The Bridge of Death

Remember the scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

“Just answer the five questions…”

“Three questions, sire.”

Actually, I only have one question. Do you believe that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed? “Well, I support the Second Amendment, but…”

Yeah, that’s kind of how I assess politicians come election time. If you can’t give honest (“but”-less) support to the Second Amendment, you ain’t crossing my bridge.

I hear the term “single-issue voter” bounced around in gun rights circles, but for me it isn’t accurate. I prefer to describe myself as a “gateway-issue voter” (think bridge keeper if it helps). The Second Amendment may not be the only issue I care about, but it is the one I care about the most, and the one I require that a candidate honor first.

When it comes time to look over the field of politicians vying for my vote, I will not consider their stances on other issues until they pass through the gateway of gun rights. Candidate X has great economic ideas, but supports red flag laws? You’re done here. Candidate Y plans to cut taxes, but supports universal background checks? You shall not pass. (Forgive me for mixing my movie references.)

Of course, this is always tricky, as there is usually a pretty large chasm between what politicians say and what they actually do. And while it is much easier to evaluate a politician’s Second Amendment bona fides based on their actual history, there isn’t always much history to go on. But you can still use a candidate’s words as a starting point, and this makes a very tight spot for liberal gun owners spot right now. Every single Democrat candidate has embraced gun control measures which ought to be intolerable to anyone who respects the Second Amendment…liberal or otherwise.

All of them favor banning private sales without background checks.

All of them favor implementation of red flag laws.

All of them favor banning the most common semiautomatic rifle in the country.

All of them favor magazine capacity restrictions.

Most of them also support other gun control measures including national gun registration, licensing gun ownership, regulating semiautomatic rifles under the NFA, repealing the PLCAA, banning home gun construction (including 3D printing of parts and distribution of files). They’re not even pretending anymore. Every single Democrat candidate for president is openly advocating for a list of infringements that no one with an ounce of respect for the Second Amendment could support. And if your response is to shrug that off by telling yourself “they’ll never be able make it happen,” go talk to someone from Virginia. That’s what they thought, too.

Damn, we’re in a tight spot! (More mixing of movie references.)

This is where liberal gun owners find themselves, and it is indeed a tight spot. There is no Democrat candidate who passes the test, and it’s not even close. So do liberal gun owners abandon the Second Amendment, and with their vote allow an admitted opponent of gun rights across their bridge? There is no way around. There is no Democrat candidate who can respond to the Second Amendment question honestly without adding a “but” to their answer, and that ought to earn them a quick trip to the bottom of the Gorge of Eternal Peril.

It is choosing time. Be a gateway issue voter…er, bridge keeper…and let none pass.