By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Joe Biden made “false” and “misleading” statements about gun laws and gun shows during his recent introduction of his “initial” gun control package, which suggests there is more to come and it will be bad news for gun owners.
According to the CNN fact checker, when Biden “claimed that ‘the only industry in America — a billion-dollar industry — that can’t be sued — has exempt from being sued — are gun manufacturers,’” he was making it up.
“This is false,” the fact checker wrote. “Gun manufacturers are not entirely exempt from being sued, nor are they only industry with some liability protections.
“Under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” the article continued, “gun manufacturers cannot be held liable for the use of their products in a crime. However, gun manufacturers can still be held liable for (and thus sued for) a range of things, including negligence, breach of contract regarding the purchase of a gun, or certain damages from defects in the design of a gun.”
Later, the president claimed, “If you walk into a store and you buy a gun, you have a background check. But you go to a gun show, you can buy whatever you want and no background check.”
According to the CNN fact checker, “This framing from Biden is misleading, since it leaves the false impression that gun shows are exempt from background check laws. Purchases at gun shows are not exempt from background checks, which are required on purchases from licensed gun dealers whether you are in a gun store, a gun show or anywhere else. Only purchases from private sellers, whether at a gun show or elsewhere, do not require a background check in most states.”
Biden has had a credibility problem with guns for decades. A perennial anti-gunner from his earliest days on Capitol Hill, Biden earned the unflattering nickname “Shotgun Joe” when, during a YouTube interview, he advised a woman to “buy a double-barreled shotgun” rather than a semi-auto rifle for home defense, and use the shotgun to scare away burglars by taking it outside and firing two shots in the air. That’s an unlawful discharge of a firearm in many jurisdictions and can result in criminal charges.
Concerns that Biden will quickly overstep his authority prompted the Second Amendment Foundation to issue a not-so-subtle warning to the White House. SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said in a prepared statement about Biden’s gun control proposals, “Our legal team will review them and we are prepared to file suit if Biden and his administration steps over their legal authority.”
Over the course of the past few weeks, it was revealed that Biden had apparently met with representatives from gun control groups prior to announcing his gun control plans.
“Nobody from the Biden administration has reached out to us or any other rights organization to my knowledge, which certainly clarifies Biden’s approach to firearms regulation,” Gottlieb said. “He came into office talking about unity, but he just declared war on tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners who have committed no crimes.”
