(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Once again, we find ourselves in a familiar situation. Merely four years past
Vice President Joe Biden's
assertion that "gun manufacturers are our adversaries," advocates of gun
control persistently strive to convince the American populace that violent
crime is the byproduct of reputable businesses selling a product protected by
the constitution, all under stringent governmental oversight.
Continuing their relentless, and often
unlawful, crusade of
vexatious lawsuits, Everytown now enhances their gambit with a new investigative initiative
called "Inside the Gun Shop." Far from providing insight into the extensively regulated firearm sector
in the U.S, their aim seems to be to tarnish and publicly expose the
businesses that enable the Second Amendment's realization.
Through their report, Everytown insinuates that the primary cause of
gun-related violence in America is the unprincipled production and sale of
firearms by businesses driven by greed and lacking adequate supervision.
This dual vilification of guns and the business sector is undoubtedly
tailored to appeal to their left-leaning followers, who often attribute the
country's problems equally to guns and capitalism.
Interestingly, it is worth noting that Everytown's primary financier is the
billionaire business magnate Michael Bloomberg, a man who accumulated his
wealth by supplying technological and informational services to Wall Street,
thereby facilitating its supposed financial profiteering. As
CNN once observed, "[Bloomberg’s] innovations are a prerequisite for Wall Street as we know
it today."
Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Undoubtedly, Bloomberg would concur that both economic theory and empirical
evidence suggest that increasing the cost of an item reduces its demand.
This understanding underlies the anti-gun movement's enduring strategy of
advocating for layering excessive regulations and requirements on the
firearm industry in an attempt to inflate the prices of its products.
everytownresearch.org
This tactic aims to eventually render firearms prohibitively expensive for
consumers, pricing many potential buyers out of the market. Consistent with
this strategy, "Inside the Gun Shop" endorses practices that would
significantly increase the cost of obtaining an FFL, and also introduces
mandatory security, inventory, and personnel standards. These measures would
render the manufacture and sale of firearms financially untenable for many,
and the subsequent cost increase would make them unaffordable for their
customers.
The report takes a further step by offering a searchable map of licensed gun
vendors, including filters to distinguish between residential and commercial
license holders. This feature allows those opposed to guns to identify their
targets for criticism and direct their
complaints to local authorities.
Although the report itself acknowledges that the majority of these
businesses operate from private homes and contribute to a small fraction of
the total gun sales in America, it highlights them on a searchable website,
thereby making them targets for both biased gun control advocates and
potential burglars, who may be enticed by the prospect of a private home
filled with new guns. This actually undermines public safety, contrary to
the purported objectives of the report.
everytownresearch.org
Such tactics reflect the ruthlessness and absolutist nature of modern gun
control advocacy, where the end justifies any means.
There is a straightforward rebuttal to the allegations made in the report:
focus on the criminals, not the law-abiding citizens.
everytownresearch.org
Addressing gun violence by targeting the legal supply chain misdirects blame
and imposes burdens on honest individuals while handing an advantage to
armed criminals who operate outside the law's confines. This approach is not
surprising from Everytown, known for its critique of law enforcement.
The "Inside the Gun Shop" initiative provides a glimpse into the distorted
logic of gun control advocates, and its underlying assumptions and
recommendations should be dismissed.
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