Presidential hopeful and New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker has made headlines recently for his list of wildly unconstitutional gun control proposals. At the top of his list is requiring a government license to buy and own a firearm.
To make his case, Sen. Booker argues that if one needs a license to drive a car, the same should be required to own a gun. What he misses is that unlike the privilege of driving a car on public roads, owning a firearm is a Constitutional right.
A better analogy is requiring a license to exercise the right to freedom of speech or to practice one’s religion. Of course, then even he would have to admit that would constitute a dangerous threat to our rights as Americans.
Barriers to Rights
He is arguing that it is OK to set up barriers to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Constitutional right. As if requiring fees and photos and fingerprints, necessarily preventing some from exercising their right to protect themselves and their families is somehow acceptable, particularly those with less income and free time to spend in government lines. It wasn’t OK to require a poll tax for voting, why should it be OK to restrict the rights of citizens now?
So maybe he’s just confused, and he hasn’t really thought this through. After all, why would he also be arguing for a return of the so-called “assault weapon ban” that did nothing to prevent criminals from committing crimes, or for micro-stamping technology that doesn’t actually exist?
Real Solutions
Perhaps if he actually wants to help ensure that those who shouldn’t have guns don’t get them, he should call for making sure all states and federal agencies submit their disqualifying records to the FBI’s background check database? Or help educate law-abiding citizens about options to safely store their firearms?
If he wants to know what policies actually work, we can help. The firearms and ammunition industry has real solutions for safer communities. And none of them require limiting any of the fundamental Constitutional rights we enjoy as U.S. citizens.
Whether he is aware or not of how dangerous it is to toy with American freedoms, we hope he does his homework and supports actual solutions to the real problems in our country.
Larry Keane is Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association.
All gun control needs to be repealed including background checks.
That’s how you untangle the illegal mess that has resulted from the years of piece meal infringement of out second amendment rights that our founding fathers said were off limits. There was never any mention of licensing of our constitutional rights. We have lobbyists that have their carry permits and so they treat the issue of constitutional carry with indifference. Their permit is an agreement that they make that in effect says that it is fine to license out your rights. This changes a right to a privilege which can be revoked on a whim. Repeal all gun control laws. Crime will not increase cause the criminals are already doing what they want anyway, not giving a darn about law.
Seconded. That’s the best solution to the Gordian knot of over 20,000 gun control laws in this country. Back to the start, no infringements on our RTKBA.
Personally, I’m not concerned about Booker. Swalwell, on the other hand, I’m keeping under constant surveillance.
Booker is at ~2.5% support. Salwell isn’t even on the chart.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html
The guy getting a big surge in support lately has been Biden. Can’t wait for that trainwreck.
Yeah, if I were more inclined to be active, I’d get out there and actively support Biden. He clearly would be the best possible Dem for 2020, since Trump would be able to snooze through the campaign. Of course, he’d actually be working his ass off, as usual, but for the nation instead of reelection.
Same playbook as Hillary used. The fix is in for Biden. Look at those poll results. Democrats still have Super Delegates and the Super Pac money. Shotgun Joe will have the questions before the debates but you can count on him to screw it up. When Trump wins re-election there will be screaming and crying again. Or should I say there will weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Russian Collusion, obstruction of justice and just hate Trump is not a WINNING strategy. Polls show 90% of Americans don’t want Socialism. Another strike for Democrats. I’m actually encouraged people appear to see Socialism for what it is. Socialism the goal is Communism. Lenin.
Tried to stock up on popcorn but it’s already sold out and backordered.
Folks thought Hillary was a joke also. Don’t underestimate Joe. Never forget that half the people you meet on any given day are below average.
Soviet propaganda used to tout Socialism + electrification = Communism.
Mathematically, electrification = Communism – Socialism .
He is dangerous, miseducated, politically dense, and as dumb as any New Jersey politician ever has been and that is a crowd. I live in PA and lived in Philly for about 35 years and had close contact with the news about such. He is dangerous and stupid. He’s like that guy Bacharach in that they are pushing to have the reasons for the Second Amendment ratified.
Do not underestimate these fools. They aren’t dumb. They know thier idiocies will be swallowed up hook, line, and sinker from the masses they appeal to.
AMEN! The ‘gimme my freebies’ crowd (read: Dumbocratic voters) could CARE LESS about inalienable rights.
