I was on Carl Higbie’s show on Newsmax along with Cam Edwards where we talked about the latest Second Amendment issues, particularly about Washington state Democrats trying to tax ammunition because they can’t ban it.
They try everything they can possibly do to take away our fundamental Second Amendment rights. Thankfully, we have a Supreme Court now that respects how the Second Amendment protects all of our rights. But this is an ongoing battle with power-hungry Democrats who won’t rest until they take away our fundamental right to protect ourselves.
Watch:
TRANSCRIPT
CARL HIGBIE
Well, it’s two a Tuesday, so let’s do some gun stuff. But this goes far beyond guns. Actually, it’s more important on broad sweeping rights.
This is about the government’s ability or willingness to tax or ban something that you own totally legally and may enjoy regularly. And if it’s allowed to stand on guns, it can stand for your car.
Your favorite food, I mean, even a soccer ball.
Every so often, some brilliant firearm prohibitionist comes up with a new idea to get around your rights.
In Washington State, Democrats are proposing a bullet tax for the, quote, privilege of using ammunition. Can’t ban it, so they’re just going to tax the hell out of it.
But since Clarence Thomas noted in Brewing that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right. I guess that means we have to apply everything equally.
How do you like all these libs who would respond to attacks on your Fourth Amendment? You know, the right to be secure in one’s home. Allow the government to search your home or pay a tax you choose.
What about reinstating the poll tax, which ironically enough, was designed to keep certain people from exercising the right to vote? Much like Washington ammunition.
Host of Bearing Arms podcast Cam Edwards and president of America American Women’s Alliance, Gayle Trotter. Gayle, here we go again.
GAYLE TROTTER
You’re so right, Carl.
They try everything they can possibly do to take away our fundamental Second Amendment rights.
Thankfully, we have a Supreme Court now that respects how the Second Amendment protects all of our rights.
And this is an ongoing battle. I think a lot of people thought, since the Supreme Court has decided this, we don’t have to worry about this anymore.
That’s not true. We’re going to see this coming up time and time again in the lower courts.
You’re going to see some courts, perhaps in California or the Ninth Circuit who are not going to follow this precedent, who are going to have to be smack down over and over again by the Supreme Court.
Because the Democrats are not going to rest until they take away our fundamental right to protect ourselves.
CARL HIGBIE
Cam look, they’re talking about ammunition here. They’re talking about taxing stuff out of existing. How is that not prohibition?
CAM EDWARDS
Well, I think that’s exactly the problem here, Carl–it’s the intent. So supposedly this tax is designed to fund gun violence prevention programs. Fine, whatever. But that is something that, frankly, every Washington resident has a vested interest in.
So why are gun owners being singled out to pay this tax? That’s where it becomes probationary.
It is designed to make it more expensive, more difficult to exercise your segment rights. It is designed to de-normalize and to stigmatize gun ownership itself.
That, I think, again, is going to be a real problem when they say that Washington tries to defend this in court, if this bill becomes law.
CARL HIGBIE
Well, also, Gayle. Democratic attorney generals from 19 states, half the states are calling on the White House to crack down and ban a particular ammunition manufacturer that happens to be used in a 2 to 3 AR 15. I mean, come on. You’re going to ban a 22 bullet that goes a little bit faster than the standard rimfire.
GAYLE TROTTER
It’s so ridiculous because the left has tried to say over and over that the AR-15 is such an unusual weapon.
But as you know, not only have they been owned by so many Americans, their ownership by American citizens is only increasing.
So the Democrats are not satisfied with trying to take away our rights on the Second Amendment, but they particularly want to demonize certain types of weapons.
And if they can’t do that, they’ll try to go after the ammunition.
It just shows that they aren’t really interested in actually fighting crime or reducing harms from suicide and other things, because this is really just a targeted attack on the Second Amendment using the idea that they can stop mass shootings.
But we all know that that’s not really their intention, and I think it’s just patently obvious to anyone who continues to follow along with this issue.
CARL HIGBIE
Well, also, the recent trend shooter in, I believe, Memphis, that he used a nine mil carbine, but also the majority of gun violence is held by handguns, which is nine mil, 45, 40, something like that.
But Cam, in a more positive note, this is great for gun owners: I’ve always wondered this why you can’t carry your gun in a post office.
CAM EDWARDS
Well, a Florida judge has just ruled that that law prohibiting people from carrying firearms in post offices is unconstitutional.
I mean, this this sounds great. It’s a federal law, federal building. Why can’t I carry? Absolutely.
As the judge in this case noted, it wasn’t until 1972 that the federal government actually banned handguns in post offices. Now, that’s far after 1791 or 1868.
So under the Bruin texts history and tradition test, you’ve got to look to see if the segment of rights are implicated, which they are, and then it’s up to the state or in this case, the federal government to provide examples of these types of bans being part of the national tradition. Well, you can’t, because that evidence doesn’t exist.
So this is a good decision. Hopefully, it is not going to be overturned by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
We are seeing all kinds of games being played by the appellate courts these days when it comes to our right to keep and bear arms.
It becomes even more important that the Supreme Court, you know, keep taking Second Amendment cases and keep reminding these lower courts that our Second Amendment rights are not a second-class right.
CARL HIGBIE
Well, we have some big ones coming up, including high-capacity magazines and any type of cyclical mag fed a AR 15 style weapons. I’m anxiously awaiting to see it overturned in my home state.
Gayle, Cam. appreciate you coming by.
