BUZZ
ANALYSIS: Second Amendment (re)discovered: Use of feds in selected states ‘appears to fulfill the founding fathers’ concerns’
A professor of “political engagement” claims the recent killing of nurse Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE in Minneapolis is the result of President Trump’s “violent attack” on illegal immigration (“largely to minorities”) in Democrat-run cities.
Mark Shanahan of the University of Surrey, who previously has referred to Trump as a “crazy uncle” and “capricious autocrat” who uses the military based on personal “whims” rather than “logic or need,” argues in an interview with The Conversation (the U.K. division of which gets funding from his employer) that the president engaged ICE and Border Patrol for “inflated crises” after being denied use of the National Guard.
“The 47th president’s style is both combative and retributive, and there seems to be an increasing feeling of it being out of step with the desires and best interest of the country he leads,” Shanahan says. “Trump’s march to autocracy creates crises where he regards himself as the hero the country needs to overcome its ills.”
Most simply, Trump could end the deployment of federal immigration agents to Minneapolis and refrain from similar actions in the future. He is clearly looking for an off-ramp and sending his “border czar”, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis to direct operations could be the first step to de-escalation. But Trump abhors being called out as wrong and, at least beyond Minneapolis, is far more likely to double down on the immigration enforcement activities. …
It is midterm year – and the greater the public pressure, the more likely Republican legislators are to cleave away from the Trump line. While he currently controls the levers of power, that control remains fragile. Even Trump may soon realise that overt, violent, coercive autocracy is not a vote winner.
Shanahan also invokes the original intent of the Second Amendment, saying Trump’s use of federal officers in selected states “appear[s] to fulfil the founding fathers’ concerns.”
“The agents are trampling all over not only citizens’ second amendment right to bear arms (officials seemingly connected Pretti’s killing to him carrying a weapon) but also their first amendment right to freedom of assembly,” he says.
While many historically pro-gun conservatives and GOP members questioned some of the administration’s comments regarding Pretti’s weapon possession, historically anti-gun Democrats suddenly realized there is an ordinality of amendments.
These include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Reason Editor and former College Fix contributor Robby Soave notes on this issue “most Democrats are significantly worse” as they “favor all sorts of restrictions on gun ownership, on carrying guns, on which guns you can buy, on how long it takes.
“Every time anything goes wrong concerning a gun, we are told by Democrats that we need common sense gun control, whatever that is. Are they now saying, in the wake of Pretti’s death, that they no longer support that?”
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