While a significant number of Democrats have shifted positions on some issues in the wake of their 2024 loss, the same can’t be said about guns.
On Saturday, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) elevated a prominent gun-control activist to its leadership. David Hogg won one of the vice chair spots at the national organization. He first gained notoriety after helping organize March for Our Lives in the wake of a shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida. Since then, he’s become one of the most aggressive gun-control activists in the country–backing gun bans and advocating for the expulsion of those in his party who disagree.
Meanwhile, few in the party have backed the pro-gun bills beginning to make their way into Congress. Between the House and Senate versions of five major pro-gun bills, there is exactly one that’s garnered any Democratic support at all thus far. That bill, the House’s version of the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, has precisely one Democratic co-sponsor.
The Senate version doesn’t have any Democratic support. Neither do any of the bills trying to deregulate silencers/suppressors, bar banks that discriminate against gun companies from federal contracts, or ensure the continued legality of lead ammunition.
Now, it’s still early. Those bills could eventually gain Democratic support or be folded into omnibus bills that earn bipartisan backing. But that’s a pretty stark contrast to what we’ve seen on other issues, like immigration.
Last month, a substantial number of Democrats crossed the aisle to support the Laken Riley Act. That bill allowed illegal immigrants to be deported after arrests for lower-level crimes, such as theft, and failed to clear the last Congress. This time around, 46 House Democrats and 12 of their Senate colleagues voted for it.
Hogg’s appointment and the lack of Democratic support for pro-gun bills are early evidence the party isn’t convinced their gun positions cost them in the 2024 election. In fact, they may see them as a way forward.
After all, while Hogg is just one of three vice chairs, he is the youngest to ever attain the role. Plus, he’s almost entirely known for his aggressive gun-control advocacy. And he’s not exactly subtle about it.
“Fuck the politicians that divide us with hate and sell guns as the solution,” Hogg tweeted in June 2021. “Fuck the lobbyists that are directly responsible for the murder of my classmates and admins. Fuck the system of loopholes that enabled the NRA to kill millions while making billions for gun companies.”
“Has it ever occurred to you I don’t give fuck if you think banning guns is a bad idea?” he tweeted in January 2022. “The best way to stop a bad guy with a gun isn’t a good guy with a gun- it’s stopping a bad guy like the shooter at my high school from being able to obtain a gun.”
“Fuck the NRA and especially fuck the politicians who say they support gun laws but never do anything after getting elected,” he posted a month later. “Blood is on both your hands.”
Putting Hogg in leadership sends an unmistakable signal about where the party is headed post-2024. On guns, that’s essentially in the same direction it has been over the last 10 to 15 years. While the Harris Campaign tried to relate to gun owners on a surface level by discussing their candidates’ gun ownership, it stuck to aggressive gun-control policy positions–including backing an “assault weapons” ban.
If Hogg’s ascension is any indication, Democrats’ policy positions are unlikely to change. If anything, their attempt to relate to gun owners, even on a surface level, may be the only change.
2 Responses
As a non-conservative gun owner, it’s incredibly frustrating to see the Democratic Party double down on this strategy.
It is bad politics since it only resonates with people who are already firmly in the Democratic camp. The younger voters who stayed home this past November didn’t do so because the Democrats weren’t sufficiently anti-gun and the party is delusional if they think that elevating David Hogg is going to produce a surge of enthusiasm.
It is bad policy when one considers that the overwhelming majority of deaths by firearm in this country come from firearms that would still be perfectly legal under an assault weapons ban and when one considers the futility of trying to legislate a gun-free America. It is liberal politicians’ version of “thoughts and prayers.”
It is also incredibly out of touch when one considers the rise in gun ownership among two of the demographics that constitute a large part of their voter base—Black Americans and LGBTQ+ Americans.
And it’s not even a fundamentally “left” position. The average non-conservative gun owner is further left politically than the average Democrat politician despite having opinions on gun policy that are virtually indistinguishable from the average conservative gun owner. Not to mention that, from the perspective of a Black American, most of my political heroes supported the right to keep and bear arms and would be on the far left end of the present-day Overton Window. I believe that the average gun control supporter has good intentions and is just rightfully appalled at the awful mass killings that occur far too often in our country. But I think a lot of legislators are primarily interested in lending themselves a “progressive” veneer by supporting unconstitutional gun laws so that people look the other way while they do nothing to improve the lives of their constituents.
Anyway, rant over.
Yea, I don’t think you’re the only one who feels that way.