Top gun control groups have notably avoided discussing Hunter Biden’s recent gun conviction and his likely appeal on Second Amendment grounds. As reported by Politico, these groups are reluctant to comment on the case, with one activist stating, “No, we’re not going to get in the middle of this shitstorm. Nothing good can come of it.”
Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, was convicted of owning a gun while using drugs and lying about it on a purchase form. His lawyers are expected to appeal, arguing that the ban on drug users possessing guns is unconstitutional. This appeal could leverage recent Supreme Court rulings that have expanded gun rights.
“The nation’s top gun control groups are awkwardly avoiding talking about Hunter Biden’s gun conviction — and his widely expected appeal on Second Amendment grounds,” the Politico article stated. “Not a single one commented on the case or the broader legal question, underscoring how uncomfortable the politics around the case are for the gun control groups pushing hard for Biden’s reelection.”
President Biden has not addressed his son’s case directly, focusing instead on promoting gun control measures at a recent Everytown for Gun Safety event on the same day his son was convicted. He emphasized that the Second Amendment does not permit unrestricted gun ownership, stating, “There’s never been a time that says you can own anything you want.”
A lot of the younger Biden’s defense hinges on the still recent Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. In the Bruen ruling, the Supreme Court essentially stated that the legality of gun laws must be measured by whether they are consistent with gun laws that existed at the time of the nation’s founding.
“A decision that both gun control groups and the president decried. Bruen spawned a slew of conflicting lower-court rulings about how closely today’s gun laws, including the drug-users prohibition, must mirror those form the late 1700s,” the Politico story authors, Myah Ward and Betsy Woodruff Swan, wrote.
But they point out in the article how “the president’s son relied heavily on Bruen in seeking to have his charges tossed out before trial.”
Gun control groups’ silence on the Hunter Biden case contrasts with their strong support for Biden’s reelection, highlighting the political sensitivity of the issue. Politico notes that “The movement for tighter gun laws has seen substantive policy success under the Biden administration,” partly due to the president’s personal commitment to combating gun violence. But it’s also partly due to his reckless willingness to shove executive orders onto the American people where Congress should be making the laws. He also filled his cabinet with anti-gun-minded bureaucrats willing to do his political bidding.
Meanwhile, gun rights advocates, including the NRA and Firearms Policy Coalition, have been vocal, even if a little split on the Hunter Biden case, with the latter offering to assist Biden in challenging federal gun laws. As Politico reports, the Firearms Policy Coalition stated, “Countless lives are destroyed every year under the federal government’s unconstitutional and immoral regulations. We proudly work to eliminate these laws and create a free world. Just as we have in many other cases, we stand ready to assist Mr. Biden in his challenge of federal gun laws.”
NRA on the other side has been more critical of Biden.
“The National Rifle Association has always stood for the lawful use and possession of firearms. Mr. Biden’s documented lifestyle choices at the time of purchasing a firearm made him a prohibited person under current law,” said Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, in a statement to Politico.
For pro-gun advocates, the irony is evident: while Hunter Biden’s legal team fights for broader Second Amendment rights, leading gun control advocates are conspicuously silent.
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