Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) says the NRA is a “terrorist organization” because they oppose instituting more of the same gun controls that failed before the world’s eyes in Florida on February 14.

Fox 61 quoted Malloy saying, “They act quite frankly in some cases as a terrorist organization.” He said the NRA was for universal background checks “in the 90’s” but is against them now, hoping this somehow bolsters his claim of “terrorist organization.”

What Malloy did not say is that a background check requirement for retail point-of-sale has been the law of the land since 1998. And nearly every mass public attacker of recent memory–including the Florida school gunman–has acquired his or her firearm via such a check. So what is the point of expanding the frequency of checks to include more points of sale? To include private sales as well as retail?

These are the types of questions that Democrats try to avoid when pushing universal background checks.

They do not want to discuss the fact that a check system will never stop a latent criminal, only an actual one. But this is not lost on would-be criminals, who know that if they avoid a criminal record they can pass a background check, legally purchase a gun, then use it criminally when the time suits them.

Does understanding this make the NRA a “terrorist organization”?

Here is something else the NRA understands–because background checks have already failed, the ceaseless push to expand them must really be about something other than background checks. The example of California shows that instituting universal background checks leads to compiling a gun registry which finally results in the creation of gun confiscation laws. In other words, universal background checks are the beginning of a slippery slope.

New Mexico sheriffs warned about this last year when Michael Bloomberg-sponsored gun control groups pushed universal background checks in their state. Breitbart News reported that 32 of New Mexico’s 33 sheriffs penned a letter warning that universal background checks would lead to gun registration in the state.

Surely no one would consider the 32 New Mexico sheriffs a “terrorist organization” for rejecting insidious gun control.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.