“… unlike the privilege of driving a car on public roads …”
I have a fundamental and unalienable right to travel. My method of travel or the means of my conveyance is irrelevant. Therefore, driving a car — even on (gasp!) public roads — is NOT a privilege. Rather, driving a car — even on (gasp!) public roads — is a right. Unfortunately, government (especially the courts) do not see it that way.
Caveat: if I am going to use public roads, I have an obligation to help pay for those public roads.
Yep. Freedom of movement is a right so fundamental that it doesn’t even get mentioned; it’s part of the right to keep *living.* And people insist on telling us driving is a privilege.
Ones freedom to operate a motor vehicle is a regulated right, Ones freedom to assemble or reach a place of work by common forms transportation on public streets or roadways is a right. If confused, do some research. It gets complicated if there has been a drivers license suspension or revocation.
So blind adults have the right to drive? THINK before you post, amigo.
To an “Woke” socialist the Constitution is an outdated document that frequently prevents them from achieving what they desire. They are not interested in it except in those rare instances where it actually help them a promote their goals. That’s why they always claim that the Constitution is a “living document” meaning to them that they can “twist” the Bill of Rights to mean anything that they want it to mean.
Yep. But like anyone else they are responsible for any damage they cause.
Came here to say this. So sick of the dRiViNg Is A pRiViLeGe Bravo Sierra.
Listen, folks, here are two simple tests to determine if something is a right: 1) If an act doesn’t cause nonconsensual harm, damage, or alienation to anyone else, their property, or people in their stewardship, it is a right. 2) If no other human (remember all humans have equal rights) has the right to point a gun at you and tell you you can’t do a thing, that thing is a right.
Sorry folks but the SCOTUS has already ruled that driving is a privilege, not a right. it was challenged by an individual who refused to pay for a drivers license saying just what you are saying. He lost.
Chiefton,
Yes, as I stated near the bottom of my post, “Unfortunately, government (especially the courts) do not see it that way.”
The fact that the courts approve of government infringement of a right does not mean that the right is actually a privilege. I just means that the courts approve of infringement.
The Supreme Court also ruled that escaped slaves must be returned to their owner. Pardon me if I don’t regard those tyrants as the last word on what is or isn’t a right.
I will not conform
Unless you are a snowflake socialist. Then it is obviously the other persons money which pays for those roads you drive on.
We need criminal control, not gun control.
That includes criminals who conspire to infringe rights under color of law.
Change the word “criminal” slightly to “politician” and I’ll agree with you.
Booker the clown is to far Left for the average democrat voter. He’s also to much of a PC Coward to attack other Democrat candidates. Thus he will not make the final cut. As for Swalwell this time next year no on will remember his name. WE will on the other hand still be building That SWELL WALL. #KeepAmericaGreat2020
If he is too far left for the average Dumbocrat voter then how come the majority of the Dumbocratic announced candidates for POTUS hold views identical to his?
Just because they want to be President. Doesn’t mean they will even be the nominee. Keep in mind there are more democrats running for the nomination than there were horses in the Kentucky Derby. Any nag can run. Only one can win.
Is cory booker paying advertising fees to ttag?
Boy, would that ever be tossing your money in the crapper. Ya think we could convince him?
Spartacus is a blooming IDIOT…!
I’ll bet everything I own that Spartacus will never be President of the U S in 2020 , or ever for that matter…
Fortunately Neither “Sparticus” nor Salwell is likely to even get the nomination. The only one that I am worried about is Kamala, the BJ expert, Harris.
Harris will be Joe’s VP running mate on the ticket in 2020.
Unfortunately I can see that happening. Biden will “have” to take on a female running mate. It can’t be Warren because she is too shrill, from the East Coast, and too white. That leaves Kamila. And Biden does like them younger. This puts Trump in a precarious position. He really should figure out how to have Nikki Haley as a running mate. That would neutralize Kamila and all the rest of the feminazi nonsense. I don’t see Pence just walking away, or whether his walking away would play well in the election. Kamila is a nightmare in so many ways, because the likelihood of Biden dying or going fully senile within 4 years is very high. Same likelihood for Trump.
That is TOTALLY acceptable to Leftists. And the frosting on the Leftist cake: those people who cannot afford the time and money to get their government license become that much more dependent on government since they would have no effective means of self-defense.
Oh, that is easy. Poll taxes hurt political allies of Leftists, therefore Leftists oppose poll taxes. Firearm restrictions hurt political enemies of Leftists, therefore Leftists support firearm restrictions.
