A Ray Of Sunshine

Today the buffoon masquerading as our nation's Vice President will unveil his plan for solving the so-called 'gun crisis' in this country. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth by people on both sides of the argument. I will follow it with interest, but it will be a sort of detached, bemused interest, because I am somewhat optimistic -- perhaps foolishly, but nevertheless optimistic -- that regardless of the sturm und drang there will be little concrete action.

An almost cosmic disconnect has been building in the political sphere since the tragedy of Sandy Hook. On the one side is the gun-control community, which sniffed a rare political opening and is determined to use it to the max. Vice President Joe Biden's gun-violence task force has given that community a vehicle for its ambitions, even as it has encouraged it to ramp up its demands.

By this week, the elites were calling for a gun-control agenda unmatched in modern times. The closing of the gun-show "loophole"? Restrictions on large-capacity clips? An "assault weapons" ban? They want all that, plus a national gun database, and a background check for every gun sale, and similar checks for ammunition sales, and regulation of Internet transactions, and Michael Bloomberg crowned emperor. (A position for which Mr. Bloomberg no doubt believes himself suited.) The media have reported all this as rational, reasonable and doable.

"large-capacity clips"? Really? Anyway...

On the other side is the reality that any of these proposals must, in the normal course of things, pass Congress. A few quick facts about that body. 1) More than half of its members have an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. 2) The few members today calling for gun control are the same few who have always called for gun control. 3) The House is run by Republicans.

Even were the Senate to summon 60 votes (unlikely), and even were Mr. Boehner to risk the renewed wrath of his caucus by moving such a bill (crazy unlikely), any legislation would fall to members such as Virginia's Bob Goodlatte (who runs the Judiciary Committee) and Pete Sessions (who runs the Rules Committee). Mr. Goodlatte is strong on gun rights. Mr. Sessions is from Texas.

Oh sure, there'll be a few window-dressing recommendations regarding the mental health system. And who knows - there might even be some mention of the role the entertainment industry plays in glorifying gun violence. But make no mistake. Gun owners, manufacturers, retailers, and even ammunition suppliers will be squarely in the bulls-eye.

So don't relax and let your guard down. Keep those cards and letters coming to your elected reps. And as OldNFO points out, send them to the local office, not the DC one. Also, don't forget your state reps. They have a role to play in this as well.

With a strong showing from us pro-Second Amendment folks we can turn back the tsunami of crap that's headed our way. With a little bit of luck the leftists' efforts simply won't matter.

...the more sweeping any gun proposals, the more dead on arrival they will be in Congress. Mr. Obama might know that and be planning to take credit for going big while blaming failure on Congress.

Makes sense. After all, he has a proven track record of blaming all his problems and screw-ups on someone else...