Opinion
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Let’s put the important stuff right upfront. Go to www.SaveUSSenate.org and get involved.
Don’t be put off by some browser security apps suggesting that the site isn’t safe, that’s just another way some big tech companies are trying to limit what you can see. SaveUSSenate.org is a project of Paul Valone, founder and head honcho of Grass Roots North Carolina, and all-around good guy. I personally vouch for him and for the site.
While the United States is still in political limbo, with President Donald Trump challenging initial election results, based on substantial evidence of significant fraud in several key states, the balance of power in the US Senate is hinging on two mandatory run-off elections for US Senate seats in the state of Georgia.
There’s really no telling where the presidential race will end up. It’s pretty obvious that there was some serious chicanery going on, but there are forces in play working to block investigations, destroy evidence, and force certification of electors for Joe Biden. The strongest evidence of serious fraud is the way these forces have aligned against any sort of serious, open investigations into the details of the process. It wasn’t that long ago that Democrats were crying foul and claiming that our elections were subject to corruption, but since they got the result they were seeking, they are now insisting that there are no problems with the process and that anyone asking questions or calling for audits, is crazy or evil. If Democrats actually believe that Biden and Harris won fair and square, they should be leading the pack in calls for full disclosure, audits, and recounts, so that Biden and Harris can assume their duties with no cloud of doubt hanging over them.
Instead, Democrats have been quick to desegregate ballots, destroy mail-in ballot carrier envelopes, wipe voting machines, and oppose the Trump team’s efforts to shine a light on the voting process, in every way they can.
Reversing the initial results of the election, seems unlikely, especially considering the spinelessness of so many Republican politicians, so let’s proceed with the assumption that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are going to win the election in the Electoral College. That makes the Senate races in Georgia all the more critical.
In the November elections, Republicans secured 50 Senate seats, while Democrats won 48. If Democrats manage to win both of the Georgia run-off elections, we’ll have a 50/50 split, with Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sharing leadership responsibilities in the Senate, and the Vice President becomes the tie-breaker. If Trump were to retain the Presidency, the loss of the two Senate seats in Georgia would mean that Vice President Mike Pence would be the tie-breaking vote on any matter, but we would only hear from VP Pence if ALL of the Republicans in the Senate stick with the party line.
With folks like Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in the mix, getting a unified Republican front would not be a given.
If Biden and Harris are seated and the Democrats win the two Georgia seats, Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaker, and Democrats would have the advantage of having a much more unified party, plus those few rogue Republicans, who might give them critical aid in a pinch.
For gun owners, a Biden Harris administration, with a 50/50 Senate split, would mean Democrats would have free rein on judicial appointments, and would very probably be able to pass some significant gun control legislation – especially if they follow through on their threat to do away with the filibuster, the same way they did away with holds on judicial nominees. Without the filibuster there to force Democrats to get a 60-vote majority for passage of controversial bills, their legislative agenda would almost certainly include bans on so-called “assault weapons,” and “high-capacity” magazines, and possibly include Australian-style “mandatory buy-backs” of those items.
The most immediate threats looming for gun owners though, lie in the regulatory realm, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives already making noise about tighter restrictions on pistol braces, it’s very likely that Biden would encourage more regulatory shenanigans from that agency. With the support of a Biden-Harris administration, it’s likely that the BATFE would evolve even stricter definitions and interpretations of the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act, resulting in broad import bans on firearms and ammunition, reclassification of various pistols and shotguns as “short-barreled” firearms requiring NFA registration and taxation, and possibly go so far as to try and classify most semi-auto rifles as “machine guns,” based on the technical descriptions in the NFA. If that were to happen, virtually every semi-auto rifle, as well as many pistols, would be required to be registered under the NFA, including a $200 tax per item, and those made after May 19, 1986, would be declared contraband because no firearm manufactured after that date can legally be registered.
All of these regulatory changes could be done without the benefit of congressional votes, and without a pro-rights majority in the US Senate, there would be little that Congress could do to prevent such travesties. And these are only a few of the executive actions we could expect dealing directly with firearms and ammunition. There’s much more that a President Biden could try to do with his pen and phone, that would be directly and indirectly detrimental to gun owner rights, including reducing immigration enforcement, opening up more pathways to citizenship – and voting – for illegal immigrants, appointing anti-rights zealots to positions of power in a variety of agencies, and signing back onto the UN Arms Trade treaty.
If all of this sounds like a recipe for insurrection, you’re right. I can’t see the American people standing for these sorts of attacks, and I don’t think it would take long for non-compliance to turn into some serious flashpoints.
I don’t know about you, but I’d personally rather settle these matters with votes and debates, instead of putting the lives of my kids and grandkids at risk in civil unrest.
That’s why the run-off elections in Georgia are so critical. While there can be little doubt that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are going to try to advance a radical, anti-rights agenda, maintaining a Republican majority in the US Senate could be the last bulwark between Biden and the self-destruct button.
Voting in the Georgia run-off has already begun, with almost one million mail-in ballots requested. In-person early voting begins on December 14, and Election Day is January 5, 2021. Don’t wait. Go to www.SaveUSSenate.org and find out what you can do to help make a difference.
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona and Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.