Media Straw Men and Gang Members: Democrats Remind Us Whose Lives Really Matter
As we trudge through another election cycle with one smear campaign after another, judiciary hearings collide with trial-by-media in a way that continues to bode poorly for the average American.
It is no secret that the Left spends much of their attention in the media on chipping away at the legitimacy of the Second Amendment. Despite every law-abiding American’s Constitutional right to bear arms, the Leftist narrative continues to question our rights and encourages misleading anecdotes and misnomers to spin off intentionally misleading interpretations of the law. In a showdown that is becoming an increasingly common trend, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) has again gone head-to-head against the political machine hell-bent on stripping the Constitution down to bare bones.
In a judiciary hearing from May 24, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) defended the truth of the so-called “Gun Show Loophole” against ATF Director Dettelbach. There is no statutory exemption under the GCA specifically excluding unlicensed persons from engaging in firearms dealing at gun shows, or any other dealing. The Department of Justice has also recently noted that the term “Gun Show Loophole” is a misnomer. The rule clarifies: “all persons engaged in the business of dealing in firearms MUST be licensed, regardless of location.”
https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1794010657307636024?t=ntVLB9JQT0kqd8THob59Jw&s=19
For a party so enraged by technicality, there should be a significantly higher attention to detail in both legislation and practical application of the law. With an upcoming election and the Constitution being chipped away at daily by Democrats, the public will continue to have to be reminded that hearing something over and over in the news doesn’t necessarily make it true.
Rep. Massie also – thankfully – also spent time in the hearing requesting that Director Dettelbach read back his opening statement which included the claim that firearms are the leading cause for children and youth in the USA. In an unverified statistic submitted to the record in his opening statement, Director Dettelbach references an unspecified study citing high firearms-related deaths, but excludes infants but includes 18- and 19-year-olds. Representative Massie points out rightly that 18- and 19-year-olds are not, in fact, children, and makes a valid point that this includes gang and other criminal killings by legal adults, those who are 18 and 19- but which is not noted in the same study referenced.
Rep. Massie’s point rings true: the cited statistic would leave room for those involved in criminal activity and killed to be included in gun violence statistics based on children. This sworn testimony by Director Dettelbach is a classic example of what the Left does best these days, which is twist facts in accordance with what will get voters on their side. By the end of the discussion, Rep. Massie rightly concludes that Dir. Dettelbach can only claim that gun violence is the highest cause of death for youths in America if infants under one year old are excluded, but 18- and 19-year-old adults are included, as well as including self-defense related statistics. From where the ATF Director sits, it looks like anyone who -unacceptably, as Rep. Massie points out- is killed by firearms is open to be included as a statistic to be used wherever Democrats see fit.
While Dir. Dettelbach does his best to backtrack, a notably difficult task when speaking on the record, Rep. Massie also begs the question: “how many 18 and 19-year-olds have you recommended be prosecuted as a minor?” The prosecution of legal adults as juveniles is indeed exceedingly rare. In most cases this occurs when the crime was committed before the perpetrator turned 18. A blanket inclusion of any legal adults under the age of 20 opens statistics up to a myriad of interpretations, not least the one pushed forward by Dir. Dettelbach and with implications reaching into a downward spiral of continued conspiracy against the American citizen’s rights.
This shines as another example of what the Left and the media collaborate in doing – it is impossible to separate truth from fiction within their narrative, as they are willing to spin it in any direction that may help them win the primaries. While our elected leaders like Representative Massie are working to improve understanding and safety in our country, those put in office by the Left are spending their time propping up a straw man for the media to burn. This election is the Conservatives’ opportunity to burn it for themselves – hopefully led by Representative Massie or someone very much like him.