By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
When Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address, one thing viewers won’t likely see is any promise to protect the Second Amendment.
That’s where Biden sharply differs with his predecessor. Perhaps that’s why the gun prohibition lobby is lauding the president with an email blast declaring, “During his first year in office, President Biden has taken historical actions on gun safety. But there’s so much more that can and must be done by both him and all of our elected lawmakers—whether it’s fixing long-standing problems at the ATF, passing gun safety laws, defeating the NRA’s agenda, or standing up to the gun industry.”
Anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety is spreading the word: “Even in these difficult times, we know that the Biden-Harris administration will continue to deliver.”
During his address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, former President Donald Trump reminded the audience that while he was in office, he protected “Your First and Second Amendments.”
About the closest thing Biden has done in mentioning the Second Amendment is to call for more gun laws to erode the right to keep and bear arms. His attempt to put gun control advocate David Chipman in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives crashed head-on into a wall of public opposition. Last summer’s embarrassing defeat of Biden’s lynchpin nomination to make his gun control agenda work sent a signal that gun owners are not asleep.
With reports of Ukraine officials handing out guns to citizens so they can defend their country from Russian invaders—and images to support those reports—at least some jets have been cooled regarding bans on so-called “assault weapons,” though it may only be a temporary respite.
Biden and his Capitol Hill allies are not likely to pull back from the gun control effort, despite six Rasmussen surveys published since he took office a little more than 13 months ago.
In a survey released within days of Biden’s inauguration, Rasmussen reported that “64% of Likely U.S. Voters say it is not possible to completely prevent mass shootings like the ones in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado. Only 23% believe mass shootings can be completely prevented, while 13% are not sure.”
Days later, Rasmussen was out with another survey that may have thrown Biden for a loss. According to Rasmussen, “76% of Likely U.S. Voters say the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of an average citizen to own a gun. Only 16% disagree, while 8% say they’re not sure.”
The most recent Rasmussen revelation threw another speed bump to slow down the administration’s when it reported “63% of American Adults believe the United States needs stricter enforcement of existing gun control laws. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree.”
Still, the president was recently in New York talking more about new gun laws.
So, if guns are mentioned during tonight’s SOTU speech, it is a safe bet Biden will not be discussing ways to lock up criminals while protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens. There may be no clearer difference between Biden and the man he replaced.
