We hear a lot from the progressive left about “smart gun legislation” that everyone is for and how they do not want to take our guns away. Interesting argument, given the same movement said the exact same thing to the citizens of the United Kingdom when they just wanted a “few smart laws to keep undesirables” from having guns over there. Now guns are essentially banned in the United Kingdom and people do not have a right to self-protection.
In Glenn Beck’s new book “Control: Exposing the Truth About Guns,” he details the timeline progressives used to disarm the common british citizen. It is worth reviewing and keeping in mind as Democrats, and some RINOs, continue to push their anti-gun agenda through local, state, and federal legislative bodies:
1689: King William of Orange guarantees his subjects (except Catholics) the right to bear arms for self-defense in a new Bill of Rights. In the United States, we have the Second Amendment to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
1819: In response to civil unrest, a temporary Seizure of Arms Act is passed; it allows constables to search for, and confiscate, arms from people who people who are “dangerous to the public peace.” This expired after two years and was similar in scope to the ordinance that was passed in the aftermath of Katrina.
1870: A license is needed only if you want to carry a firearm outside of your home. This is similar to the Conceal and Carry permits required in many states.
1903: The Pistols Act is introduced and seems to be full of “common sense.” No guns for drunks or the mentally insane, and licenses are required for handgun purchases. Sounds familiar!
1920: The Firearms Act ushers in the first registration system and gives police the power to deny a license to anyone “unfitted to be trusted with a firearms.” According to historian Clayton Cramer, this is the first true pivot for the United Kingdom, as “the ownership of firearms ceased to be a right of Englishmen, and instead became a privilege. In the United States, we are on the verge of effectively removing the Second Amendment should universal background checks become a federal responsibility.
1937: An update to the Firearms Act is passed that raises the minimum age to buy a gun, gives police more power to regulate licenses, and bans most fully automatics weapons. The home secretary also rules that self-defense is no longer a valid reason for be granting a gun permit. In the United States, this is the case for permits in New York and California.
1967: The Criminal Justice Act expands licensing to shotguns. Hum…
1968: Existing gun laws are placed into a single statute. Applicants have to show “good reason” for carrying ammunition and guns. The Home Office is also given the power to set fees for shotgun licenses.
1988: After the Hungerford Massacre, in which a crazy person uses two semi-automatic rifles to kill fifteen people, an amendment to the Firearms Act is passed. According to the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), this amendment “banned semi-automic and pump-action rifles; weapons which fire explosive ammunition; short shotguns with magazines; and elevated pump-action and self-loading rifles. Registration was also made mandatory for shotguns, which were required to be kept in secure storage. In the United States, many of these provisions have be incorporated into Senator Feinstein’s gun regulation legislation of 2013.
1997: After the Dunblane Massacre resulted in the deaths of sixteen children and a teacher (the killer used two pistols and two revolvers), another Firearms Act amendment is passed, this one essentially banning all handguns.
2006: After a series of gun-related homicides get national attention, the Violent Crime Reduction Act is passed, making it a crime to make or sell imitation guns and further restricting the use of “air weapons.” In essence, they banned toys.
The progressive left says they do not want to take our guns away, that we have a “right to self protection.” But this is the same clever propaganda used to disarm the United Kingdom. The question for Americans is, “will we fall for it like they did?”
