Blog 5/26/23

Weekly Spotlight 5/26/23 – 6/1/23


Americans are Increasingly Skeptical of the President’s Gun Control Agenda 

President Biden’s agenda on gun policy has little chance of proceeding through Congress due to split-party control of the Senate and House of Representatives.  Despite that, he has frequently pushed a radical gun control agenda in public, including in a recent USA Today editorial with a vague call to “do something.”  Americans have been paying attention, and they aren’t impressed.

According to a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 31 percent of American adults approve of President Biden’s gun policy.  Support for his agenda on guns has dropped by five points since AP/NORC surveyed the same topic in June of last year.  Furthermore, the poll showed that 67 percent of American adults disapprove of his gun policy, including nearly half of Democrats.  A number that high represents a surprising level of bipartisanship in these polarizing times! 

The popularity of the President’s gun policy continues to drop at a time while he is stepping up attempts to unilaterally restrict law-abiding Americans’ access to firearms.  For example, the Biden-controlled Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) is attempting to criminalize possession of pistols with stabilizing braces, a commonly used accessory to help disabled veterans and seniors safely shoot.  If Americans who own these braces don’t register, turn in, or destroy them, they could be subject to criminal penalties.  Fortunately, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a preliminary injunction halting the implementation of the pistol brace rule. 

President Biden’s attempts to ban so-called “assault weapons” are also growing less popular as Americans realize that blanket bans do nothing to combat violent crime and only serve to punish law-abiding citizens.  A poll from earlier this year found that a majority of Americans oppose banning AR-15-style rifles.  This makes sense, given that they are among the most popularly owned firearms in the nation. 

It’s encouraging that more Americans are beginning to see the Biden Administration’s gun control policies for what they are – attempts to restrict Second Amendment rights and severely hinder Americans’ ability to defend themselves.  The USCCA-FSL will continue to expose the misguided, ineffective, and unconstitutional proposals being pushed by gun control proponents in Washington and across the country.  We won’t settle for unpopular, we want these radical policies to be unthinkable. 

Visit our advocacy center to see what radical gun control bills we OPPOSE

OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from fully enforcing new regulations on pistols with stabilizing braces, gun accessories that President Biden has called “especially dangerous” after they were used in several mass shootings. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday enjoined the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from enforcing its new rule against gun owners and Second Amendment groups who filed a lawsuit challenging the regulation. The temporary injunction comes days before a deadline for individuals to register their pistol braces with ATF, destroy them, or remove the accessories from their weapons. Those that do not comply with the regulation by May 31 will be forced to pay a fee. 

Louisiana is on the cusp of expanding gun rights after the House overwhelming passed a bill Tuesday that would allow adults 18 and older to carry handguns without permits or training as is currently required.  Republican Oil City state Rep. Danny McCormick’s House Bill 131 would “restore the Second Amendment in Louisiana.”  “For too long Louisiana has been infringing on that God-given right,” said McCormick, who said his 6-year-old granddaughter is “quite proficient” with an AR-15 assault rifle. “Nothing is more unjust that to insist citizens pay for a right they already have,” he said.

President Joe Biden gets low marks from Americans on how he is handling guns, according to a new poll. On Monday, The Associated Press (AP) and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released a poll that found just 31 percent of adults approve of Biden’s gun policy. The number is five points lower than when the same survey was taken last June. Disapproval hit an all-time high at 67 percent, up five points in the same period. The numbers are significantly lower than Biden’s overall performance rating, which sits at 40 percent approval and 59 percent disapproval. “Views of how Biden is handling the national economy, gun policy, and immigration are more negative,” the pollster said in a release. “Only a third approve of Biden’s handling of these issues.”

Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a trio of gun control bills Wednesday, in an early indication of how he’ll respond to ambitious measures backed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.  The vetoes were the first issued by Lombardo in his first year as governor. Legislators approved the measures after contentious hearings on gun control in the biennial session.  “I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,” Lombardo said in a statement.