I just don’t believe it

I just don’t believe it.

The Democrats backing off on gun control is about as real as a PETA spokesperson doing an ad promoting a prime rib dinner at your favorite local eatery … only in your dreams!

An Associated Press story (Dems show little appetite for gun control) making the rounds last week stated, “There has been a shift in thinking among Democrats in the last six to eight years, away from old ideas about gun control and limiting access to guns and toward ideas about how you actually reduce gun crime.”

This quote was attributed to Matt Bennett of Third Way, a group of moderate Democrats active on gun control issues.

The article continues, “’We do not debate guns around here much anymore,’ said the Senate’s no. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, during debate on the D.C. gun amendment. ‘Basically, we reached a point where there are not many people who will stick their political necks out to vote for sensible gun control — too big a hassle’.”

Read that last paragraph again.

See what I mean?

The Democrats still want “sensible gun control,” however, they can’t get it done right now because of the political climate of the nation. All those folks “clinging to their guns and their Bibles” have started to make their voices heard through their representatives and senators — even some of the newly elected Democratic ones.

What is “sensible gun control” but which, as President Barack Obama suggests, won’t infringe on the Second Amendment?

Here are some things the president supports: banning the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns; banning semi-automatic firearms of all kinds; mandatory firearms registration; serial numbered bullets in ammunition (this would result in a ban on handloading, since serial numbered bullets can only be matched to a specific case/caliber in a factory manufacturing process); banning the use of firearms for home defense; a national ban on concealed carry; and closing almost all the gun shops in the United States.

There’s a lot more, but you get the idea of what “sensible gun control” means to a liberal Democrat. To them, this is not infringing on your right to keep and bear arms.

In the last decade, violent crime in this country has decreased dramatically, according to FBI crime statistics. Also in the last decade, there has been a major push for concealed carry laws across the nation, to the point where 48 states now have some form of concealed carry.

What are the chances the two items — reduction in violent crime nationwide and increased concealed carry by law-abiding citizens — are related? Gun control advocates will tell you it’s just coincidence. Those who have been known to think on occasion know better.

Let me tell you a true story.

Thirtysome years ago, shortly after the state of Georgia had passed their concealed carry law, my mother got her concealed carry permit. She always carried a huge purse everywhere and had everything, including the kitchen sink, inside it.

One day, she was shopping at the local grocery store and was at the check-out counter. The older female clerk has tallied her purchases and Mom was rummaging around in her purse trying to find her checkbook. Finally, in frustration, she started emptying the contents. Out came the make-up case, the keys, the thick envelope of photos, the credit card wallet, the money wallet, the small flashlight, the revolver in its holster, the….

When she realized she had placed her revolver out in plain sight on the counter, she was mortified. Mom figured the police would be arriving any minute and she would see a jail cell up close for the first time in her life. The clerk, upon seeing Mom’s revolver, reached under the counter.

The checker placed her purse beside my mother’s and took out her handgun to compare. While neither person qualified as a “gun nut,” they exchanged information about make, model, caliber, and how well each did the last time at the shooting range. My mother realized she was among friends.

Pretend you’re a criminal casing that grocery store for a possible robbery attempt and you see this scenario. If two gray-haired ladies are “packin’ heat,” how much more likely are the guys in the store to also be armed? You don’t know. Will you take a chance on robbing this store or will you move on to a target less likely to shoot back? And when everybody might be carrying a concealed gun, who’s safe to rob now?

You get my point!

The AP article also states that, “For the time being, any gun-related legislation will be incremental. Helmke’s group (the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence) is urging the Obama administration to overturn a rule imposed in the last days of the Bush administration allowing people to carry concealed, loaded weapons in most national parks.”

Reread the first sentence in the last paragraph. The Democrats don’t feel they can make sweeping changes in gun control right now, so they’ll continue to chip away at our Second Amendment rights.

The Democrats backing off on gun control – right! And I’m the King of Siam!

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.