It’s too bad that the opinions expressed by the majority of Americans are not taken seriously by a majority of elected officials, particularly by Republicans.
According to a story in our current edition, President Biden is facing a Hobson’s choice, or no choice at all when it comes to what to do about gun control. Should he push for stronger measures or tack toward the center and follow a more moderate, incremental stance?
Most Americans when asked their opinions on more specific gun policies, according to a recent poll, favor support of universal background checks, keeping guns from those with serious mental problems or not allowing them to purchase them, banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, and “red flag laws” that will allow the police or family members to seek court orders that would temporarily take guns away from those who might do harm to others or themselves.
Sounds like a solid step in the right direction, and if the majority of Americans are comfortable with this, why not have a vote on this, a referendum, thereby allowing the so-called democratic process to take its course?
There is, as most of you know, already a process for such a procedure and it exists when you go to the polls, yes those other polls, and choose a candidate who best represents your views on various issues.
Even with a popular vote on the issue of gun control, there’s no guarantee of avoiding conflicting views. And if your candidate is in concert with a majority, agreeing to pass stricter gun laws, that may not be enough of a vote to get it onto the books. Consider what Biden is facing right now; if the Senate voted on gun control a minority would hold sway.
Biden and Vice President Harris may be in a political bind but more crucially so are too many Americans who nervously await the next round of ammo from assault weapons.
If elected officials decided today that we should do away with assault weapons, it would be too late.