Booker Back With More Gun Control-This Time Disguised As Suicide Prevention

Anti-gun U.S. Senator Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat who wants to be president, has expanded his recently-announced gun control plan by adding “suicide prevention” to the mix, prompting a leading national gun rights advocate to suggest his scheme faces the same hurdles as he does in his quest for the Oval Office.

“Booker has about as much chance of passing his gun control agenda as he does of being elected president.,” quipped Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Last week, Booker announced a sweeping gun control package. This week, he’s peddling a suicide prevention program that has, at its centerpiece, the implementation of a federal licensing program.

“Cory’s proposal for gun licenses would make it more difficult for those at risk of suicide to purchase a firearm,” says his latest pitch. “If you need a license to drive a car, you should need one to own a gun. Securing a federal license would require a background check, firearm safety training, and an in-person appointment — steps that combine to keep individuals in a moment of acute crisis from acting on their suicidality. Cory’s license plan builds on what works: according to a recent academic study, Connecticut found a 15.4 percent reduction in firearm suicide rates after passing its gun permit law, while Missouri saw a 16.1 percent increase in firearm suicide rate after it repealed its state licensing law.”

Once again, Booker is likening a constitutionally-protected right with a government-regulated privilege.”

He also wants to require “safe storage” of firearms and to “incentivize extreme risk laws.” However, such “red flag” laws are coming under increased scrutiny because critics argue that they suspend due process and consider someone guilty of a crime until they prove their innocence.