A violent criminal commits a horrific act, and before the dust settles and even sometimes before the assailant is caught and a motive established, the anti-gun lobby screams from the rooftops for more constitutional freedoms to be yanked away.
However, the source of the latest jump to a conclusion is a new one — the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.
In the aftermath of Saturday night’s Lunar Celebration attack and while more was unknown than known about the tragedy, the Rams tweeted a response to the senseless violence. First, they expressed their condolences to the victims along with their families and communities.
Then the Rams added: “If you are looking to support those working to end gun violence like Everytown for Gun Safety, text ACT to 644-33 to join the millions of Americans fighting to #EndGunViolence in our country.”
At a Sunday press conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the shooting suspect allegedly used a “semiautomatic assault pistol.” Luna described the weapon as “a magazine-fed semiautomatic assault pistol…that had an extended large-capacity magazine attached to it.”
The Los Angeles Times reported the pistol used by the suspect is already illegal in California.
Sheriff Luna earlier told reporters he did not believe the alleged shooter used an “assault rifle.” The suspect was found dead in Torrance, California, from what authorities believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran of Hemet.
Ten people were killed and several others were injured in the attack, which unfolded just before 10 p.m. in Los Angeles County’s Monterey Park. Police report that bystanders at the celebration were able to take the gun away from the alleged assailant, and authorities launched an intense manhunt for the suspect and a white cargo van they believed to be tied to the incident.
For the record, California already has the strictest gun control laws in the U.S. The state first enacted a so-called “assault weapons” ban and universal background checks in the 1990s. Since that point lawmakers have consistently tightened their grip around the Second Amendment.
For example, the state enacted strict gun registration requirements and limits the number of firearms that may be legally purchased by a resident per month. It already bans high-capacity magazines, requires background checks for ammunition purchases, and regulates that ammunition be purchased from state-approved in-state dealers.
In other words, California has been busy stripping away the right to keep and bear arms from its citizens. And what does it have to show for all of this grandstanding?
Breitbart News reports that the state had the highest number of “active shooter” incidents in the nation in 2021.
What is coming now is very predictable. There will be much wringing of hands from state and local leaders over the “need to do something.” More ill-conceived and almost certainly unconstitutional measures will be rammed through the legislature and signed with much fanfare.
Of course, the good people intent on protecting Second Amendment rights will file suit, and the overreach will be tied up in court indefinitely.
And the result will be that not one Californian will be safer because of the frantic power grab by authorities.
Ripping away constitutional rights through knee-jerk reactions to violent criminals is not the solution to crime. Taking away law-abiding citizens’ freedoms to defend themselves only creates more victims.
Undoubtedly the LA Rams had good intentions with their social media post following the horrific shooting. But they would have been better served by urging a renewed focus on law enforcement and ensuring that the people’s ability to protect themselves is not infringed upon in a mad rush to judgment.