In other words Leftists have no timeless concrete standards of right and wrong (or anything else for that matter). All they care about is getting what they want and crushing anyone who is not in lock-step with them.
I have said this before; All federal ( congress, prez) wannabes must take an intelligence test ( score over 81 just like military min.) Must take a civics/constitution test pass/fail 85%. Show valid US birth certificate ( both parents must be US citizens) and pass the same FBI background check a service member must pass for a top secret clearance. This would have kept odipshit and both clintons and most dimocrats from harming our country.
Just for good measure, no muslimes, black, white or brown.
this porch ape hasen’t the brains to think for himself . this asswipe is soros in blackface…
….and you wonder why you’re alone. Asshole.
Dangerously confused…”I’m Spartacus!” And he’s a doofus!
So, I guess TTAG will just be generating purely partisan click-bait for the duration? Booker’s a tool, no doubt, but he’s among the less relevant and therefore less worrisome set.
Why aren’t you guys running articles demanding we ask our own pro-gun representatives to denounce idiots like this, and our pro-gun activists to circulate form letters of condemnation (the two can go hand-in-hand). You know, like when a Democrat politician says something vaguely anti-gay, or something flagrantly anti-semitic, and they’re forced to look like even bigger jackasses walking it back in the face of the response (which includes tons of the people he answers to desperately trying to out-outrage eachother)? Calling this guy the idiot he is won’t accomplish anything in itself, but man do it sure bring in da clix.
“Why aren’t you guys running articles demanding we ask our own pro-gun representatives to denounce idiots like this, and our pro-gun activists to circulate form letters of condemnation (the two can go hand-in-hand).”
Seriously? A good many of us have been doing that for decades without anyone having to write articles about it on a blog. I refuse to use someone else’s form letters in making contact, BTW. Bad idea IMO and a sign of laziness.
Why don’t ypu try to get on TTAG’s writer’s docket? I’m being serious, not sarcastic. You might not like the constant incoming and snarkiness coming back at your opinions, however.
I hate the car argument… people always seem to forget:
1) You can buy a car at any age with no background check
2) You can drive a car on private property in any way you want with no license, registration, or insurance
3) When you have your car on the road, you are actively behind the wheel and using your car, unlike a gun which sits on your hip untouched.
Too stupid to be dangerous, as for confused? You have to be capable of an original thought first.
“A better analogy is requiring a license to exercise the right to freedom of speech or to practice one’s religion.”
Actually- I can see a great many Leftists demanding that eventually. Most wouldn’t even blush. We’ve already gotten pretty close on the 1st Amendment curbs.
Neither. He just doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the Constitution. Same as the rest of the Dems, only he’s more vocal about it.
That makes him/them my sworn enemy by his/their own hand.
All democrats are dangers. They always have been and always will be.
I’m fine with the licensing car/gun analogy.
However, once I receive that license, I can have whatever I want. Machine guns, silencers, SBR/SBS, DD’s, and I can carry a concealed weapon in all 50 states, territories, and anywhere inside those places. Schools, public buildings, court houses, football stadiums, everywhere. Once I get that, I’m no longer required to do a NICS check for a purchase either, and no more $200 tax for NFA transfers or waiting for the paperwork. I want a stamp book waiting, when I pay for it, the stamp is placed, and I leave.
They wanna play these stupid games, that’s fine. I want something for playing.
Oh, and no magazine limits on anything I have, regardless of where I go, or what state I’m in. Generalized licensing, generalized weaponry.
In principle, ANY licensing scheme is unacceptable.
In practice, I will vote for this so hard.
“Perhaps if he actually wants to help ensure that those who shouldn’t have guns don’t get them, he should call for making sure all states and federal agencies submit their disqualifying records to the FBI’s background check database? ”
For the love of God, stop saying stupid shit like this. Do you not realize that they are just going to make more and more things disqualifying? Do you realize how many people are wrongly submitted to the database now because of slight differences in the text of laws between states and in the interpretations of that text?
He is a danger to himself with his mouth.
He is confused 101%.
That’s obvious when he opens said mouth.
But above all hes a Libitard .
Just plain stupid who thankfully doesn’t stand a chance today tomorrow or ever.
Of getting into a national office.
Unless its as the janitor to clean it up.
A complete moron he is.
The people of New Jersey deserve him. Not the rest of the country.
Cory Booker is Dangerous, just another Clinton/Obama socialist.
