How MAGA ends
The gun people finally wake up. They will not go back to sleep.
Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think so. The Trump administration’s rush to call Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist because he had a handgun and ammunition on his person as he was filming ICE operations, followed by Trump suggesting guns ought to be better controlled, will be the end of the nasty MAGA experiment.
And not a moment too soon.
Most journalists, certainly most Canadian journalists, have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to guns and Second Amendment people. Thanks to my years spent palling around with American libertarians in the 1990s, I’ve gotten more than a passing acquaintance with a culture that is predominant in the United States, especially within the Republican Party.
Estimates suggest there are at least 400 million (if not 500 million) firearms in the country, which is more than there are humans. The Pew center has research that shows four in ten Americans live in a home where there is a gun, and nearly a third of Americans own one.
There are millions of Americans every day in public places carrying guns and ammunition as a matter of course. I once went jogging with a friend who was packing. He had two handguns and a couple of magazines in a tactical backpack. I asked why we needed guns to go running. He smiled and said it wasn’t about need. This man never went anywhere without at least two firearms and ammo.
I went to rural areas where people have small arsenals in their homes, and I don’t mean for duck hunting. I’ve had arguments and debates where people explained, without a trace of doubt or irony, that if the government is allowed to own tanks, citizens have the right to own anti-tank weapons.
Everything I know about gun owners tells me they are not taking kindly to their government labelling a man legally carrying a handgun as a terrorist, and using that description to justify his execution in broad daylight.
This is the point where gun owners realize Trump isn’t on their side; that he just used them, like he uses everyone else. They will not forgive him.