Default Mode: Politicians Respond to Kirk Assassination With Calls for…More Gun Control

Following the heinous political assassination of Charlie Kirk, Founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, during a peaceful open public event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, several politicians have hinted at their renewed commitment to passing new gun control laws.

The calls for more restrictions on law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights by gun control activists in the aftermath of a tragedy aren’t surprising or new. After all, it was Rahm Emanuel – the former U.S. Representative and Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama – who said in 2008, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” in order to ram through new laws.

Kirk was a man who challenged ideological thoughts with commonsense, hard facts and reality by inviting open debate with citizens of every walk of life, regardless of political affiliation or socioeconomic status – especially those who were diametrically opposed to his own beliefs. His assassin texted his roommate, with whom he was romantically involved, that he “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred” and murdered him for his beliefs.

Kirk was also a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and Americans’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Federal Calls For More

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has spoken out against everything related to firearms from the use of traditional lead hunting ammunition to supporting a ban on modern sporting rifles, took to the Capitol steps on Wednesday after news broke of Kirk’s death.

“Every single day, there are people in this building that continue to vote against doing anything,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez told reporters, referring to the Capitol building and Republicans in Congress. “They vote against universal background checks. They continue to support legislation and also remove any way to block the mentally ill, to block extremists, to block people with histories and records of domestic violence from getting guns in their hands. So, are we going to do something about this or not?”

“It’s not about taking away people’s right to a firearm. This is about ensuring that we have responsible gun laws in the United States of America, and anything else is a deflection,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez concluded.

In an interview on CNN, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) claimed that 76 percent of extremist violence and violent murders are “from right-wing extremists,” and while he condemned the “4 percent by left-wing extremists,” he segued into a call for gun control, saying, “and oh, by the way – it’s probably an appropriate time to talk about guns, too.”

“You hear a lot of conservatives saying, ‘hey, the only thing we need to do here is get more guns on the street. That’s not going to solve the problem,” Rep. Moulton continued, claiming, “that’s going to make it worse.”

Speaking with reporters on the assassination of Kirk, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stated every time there’s a heinous tragedy involving firearms, Republicans say “this is not the time to talk about gun safety” and went on to claim we can’t keep anyone safe “by just putting ordinary gun safety rules in place.”

“You know, I just want to say this, coming from Massachusetts, if the rest of the country would just follow the rules we follow in Massachusetts, we could reduce fatalities all over this country,” Sen. Warren said. “And plenty of people who are hunters and who use guns for sport still have lots of activities in Massachusetts, but at least we make it a little tougher to use guns for harming other human beings.”

Different Approach

Kirk’s murder sparked a conversation on the other side of the argument regarding security for public officials, as well. The side that respects and reveres Constitutional rights, while recognizing it is criminals who ignore laws that overwhelmingly are the cause of crimes involving firearms.

“I’ll start carrying again when I’m back home, and when I’m allowed to carry where it’s reciprocal. In other states, I will have a firearm on my person all the time, and I will have security,” Rep. Nancy Mace told reporters Thursday outside the Capitol.

Others, like Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), said the answer “is not taking our guns away”, focusing instead on existing laws that criminals, by definition, choose to ignore. “We got our Second Amendment’s rights. We’re going to hold fast to them. The campus where Charlie Kirk was assassinated was a gun-free campus,” Rep. Norman reminded reporters.

Bolt Bans

The calls for more gun control by activists and politicians are even more ludicrous when the early facts of the tragic incident are examined. The firearm Kirk’s assassin used was an old Mauser Model 98, a popular bolt-action single-shot hunting rifle. And Democratic lawmakers are pointing to Utah’s pro-Second Amendment laws to make their political points, but while Utah did enact a state law in August of this year allowing individuals with a concealed carry permit to carry firearms on college campuses, the law still prohibits firearms like rifles and shotguns on campuses with very few exceptions.

The alleged murderer also had no prior criminal record and had never exhibited any signs of mental health difficulties that would have necessitated him being flagged as a “prohibited person” and blocking him from purchasing firearms through an FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System verification. There is no gun control that would have prevented this tragedy.

Still, that didn’t stop lawmakers from rapidly seizing on Kirk’s murder to push for gun control, highlighting a recurring pattern of using high-profile tragedies to advance restrictions – even against types of firearms previously defended by gun control advocates.

Charles C.W. Cooke, the National Review writer and Second Amendment supporter, argued, “Kirk’s murder undermines attempts to tie such violence to broad gun laws or to blame his support for the Second Amendment. The bolt-action hunting rifle used was a frequent example offered by activists as a firearm that should remain legal.”

Indeed, the bolt-action rifle is not only legal in all 50 states but also in the vast majority of countries, including Canada and England. Since its invention over a century ago, the bolt-action rifle is and always has been one of the most universally accepted firearms in our nation’s history.

This demonstrates that violence stems from intent not the firearm misused to commit the violence, reinforcing skepticism of gun control measures as a solution to tragedies like Kirk’s assassination.