A short while after the former president was convicted of felonies and lost his gun rights, the current president’s son was convicted of gun felonies. Those aren’t necessarily comparable events, but they are certainly remarkable to see come in one after another in the same election cycle.
Hunter Biden was found guilty on three counts related to his purchase of a gun while he was still addicted to drugs in 2018. That has generated lots of reactions. But, as Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman details, it has somewhat scrambled the politics of the moment and revealed a growing divide in the gun-rights movement.
None of that kept Hunter’s father, President Joe Biden, from making a truly strange decision to headline a gun-control conference in the immediate aftermath of the conviction. He then left the conference to fly home and comfort his son, who he has also promised not to pardon.
It’s likely Hunter’s legal team will challenge the verdict. In fact, they’ve already asked the judge to toss the case by claiming the law underlying it is unconstitutional as applied to Hunter. I explain for members why the Second Amendment argument they’re relying on is probably his best shot at getting out from under the charges.
Plus, Active Self Protection’s John Correia joins the podcast to discuss YouTube’s latest crackdown on gun videos.
Hunter Biden Found Guilty of Gun Charges
By Jake Fogleman
The President’s son is a convicted felon.
A Delaware jury returned a unanimous verdict Tuesday morning in Hunter Biden’s gun trial after just a few hours of deliberation. Jurors found Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on a federal background check form by saying he was not an unlawful drug user, and illegally possessing a revolver for 11 days in 2018. The convictions carry a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison, though he likely will receive far less than that as a first-time offender.
Analysis: Hunter Biden Verdict Divides Gun Activists [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman
What do you get when the son of the most gun-control-focused President in a generation is convicted of violating federal gun control laws? Among many advocates in the gun space, the answer is a whole lot of discomfort in determining whether and how to respond.
A Delaware jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict Tuesday morning against Hunter Biden. It convicted him of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on a federal background check form by saying he was not an unlawful drug user, and illegally possessing a firearm as a user of a controlled substance.
It’s an outcome almost tailor-made to scramble the politics of our current moment.
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Biden Headlines Gun-Control Conference Hours After Son Convicted on Gun Charges
By Stephen Gutowski
President Joe Biden doubled down on new gun restrictions in the moments after his son was convicted on felony gun charges and just before he flew to Delaware to comfort him.
The President did not address his son’s convictions during the Tuesday speech at Everytown for Gun Safety’s national conference. Instead, he emphasized his plan to ban the sale of popular firearms, such as the AR-15, and implement a series of new firearms regulations during a potential second term.
“It’s time to do what I did when I was a Senator, ban assault weapons,” Biden said to chants of “four more years” from the crowd. “I mean it. Who in God’s name needs a magazine that can hold 200 shells?”
Click here to continue reading.
Poll: Most Voters Support Gun Rights, Views Divided by Politics
By Jake Fogleman
Americans by and large support gun-rights protections, but their opinions on the matter differ significantly based on who they plan to vote for this November.
Those are the key findings of a Pew Research Center poll of registered voters released last week. The survey found that 52 percent of registered voters believe it is more important to protect gun rights than it is to control gun ownership. Meanwhile, 54 percent of voters believe gun ownership does more to increase public safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves than it does to reduce it.
However, feelings split heavily along partisan lines. Eighty-five percent of Trump supporters agreed it is more important to protect gun rights, compared with just 19 percent of Biden supporters. 86 percent of Trump supporters say gun ownership improves public safety. In comparison, 76 percent of Biden supporters say it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
Podcast: YouTube Further Restricts Gun Videos (Ft. Active Self Protection’s John Correia)
By Stephen Gutowski
This week, we’re discussing the new restrictions YouTube has put on gun content.
That’s why we’ve got the head of one of the largest gun channels on the platform. John Correia runs Active Self Protection, which has generated over 1.8 billion views on videos analyzing real-world self-defense encounters. He’s also spent nearly a decade dealing with YouTube’s varied and often vague moderation guidelines.
You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is available on our YouTube channel.
Analysis: The Second Amendment is Hunter Biden’s Best Shot [Member Exclusive]
By Stephen Gutowski
The prosecution laid down a strong hand in its case against Hunter Biden over illegal gun possession in court this week, but the President’s son may have an ace up his sleeve.
In evidence ranging from Hunter’s own description of his drug addiction from around the time period of his October 2018 gun purchase in his autobiography to his conversations about doing drugs he had with his daughter and ex-girlfriends to drug residue being found on the leather pouch he kept his gun in, the government went a long way in establishing that Biden was addicted to drugs when he bought the revolver. That’s a key point of contention in the case since all of the charges center on Biden’s status as an active drug addict. Convincing the jury that Biden acquired his firearm during a relatively brief window when he was no longer using is going to be the primary task for the defense team when their arguments begin on Monday.
That’s looking like a tall task, but a new filing on Friday reveals a backup plan that may fare better: claiming the prohibition on drug users owning guns violates the Second Amendment.
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Outside The Reload
Federal Judge Vacates ATF Rule on Pistol Braces | Bearing Arms | By Cam Edwards
Ninth Circuit upholds California’s ban on gun show sales | Courthouse News Service | By Hillel Aron
NRA’s New EVP: It’s Time for Members to Come Home | Bearing Arms | By Cam Edwards
Seventh Circuit Upholds Law Against Lying on Background Check Form
The 8 gun bills passed and signed into law in Colorado this year | Colorado Sun | By Jesse Paul
That’s it for this week in guns.
I’ll see you all next week.
Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload
