How Would The Left Implement Gun Control?

The Democratic debates from yesterday made clear that the candidates are 100% behind massive gun control and, perhaps, even confiscation. Beto O'Rourke, who has been most closely linked to gun confiscation, explained how he would get weapons away from recalcitrant gun owners:

       If someone refuses to turn in their semiautomatic rifles, "or brings it out in public and brandishes it in an attempt to intimidate—as we saw when we were at Kent State recently—then that weapon will be taken from them."

      "If they persist, there will be other consequences from law enforcement," he said, before adding that he expects Americans will "do the right thing" and follow these laws. "We don't go door-to-door for any other laws in this country, we're not doing it here," said O'Rourke.

But Julian Castro, speaking of confiscation, remarked: "If you’re not going door to door, it’s not really mandatory."

    There is an old saying that "As California goes, so goes the nation." And I think we can get an idea of how things will turn out by looking to California. It has been a strategy of bringing the frog to a slow boil or, perhaps more accurately, the camel of gun control inching farther and farther into the tent of the Second Amendment. Handgun permits are hard to come by. The State has a prohibition on "assault weapons" which has incrementally become more strict over time as manufacturers develop work-arounds. The Attorney General must approve handgun designs or models for retail sale. The State prohibits open carry of firearms. Red flag laws (i.e., legalized Swatting). Limits on ammunition purchases and even the type of ammunition you can use while hunting.

     And the changes are accelerating, with California Governor Gavin just having signed into law some 15 bills expanding current gun control laws. Among these, Gavin signed a new bill expanding the Red Flag laws. Under this new law, the confiscatory period during which the State prohibit a person from possessing a firearm has been expanded from 1 year to 5 years. And whereas the law originally only allowed family members and law enforcement to seek such orders, it has now been expanded to include employers, co-workers and teachers. So, yes, that snow-flake co-worker who belongs to PETA and doesn't like the fact you hunt could seek an order to take away your firearms.

    Gavin has also signed bills expanding the one-purchase-per-month limitation on handguns to now include rifles; and requiring that gun parts be purchased through a licensed vendor. The cap on the amount of a concealed carry license has been removed, allowing those fees to increase, and non-FFL purchasers of firearms are limited to no more than 5 transactions or 50 firearms per year. And, starting in 2024, "80% lowers" will be considered firearms and the sellers of these items will need to obtain a license and all prospective purchasers will need to pass a background check.