By WALLACE WHITE (Daily Caller News Foundation)
Gun rights advocacy groups are sounding the alarm on the new 2024 Democratic National Committee (DNC) platform released Sunday that proposed sweeping gun control regulations.
Groups such as Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the DNC platform shows the Democrat’s proposals “run afoul” with Second Amendment protections. The platform stated that Democrats would “pass a national red flag law to prevent tragedies by keeping weapons out of dangerous hands,” and would increase ATF funding for “enforcement and prosecution,” according to the platform released ahead of the convention beginning August 19.
The DNC also restated their 2020 platform’s support for an “assault weapons” ban, “high-capacity” magazine ban, stripping liability protections from gun manufacturers and requiring “safe” gun storage.
“Tim Walz lied when he said ‘no one wants to take your guns’ and that could not be made more clear by this DNC platform, which is loaded with blatantly unconstitutional policies that won’t do anything to stop crime or make America safer,” Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs at Gun Owners of America (GOA) told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “GOA just hosted our inaugural convention down in Knoxville, and it’s clear based on the response from thousands of our members that they’re fired up heading into this election—gun owners know the Second Amendment is on the ballot. We will continue to push back on this DNC agenda through campaign action, lobbying efforts, and if necessary, legal challenges in defense of Americans’ Second Amendment rights. We cannot afford to compromise.”
In 2021, House Democrats voted to pass the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act that would enable family members and law enforcement to petition judges in order to strip firearms from people they deem to be “a risk to themselves or others,” according to the bill. The Senate has taken no action on the bill since it was referred to the Judiciary Committee in 2022.
“NSSF is not surprised by the DNC platform that includes gun control at the cost of fundamental and Constitutionally-protected rights,” Mark Oliva, managing director for public affairs at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) told the DCNF. “The sort of ‘red flag’ laws for which the DNC advocates are devoid of protections for Due Process rights.”
Oliva told the DCNF that the NSSF has advocated for increased ATF funding for years in order to ensure no delays and smooth functioning with the firearms industry, but thinks the Democrats would use the funding to prosecute everyday Americans.
“The funding for which the DNC wants would only be applied to doubling down of the Biden-Harris ‘zero-tolerance’ policies that have seen hundreds of small businesses lose or surrender their federal firearms licenses for minor clerical errors,” Oliva told the DCNF. “The Biden-Harris administration has weaponized the ATF as a tool by which they can suppress lawful firearm ownership in America.”
An assault weapons ban would likely be unconstitutional and hard to enforce, according to experts who spoke with the DCNF. Additionally, a 2024 meta-analysis by the RAND Corporation found that evidence was inconclusive on whether or not assault weapons bans would reduce firearms-related homicides.
“Many of the provisions are part of the same old gun-banning wish list that comprise the usual talking points for anti-gun politicians who prefer to blame gun ownership than the criminal,” Second Amendment Foundation executive director Adam Kraut told the DCNF. “The new platform demonstrates the DNC would rather ban the most popular rifle in America instead of prosecuting criminals.”
Gun manufacturers are shielded from liability for crimes committed with their firearms under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), according to the bill’s text. Oliva said the Democrats were more interested in prosecuting gun companies than holding the criminals who wield the guns responsible.
“The DNC would rather pursue policies that violate basic understanding of tort law instead of holding criminals accountable for their actions,” Oliva told the DCNF. “That’s what they advocate when they want to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which even U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed was Constitutional when he testified before Congress.”
