Some of you have seen ads like the one above, for presidential candidate Biff Burt. In this one, he promises free ammunition to all Americans if they elect him president. In a different ad, he promises to give away money.
Although it’s not clear what his party affiliation is, his platform puts him squarely in line with other Democratic and Libertarian presidential candidates (Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Vermin Supreme) whose campaigns are centered around giveaway programs.
Now, a lot of Republicans would look at this and think that it’s either (1) a joke, or (2) a terrible idea, as giveaways tend to be. But I see it as an inspiration.
Here in NH, the Democrats have spent the current legislative session playing Rope-a-Dope politics to tire out their Republican opponents. It’s easy, free, and fun: You just submit a bunch of bills that you know will get your opponents riled up, luring them into spending their limited time, energy, and money to fight proposals that don’t really have any chance of passing into law. Then you pop some corn, find a comfortable seat, and watch the sparks fly.
Eventually, Republicans will regain control of the legislature, and when they do, I think they should be ready to do the same sort of thing, submitting a biffload of pro-gun subsidies,
- Free ammo
- Free targets (including steel targets, which are too expensive for many people to buy)
- Free holsters and slings
- Free optics (scopes, red dot sights, tritium front sights)
- Free gun cleaning supplies
- Free shooting range memberships, including to ranges now exclusively available to law enforcement
- Free moving expenses for people who are unhappy about living near shooting ranges
and other pro-gun measures,
- Required carry of firearms in public (with a fee that you can pay to be relieved of the responsibility)
- Required militia mustering (ages 16 to 67) for towns with more than 50 people
- Militia training to be provided by the NH National Guard
- Minimum demonstrated shooting ability to qualify for voting, adoption, foster care, teaching licenses, and so on
- Armed teachers and administrators in schools
- White flag laws (encourage people to report anyone they think might be going around unarmed, skipping musters, and so on)
- Mandatory gun safety and marksmanship training in schools
- ‘Shall-issue’ deputization for armed citizens who pass a background check
and so on.
These would, of course, all have bill names centered on increasing public safety: The Keep Children Safe Act, the Emergency Preparedness Act, the Responsible Citizens in Positions of Responsibility Act, and so on.
Now, I’m not saying that bills like this would pass in to law, or even that they should pass into law.
What I am saying is that it would be entertaining to watch supporters of gun control spend their limited time, energy, and money fighting against such bills; and instructive to observe and record their arguments as to why it would be wrong to take their money and restrict their liberty to promote ends that they abhor.