Rep. Massie blasts would be gun grabbers like Beto O’Rourke

Beto O’Rourke wants to “buy back” guns, Rep. Thomas Massie says #GunBuyBackbuy back is really #GunConfiscation.

On Saturday, former Texas congressman and current Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke reiterated that if he were elected president, he would initiate a mandatory buyback of assault weapons.

Speaking in Charlottesville, Virginia, O’Rourke pontificated, “I want to be really clear that that’s exactly what we are going to do. Americans who own AR-15s, AK-47s, will have to sell them to the government. We’re not going to allow them to stay on our streets, to show up in our communities, to be used against us in our synagogues, our churches, our mosques, our Walmarts, our public places.”

He continued, “All countries have video games. All countries struggle with mental health. All countries deal with hatred. But only America has more guns than human beings — 390 million firearms in a country of 329 million people — which kill nearly 40,000 people every year. That’s why, as president, I would institute a mandatory buyback of every assault weapon in America.”

On Monday, Libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky blasted O’Rourke’s idea on Twitter, writing, “Mandatory #GunBuyBack is a euphemism for #GunConfiscation, And how can they call it a buyback? Our guns never belonged to the government.” He added, “Gun grabbers are clever with language. Calling it a ‘buy back’ subconsciously instills the false concept that ownership was granted by the government. That’s not how the 2nd Amendment works. In fact, that’s not how any of the Constitution works.”

Gun grabbers are clever with language. Calling it a “buy back” subconsciously instills the false concept that ownership was granted by the government.

That’s not how the 2nd Amendment works. In fact, that’s not how any of the Constitution works.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 2, 2019

Massie is justifiably suspicious about the short-term plans for gun control advocates; he tweeted last week, “Do they want to take ALL your guns? red flag laws = Take ALL of some people’s guns. semi-auto & mag bans = Take some of ALL people’s guns. Yes, they do, but this is ALL they think they can get right now.” He added, “Is ANYONE naive enough to think that if EVERY gun control bill being discussed in the news became law THIS year, there wouldn’t be a DOZEN more gun control bills introduced NEXT year?”

Do they want to take ALL your guns?

red flag laws =
Take ALL of some people’s guns.

semi-auto & mag bans =
Take some of ALL people’s guns.

Yes, they do, but this is ALL they think they can get right now.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) August 30, 2019

Is ANYONE naive enough to think that if EVERY gun control bill being discussed in the news became law THIS year, there wouldn’t be a DOZEN more gun control bills introduced NEXT year?

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) August 30, 2019

Prior to that, he stated, “FACT: 50% of mass public shootings are committed with handguns alone, and 80% involve at least 1 handgun. If the government bans ‘assault weapons,’ mass public shootings will still occur, & the same politicians will then try to ban shotguns and handguns.”

FACT: 50% of mass public shootings are committed with handguns alone, and 80% involve at least 1 handgun. If the government bans ”assault weapons,” mass public shootings will still occur, & the same politicians will then try to ban shotguns and handguns.https://t.co/yJKJtNXJK8

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) August 26, 2019

In mid-August, Massie coauthored an op-ed for Fox News along with congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio in which they stated:

Congress is notorious for passing legislation without reading it, but the urge to rush legislation reached a new level in Washington this month. Some members of Congress have announced support for gun control bills that haven’t even been written yet!

What’s already clear from their vague proposals, however, is that none of these measures would have stopped any recent mass public shooting. For the safety of the general public, perhaps we should have a mandatory waiting period for lawmakers who rush to pass unconstitutional and unhelpful legislation. [Emphasis added]

They added, “Every attacker in all of the recent mass public shootings passed a background check and purchased his firearm from a federally licensed firearm dealer … The other dirty little secret about universal background checks is that the only way to enforce them is to have a universal gun registry, which is a step toward future gun confiscation. Due to serious defects with the NICS background check system, millions of citizens otherwise eligible to purchase a firearm have been denied the right to do so.”