Editors at National Review Online note an interesting role reversal in the wake of a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
So strong has been the pull of reflexive partisanship in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday that the Republicans and the Democrats seem briefly to have swapped sides on the desirability and the scope of the Second Amendment.
Commenting on the incident, the FBI director, Kash Patel, proposed that “you cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want”; the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, complained that Pretti had brought “a 9mm semiautomatic weapon with two cartridges to what was supposed to be a peaceful protest”; and Bill Essayli, the first assistant United States attorney for the Central District of California, suggested that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.” These, clearly, are not sentiments that are usually associated with the Republican Party.
At the same time, many anti-gun stalwarts were falling all over themselves to advance arguments that, in any other circumstance, would remain alien. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, submitted waspishly that “the Trump administration does not believe in the 2nd Amendment. Good to know.” Anti-gun rights groups joined the fray. The Giffords campaign argued that Pretti was “a lawful gun owner who was protesting in his community” and “had the right to be there,” and the Brady campaign asserted that he was “a law-abiding gun owner with a concealed carry permit.” At what point, one must ask, did they all turn into Wayne LaPierre?
Naturally, none of these statements ought to be taken seriously. On the Republican side, Patel, Bessent, and Essayli are simply wrong. …
… On the Democratic side . . . well, one has to laugh. At present, Gavin Newsom is literally attempting to repeal the Second Amendment, and, in 2023, he signed a bill in California that barred guns from being carried in “sensitive places,” including at protests.
