies bedrock principles of tort law. It bars lawsuits against members of the firearm industry from those seeking to blame them for the criminal misuse by remote third persons – or criminals – of lawfully sold, non-defective firearms. It’s no surprise the effort to repeal the PLCAA in New Mexico failed, though the governor vowed to keep trying.
Age-Based Ban
In this country, when an American turns 18 years old, they are recognized by the law as being an adult and are fully vested in their Constitutional rights. They can vote, they can marry and have children, they can serve in the military, they can make decisions in their lives on their own. That includes purchasing a firearm for self-protection or any number of legal reasons. Gov. Lujan Grisham wants to change that.
“I have an issue with young people… having access to firearms at all,” the governor explained. “I think we need to raise that age, I’m going to ask for that again and expect to win it in the legislature.”
The governor may want to take a look around and wait on that demand. Florida enacted a law that banned the sale of all firearms to individuals aged 18-20 years old and that is currently being challenged in the courts in NRA v. Bondi. NSSF filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in support of the NRA’s petition for a rehearing en banc in the case, arguing the Second Amendment right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for self-defense includes the right to acquire those arms.
The laundry list of gun control restrictions favored by Gov. Lujan Grisham was lengthy. Some of her neighboring states – namely California, or others like Illinois and New York – already impose nearly everything she recited as her goals. And yet in those states, criminals continue to disregard the law.
Gov. Lujan Grisham should take a closer look at getting tough on criminals and holding them accountable for their crimes instead of pushing for more unconstitutional laws that will be ignored and only impact New Mexicans who already follow laws.
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NSSF Challenges California’s Law Encouraging Frivolous Firearm Industry Lawsuits
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