Chris W. Cox

As America has come to expect, anti-gun politicians wasted no time in pushing their gun control agenda almost immediately after the Las Vegas shooting and before the facts were in.

Instead of thoughtfully considering solutions that might actually make a difference, they blamed the men and women of the National Rifle Association. Failed crime prevention policy? Ignore it and blame the NRA. A broken mental health system? Ignore it and blame the NRA. A violent Hollywood culture? Ignore it and blame the NRA. It’s preposterous.

The NRA spends millions teaching safe and responsible use of firearms. Yet the moment a criminal breaks the law, anti-gun activists blame law-abiding gun owners. That’s nonsense.

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As usual, “solutions” by anti-gun politicians fail to address the underlying issues of this horrific tragedy. Once again we hear a call for “universal” background checks on firearm purchases. Yet the murderer in Las Vegas passed background checks repeatedly.

Now, these same gun control advocates are pushing Congress to ban not only the type of bump fire stock found in the murderer’s hotel room, but any accessory that can make a semi­automatic rifle fire more accurately. Not only is that overreach, it also misses the history of this issue.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives approved the manufacture and sale of bump fire devices during the Obama administration. The NRA has called for the ATF to review this and determine whether to regulate these devices differently. This is fully within the ATF’s regulatory authority, despite Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s arguments to the contrary.

In a moment of candor, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she hopes the legislative effort will become a slippery slope towards more gun control, the true agenda of anti-gun politicians.

The NRA’s 5 million members do not accept blame for a deranged madman’s actions. It’s time for legislators to focus on real solutions, instead of pushing an anti-gun political agenda.

Chris W. Cox is executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.

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