arrest. The most recent is a facially unconstitutional ban on bearing arms (outside the home) in New Mexico, unilaterally imposed mid-August. Until these laws — and federal regu- lations — are reversed by the Supreme Court one by one, they will continue to do so. On the minus side, state bans — like in Illinois, Oregon, Washington, and now New Mexico — are proliferating in majority Democrat states, disenfran- chising citizens until the Court rules. Thus, Illinois’s PICA (Protect Illinois Communities Act) puts citizens at a disadvantage, as it capriciously bans styles of semi-automatic weapons and ammunition holders. Oregon’s overreach does the same, putting conditions like govern- ment-certified classes on gun owner- ship, banning magazines over ten rounds, and seeking to reduce the quantity we own, what we own, and how they are used. Washington’s law is similar. All this sits poorly with much of the nation, as women and minority ownership of guns skyrockets, inse- curities tied to down-funded police and elevated crime rise, and overall distrust of government is at a record high. People do not feel comfortable and are drawn to self-protection. On the positive side, the 6-3 Supreme Court case, New York Rifle and Pistol Assn. v. Bruen , struck down New York’s public carry licensing law, affirming a citizen’s right to “bear arms” beyond the home without state approval, which may seem obvi- ous but is now the law.
Bottom line: Most of these restrictive state laws will be struck down by the Supreme Court majority, returning America to higher constitutional fidel- ity, even if they deter ownership now. New federal regulations, while smack- ing of overreach, face a similar fate. Trends toward pulling federal firearm sellers’ permits on technicalities and incremental bans on styles, types, and ammunition are a concern but will surely be challenged. That said, Presi- dent Biden has called, for example, for banning nine-millimeter handguns, the most popular gun in America. Finally, a divided Congress knows — on both sides — that gun control has no chance of passage until the House, Senate, and White House are settled in 2024, and then only if Democrats win. This all, of course, produces the punchline: if much rides on 2024 — and much does — no issue is more fully in the left’s crosshairs than our Second Amendment. Like it or not, it is at risk, and with it, much more. As our founders knew, and we should too, this is the one that assures all the others. Not complicated, not debat- able — once you know history and human nature — but real. Robert B. Charles Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secre- tary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, ten-year naval intelligence officer, and five-year chief counsel to the US National Security (oversight) subcommittee. He is the author of “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and today serves as National Spokesman for the Asso- ciation of Mature American Citizens (AMAC).
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