Another week, another wild series of events in the 2024 presidential race. This time, the Democratic ticket was entirely upended, and Kamala Harris all but wrapped up her position at the top.
To discuss how this affects gun politics, we’ve got National Review’s Charles Cooke back on the show for the first time in a while. Cooke said that Harris has been to the left of her predecessor, Joe Biden, on firearms restrictions. He noted she supported a more assertive approach to using executive power, and she backed a mandatory buyback of AR-15s.
However, Cooke argued Harris probably wouldn’t track further left on guns during the campaign. He said the incentive is to either stick with the already aggressive platform, centered on an “assault weapons” ban, or try to moderate. He said Harris is likely going to have to combat her image as a very liberal California politician if she wants to beat Donald Trump.
He said he was less concerned about Trump backing away from gun policy in recent weeks. He argued Democrats are highlighting the issue to try and excite voters they’re concerned won’t show up to the polls whereas Republicans don’t have to worry as much about that because they’ve already accomplished a lot of pro-gun priorities in recent years.
Oh, and we talked a little bit about rollercoasters at the end for those interested lol.
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. An auto-generated transcript is here. Reload Members get access on Sunday, as always. Everyone else can listen on Monday.
Claim your free 30-day trial at this week’s sponsor The Dispatch here!
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about Kamala Harris’ new role at the top of the Democratic ticket. We also cover the latest political fundraising totals of the major gun groups and what they say about the relative stature of gun rights and gun control organizations. Finally, we wrap up with a rundown of the latest public remarks from the NRA’s new executive vice president, a federal judge’s decision to block the ATF’s ban on Forced Reset Triggers, and a novel AI-based gun detection technology set to make its debut in the New York subway system.
2 Responses
What the Harris Administration is planning to do to all Americans is a blueprint on the recent passage of the new Massachusetts Gun Laws and, of course, California’s gun restrictions. Actually what I just stated here is way too mild to what these anti 2A zealots really want.
I do want to ask for your permission to use the summary of the Massachusetts new gun laws because I would like to send it to Jim Wallace, the President of GOAL (Gun Owners Action League). I have attempted to read the entire Massachusetts’ Bill, but time has been too limited for me to analyze it on my own. Jim has also appeared several times on Cam & Co, but their summary has been, so far, way too long to get through.
I have on many previous attempts over the years testified before the Legislative Committee Hearings along with personally contacting both my Senator, Karen Spilka and my Rep Lews. Lewis refused to meet with me so I met face to face with his assistant. You will laugh at her plan plan to deal with a home invasion. She seriously said she would rely on 911. My response was two fold. Since she is a Lawyer, I asked her if she had ever heard of the Gonzolas Vs Castle Rock Case?. I summarized the case for her and asked that she look up that case, much like a homework assignment. My 2nd question to her was, let’s assume the police arrive within 3-5 minutes to which I asked when she was reheating something in their office microwave oven, did it not feel excessively long waiting the two to three minutes until her food was done. She said yes to that experience, but still she could not link it to the wait time for the police to arrive or she was in blind denial. Frankly I lost too many IQ points to continue this discussion as her mind was not open to any honest, civil, discussion.
God Bless you, Stephen. You are patient, polite and civil in your presentations.
Yea, you’re free to send a summary to anybody you think would be interested. Just don’t publicly share the entire piece or anything like that since this is a member exclusive.
It definitely is a long bill and some of it is strange, like the way they exempt older “assault weapons” from the new possession ban.
I appreciate the kind words!