BARR: Will Molon Labe Become More Than an Ancient Greek Slogan?

As the expression goes, “talk is cheap.” When it comes to gun control, however, talk about taking away or diminishing a right expressly guaranteed in our Constitution is most definitely not “cheap.” Quite the opposite. Perhaps most important in this context is the often un-asked, but disconcerting question for gun control advocates – precisely how would you take away all those now-legal firearms currently in the hands of law-abiding citizens? 

What might in the past have been sloughed off as a mere hypothetical question, is becoming increasingly relevant as the Biden Administration and its cohorts in the Congress move their gun-control agenda into high gear, legislatively and by executive action in the aftermath of several highly publicized mass murders.

True to form, such criminal acts already are fueling efforts by Democrats not to address the root causes underlying such evil acts, but rather to push for greater and greater controls on the instrumentality by which many such murders are committed – firearms. 

President Joe Biden self-proclaims as America’s most anti-gun president, exceeding in both rhetoric and drive of his former boss, Barack Obama. A recent spate of mass murders by deranged young men already is being used as an impetus for sweeping gun control – by Congress and myriad Executive Branch agencies including but certainly not limited to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and its parent agency, the U. S. Department of Justice  

It is no longer a matter of if, but when, substantive restrictions and outright bans on firearms, gun parts, and ammunition make their way onto the books.

Democrats are not just looking for campaign soundbites this time around, and Republicans better confront this imminent battle with far more seriousness than is their norm. There is no better issue with which Biden can burnish his far-Left credentials than gun control.

The Right’s standard rulebook for debating guns must be thrown out the window, and a new approach implemented. Only in this way will the GOP have a real chance to counter the manipulative word-smithing employed for decades by Democrats to disguise their true, confiscatory agenda. If Republicans respond with their usual hesitancy to boldly defend the right to keep and bear arms, the battle will be lost in its opening moves. 

One of the easiest ways to push back against Democrats’ proposals to ban guns is perhaps the simplest and the most often overlooked: force them to answer a question they would rather not – precisely how they plan to confiscate the tens of millions of to-be-outlawed firearms, gun parts, and rounds of ammunition in the hands of law-abiding citizens.  No longer should Democrats be let off the hook answering this pivotal question, especially considering that the answer is worse than the alleged disease of gun violence. 

It is one thing to pass a ban, even “voluntarily buy-backs” are fairly straightforward. While citizen acquiescence to such bans imposed in other Western countries – Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. – resulted in massive, non-confrontational confiscations of firearms, that would not be the case in the United States, where our Constitution expressly prohibits such government action. The Second Amendment is correctly understood by most Americans as a natural right of individuals, woven into the DNA of our citizenry. Threats of jail or promises of cash payments will not suffice to entice even a meaningful fraction of gun owners to give up this sacred right. 

So, what will Democrats do? 

The mass refusal to accept Democrats’ gun bans, confiscations, or buybacks is so likely it can no longer be considered a theoretical question to be brushed aside.  Voters have a right to know just what Democrats have in store for them; whether it is jail time if caught with a banned firearm in their home, or something more extreme like armed SWAT teams crashing through their doors in the dead of night. 

Furthermore, how will Democrats determine who owns what guns? Will they leverage concealed-carry records, unlawfully access NICS background check records, implement enhanced domestic surveillance, or employ paid snitches? Precisely how far down the road of un-American policies will they elect to travel? 

It is to these queries that Biden and others who will do his bidding must be forced to answer, especially insofar as the honest answer very well may be far more than a nonviolent standoff between citizens and the State. 

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com

Bob Barr represented Georgia’s Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. He served as the United States Attorney in Atlanta from 1986 to 1990 and was an official with the CIA in the 1970s. He now practices law in Atlanta, Georgia and serves as head of Liberty Guard.

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Bob Barr

Bob Barr represented Georgia's Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. He served as the United States Attorney in Atlanta from 1986 to 1990 and was an official with the CIA in the 1970s.