There is a grave assault on gun rights happening, and it's happening at the NRA convention. The Associated Press has the details:



Attendees at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas can carry their firearms—except during the forum where President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence speak Friday ... The NRA posted a notice on its website saying that the arena will be under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Secret Service during the leadership forum. It’s standard for the Secret Service to bar firearms from being carried into places visited by the people they protect, regardless of state laws. Other prohibited items include toy guns and knives, according to the NRA posting.

Why would a federal agency concerned with protecting the safety of individuals try to limit the number of (loaded) guns in the space? How many Good Guys With Guns will be caught up in this ban and be unable to defend themselves? Don't they know the Bad Guys With Guns don't care what the rules are—they'll bring their guns anyway? And isn't any restriction on who can carry a gun or where they can carry it an infringement on the constitutional rights of American citizens?

President Trump speaks at an NRA conference in 2016 Getty Images

But this is a special case, you might say. It's a closed venue for a specific, high-profile event. Tell that to the Mississippi House, which passed—by an overwhelming margin—a law that would allow people with an “enhanced firearms license” to carry weapons into athletic stadiums. Tell that to legislators in Washington state and Arkansas, who proposed similar measures. The NRA supported those bills, with the caveat that those carrying shouldn't drink. After all, alcohol and firearms surely don't go together—although North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee don't seem that concerned. Those states allow guns in bars.

The simple fact is that the Secret Service believes an environment where anyone could be carrying a deadly weapon is not safe. They also seem to believe that dealing with some restrictions on a particular right or freedom is part of living in a society. Perhaps they're suggesting the Good Guys With Guns in public spaces should be professional police officers and security personnel. It's a strange point of view around these parts, but it might just have some merit. After all, the United States is home to five percent of the world's population, close to half the world's civilian-owned firearms, and boasts a firearm homicide rate 25 times higher than other developed countries.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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