On January 9, 2024, Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, released a letter sent to Stefanie Feldman, Director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The letter was on behalf of 19 states and the District of Columbia. A summation of the letter is as follows: Guns are bad. Ammunition is bad. It is a bad idea to allow people to have ammunition for guns, so the Lake City Ammunition plant should not be allowed to sell ammunition to civilians. Here is the first paragraph, from ag.ny.gov:
Dear Director Feldman,
We write on behalf of the States of New York, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington (the “States”) to express concern about recent reports that billions of rounds of military-grade ammunition manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant have been sold on the commercial market, leading to their use in many of the most tragic mass shootings in recent history. We ask your Office to conduct an investigation into the contracting processes that led to this situation, and to take action to ensure that military-grade and military-subsidized ammunition stays out of civilian hands.
On January 24, 2024, 28 states responded to the NY AG letter with their own. In summation, their response was as follows. Guns and ammunition are protected under the Second Amendment. An armed society is a positive good. Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights aid in the common defense. When Lake City sell ammunition to Americans, it is a good thing which enhances the military capabilities of the United States. Here is the first paragraph of the response letter, from law.alaska.gov, sent to President Biden and Director Feldman:
We, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Montana, and the undersigned States of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the North Carolina House of Representatives, write to express sincere concerns with our Democrat colleagues’ letter dated January 9, 2024, concerning Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (“Lake City”). The United States Supreme Court stated definitively that the Second Amendment guarantees a personal right to each law-abiding citizen to “keep and bear arms.”1 But Americans cannot exercise this constitutionally protected right to use their firearms without access to ammunition. If your office does what the Democrat attorneys general ask, then ammunition prices will increase, and ammunition availability will decrease. And those restrictions on ammunition will not resolve any of the ills discussed by our colleagues. Those attorneys general wrote to you casting aspersions and requesting an investigation of Lake City because they allege that the plant’s commercial ammunition was used in mass shootings. Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition.Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights. The undersigned States take an unapologetic stand to defend the Second Amendment and to set the record straight as to the facts.
A press release from alaska.gov shows some of the flavor of the response:
“We Have seen this administration take full advantage of wordplay to restrict the rights of American citizens,” said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. “Politicians, ignorant of the tools and practices they fight to restrict, use catchphrases like ‘military grade’ to create the illusion that these rights are not meant for the average citizen. They hate that law-abiding citizens have these rights and will use these underhanded tactics to take them away if allowed. I will always fight to preserve those rights given to citizens at the time our nation was founded and the ability to exercise those rights. In this case, that means fighting to ensure that citizens who have the right to arms also have reasonable access to ammunition.”
Analysis:
The two letters show opposite assumptions about reality and the role of governments. The NY letter assumes guns are bad, and ordinary citizens should not have guns, because ordinary citizens do bad things with guns. The letter from the 28 states assumes government is subordinate to the people, government must defend the nation, and an armed population aids the government in defending the nation against all enemies. These two assumptions about reality are in direct conflict. The Second Amendment comes from the philosophy of natural law and natural rights, in spite of Governor Dunleavy's faux pas ("rights given to the citizens at the time of our founding"). The guns are bad in the hands of citizens assumption comes from the Progessive philosophy of government is good, more government is better. The United States Constitution was framed under the philosophy of natural law, which is why progressives in the U.S. government are always working to overturn, debauch, and re-define it to remove limits on governmental power. Progressive philosophy in the US government was in ascendance from at least 1932 to 1980, with the Supreme Court under the sway of Progressives until at least 2008.
The Biden administration has shown itself to be the most hostile to the Second Amendment of all time. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration, the Johnson administration, and the Clinton administration all vie for the runner-up position. The Biden administration's overt hostility may prevent it from doing as much harm as the others. Numerous court cases are moving toward the Supreme Court, with the potential to undo decades of infringements.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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