Anti-Gunners Go Silent After Pensacola

“Identity politics” have become a driving force of the anti-gun left. While the reality does not hold true, anti-gunners and the politicians they support want the general public to identify pro-Second Amendment gun owners and supporters as white supremacists and members of the patriarchy. Whenever an event happens that even remotely fits that narrative, Democrats and anti-gunners rally around the “gun reform” flag and demand immediate action – usually restricting the gun rights of law-abiding U.S. citizens.

The Pensacola Naval Air Base mass-murder this past weekend, though, has triggered only one call for sensible legislation – by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He wants to close the loophole that allowed the Islamic terrorist to purchase the handgun he used in his attack.

On Friday, Dec. 6, Royal Saudi Air Force Second-Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, shot and killed three U.S. Naval personnel inside a classroom building at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Alshamrani died during an engagement with two deputies.

The Air Station is where the Navy’s famous Blue Angels practice, and members of foreign militaries get flight instruction to advance their skills. That is what brought Alshamrani to Florida. Yet, he used a loophole in federal law to legally buy the handgun used to murder U.S. citizens and military personnel on our own shores.

Although he was a foreign national and a uniformed member of a foreign military, a loophole in U.S. law enabled Alshamrani to legally buy a .45-caliber Glock handgun. Social media posts attributed to the killer suggest Alshamrani committed a terrorist act, the FBI says.

Alshamrani criticized U.S. support for Israel and U.S. policies in the Middle East. Apparently, Alshamrani’s sentiments are much like those of Democrat darlings and members of “The Squad,” Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

DeSantis is a military veteran and Republican. He wants the federal government to close the loophole that enabled a foreign national to legally buy a firearm in the U.S. and then turn it on U.S. citizens in a likely terrorist act. He also wants the federal government to do a better job of vetting the foreign nationals it allows to enter the United States.

DeSantis correctly points out the Second Amendment applies to U.S. citizens and not foreign nationals. He also correctly points out better vetting of foreign nationals could have prevented this attack. Alshamrani’s comments were made on social media, and DeSantis says they should have been enough to prevent him from entering the U.S.

The problem is, Alshamrani’s identity is not one anti-gunners want attached to a mass-shooting and – worse – an act of terrorism. The anti-gunners and Democrats want the general population to focus on young, white males as domestic terrorists and threats to public health. They want to convince everyone these men are the real problems in America.

That makes it easier to attack pro-gun GOP candidates in the 2020 election, while labeling their supporters as white-supremacist jerks.

That is why there will be no outcry among Democrats controlling the House of Representatives to propose and debate solutions proposed by DeSantis. It would require admission that there are real threats of terrorism coming from the usual suspects. It would require admission that young, white males are not the face of gun violence in the nation.

It also would require admission that stricter enforcement of immigration laws could save lives, while an open borders policy can lead to events like the Pensacola Air Station attack on Dec. 6.