Many conservative arguments about reforming America’s gun laws hinge on describing unlikely scenarios and declaring them indicative of how any action on gun laws could wreck a functioning society.
“My 83-year-old grandfather once used a shotgun to protect himself against a home invader in 1961 and if Democrats banned guns today, what’s stopping them from using a time machine to confiscate his weapon days before and have the Dutch Marina he wore in Korea stripped off his wrist?”
On Wednesday, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (D-Texas) likewise flagged a woman who stopped attackers with a weapon—a scenario right-wingers love to point to—and wondered what would happen if universal background checks actually passed the Senate.
“I wouldn’t be able to let my friends borrow my handgun when they travel alone like this. We would make felons out of people just for defending themselves,” he tweeted.
Situations like this story are why we protect the 2nd Amendment.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) September 4, 2019
Side note: With universal background checks, I wouldn’t be able to let my friends borrow my handgun when they travel alone like this. We would make felons out of people just for defending themselves. https://t.co/x60mdd1WW1
Critics on Twitter pushed back at Crenshaw and argued that the lax nature of American gun laws is a bigger problem than whether he can lend out his guns to friends.
https://twitter.com/MissDahlELama/status/1169226910095806464
You let your friends borrow your handgun? Are you joking? https://t.co/eYkXZUYz36
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) September 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/elonjames/status/1169262296461434880
https://twitter.com/FederalistPitch/status/1169246209489473541
Theoretically, Crenshaw could face civil liability or even criminal liability if his friend misused the gun. In practice, though, states usually shrug off even the most extreme owner negligence as part of the price of freedom https://t.co/kf7UafIYfb https://t.co/sSdY8KHERM
— David Frum (@davidfrum) September 4, 2019
Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted Crenshaw, asking if he checked with any of his friends about their status to own a handgun.
You are a member of Congress. Why are you “lending” guns to people unsupervised who can’t pass a basic background check?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 4, 2019
The people you’re giving a gun to have likely abused their spouse or have a violent criminal record, & you may not know it.
Why on earth would you do that? https://t.co/TQFjcLQebO
Crenshaw himself might want to take a look at federal law, which allows a temporary transfer of a gun for “sporting” use, but does not carve out an exemption for friends’ solo “travel.”
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