He’s very obviously not confused. He doesn’t give a fuck about the constitution, and he is willing to use the government to bludgeon gun owners into surrendering their property.
Cory Booker is flat wrong; you don’t need a driver’s license to buy a car.
You can buy cars online or at a dealership and get them delivered to your door without ever having to show a driver’s license. We bought a car on eBay that way, never had to show a driver’s license, never.
We’ve also sold cars on eBay that way, and never had to get a driver’s license from the buyer, never had to do a “background check” on a car buyer, never needed fingerprints or references to buy or sell a car!
If the government treated guns the way they treated cars, then you could buy guns on eBay and get them delivered to your house in any state without a license or background check.
Even at a dealership, you don’t need a license to buy a car. If you want to test drive it, you might need a drivers’ license to test drive it (sometimes — they didn’t ask me last time I test drove one), but you can walk into a dealership, buy a car, and never need to show a license.
You don’t even need to register your car until a month after you’ve bought it in many states. There’s a certain tech billionaire who never registers his cars due to privacy concerns, He just buys a new car every month and takes advantage of the one-month grace period for registering a car.
Cory Booker is from The People’s Demokratik Republik of New Jersey. New Jersey has had fingerprint requirements and police background checks for buying long guns for several decades. Individuals have to apply for and pay for a permit to purchase each handgun they want. B-B guns and pellet guns are considered firearms in NJ. It is illegal for a store to sell sling shots. He is just wanting to spread that cancer to the rest of the country. As to his being nothing to worry about? I’d keep an eye on him. I couldn’t believe he got to be a U.S. Senator after the miserable job he did as mayor of Newark. Realistically there should have been no way for him to win unless there was a “thumb on the scale”.
How about having to show your license in order to demonstrate that you are qualified to vote. Oh snap.
the two arent mutually exclusive
Yes to both…… dangerous and confused. Worse does not care either, about the Constitution.
No, you don’t need a license to drive a car. Not for you nor for the car. Neither do you need insurance. It’s completely legal as long as you stay on private property and off public roads. You can even move your car over public roads from one piece of private property to another by hiring a tow truck. You can buy a car without a background check.
The equivalent for gun ownership would be no licenses, registration or background checks for guns kept on private property or transferred between private properties while unloaded and locked in a case.
“Is Cory Booker Dangerous or Just Confused When it Comes to the Constitution?”
Neither, just stupid…
Don’t worry. Cory Booker will never get the black vote. But self hating white Liberals will vote for him just like they voted for Obama.
Just like speed limits it keeps people from speeding. The constitution was written, for fools like you. A Drivers license make you a better driver. Cars kill people and pencils miss spell words. Can’t fix stupid.
He’s from New Jersey, ergo, he doesn’t like the Constitution.
Great rebuttal by Colion Noir: https://youtu.be/-FNxuWz3_cw
82 years old Patron Member NRA: Senator Booker, if I may repeat the words of President (NRA) Heston 20 years ago, “you may take my guns from my cold, dead hands”.
I will not conform.
With the shooting in Colorado yesterday get ready for the gun grabbers to come out in droves
Yeah, but it’s not because they sensationalize them for months after! A few public executions would curtail that video game mindset. No fear, no respect, no detterent!
Yes, the answer is yes.
They aren’t Constitutional Rights, they are Constitutional /Protections/ — the rights exist independent of the Constitution or any Amendment.
Rights are not subject to arbitrary limits imposed by law. Thomas Jefferson says it best:
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”
“Of course, then even he would have to admit that would constitute a dangerous threat to our rights as Americans.”
Hah, don’t bet on it. He might not promulgate it, but he probably wouldn’t admit it, either. These people don’t think rationally.
Personally I’d like to see that government license thing tried. Would be interesting to see how corrupt the Supreme Court has actually become if they upheld it.
In fact, I’d like to see Congress pass an entire firearms ban and the Supreme Court uphold it and the US Army go door-to-door – as Ross Perot once wanted – to enforce it. Then we’d get to see who really is interested in doing what is really necessary to deal with the corrupt US government. Also it will be fun to see – and possibly participate in getting rich via – the gun smuggling industry which would arise instantly.
I’d be ok with a Federal license if it let me carry concealed in all 50 states.
NY already requires me to register my pistol so I’m not giving anything up.
And according to the government they have no record of me owning or ever having owned a long gun. And it would stay the same.
“Is Cory Booker Dangerous or Just Confused When it Comes to the Constitution?”
YES
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