Responding to the terror attack at Pulse Orlando by pushing more gun control is a not-so-subtle way of treating law-abiding Americans like terrorists.
After all, pushing gun control for well over a hundred million gun owners because of the terrorist actions of one gun owner is nothing short of punishing all for the actions of one. And insult is added to injury by the fact that the alleged Orlando attacker — Omar Mateen — passed all the left’s gun controls to commit his heinous act. So it is not just that he allegedly committed terrorist acts but that he did so by cooperating with every law the left instituted as part of their way of keeping us safe.
But instead of admitting the impotency of gun control, President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Homeland Security Sec. Jeh Johnson, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Fox News’s Gretchen Carlson, Bill O’Reilly, and entertainers like Conan O’Brien and Seth MacFarlene, among many others, want laws passed that will limit the gun rights of an Iowa farmer, a Texas oil man, and Kentucky bourbon maker, based on the actions of an Islamist adherent in Orlando.
Think about it this way: There are upwards of 4 million AR-15 owners in the United States. They love the gun because it is reliable, accurate, and fun to shoot. It is perfect for predator hunting, target shooting, and home defense. One of these 4 million AR-15 owners — an Islamist named Omar Mateen — reportedly used his AR-15 for evil on June 12. The attack was well planned, and after complying with all gun control laws to acquire the gun, Mateen went into a gun-free zone where defenseless people could not fire back, and he commenced slaughtering them.
What does the Iowa farmer, the Texas oil man, or the Kentucky bourbon maker have to do with this? How is the Arizona father who uses his AR-15 to target shoot with his son somehow punishable for the terrorist’s actions? Is the South Carolina mother who shoots a Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 Sport with her daughter somehow complicit? To ask these questions is to answer them.
Law-abiding Americans are not terrorists and must not be treated like terrorists. Yet, that’s exactly what more gun control will do. It will spread the blame for Omar Mateen’s actions, punishing every current gun owner and every future gun owner for the behavior of a radical Islamist in Orlando.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.