Is Civil War Coming to the United States Again?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Liberals have plotted for years about taking guns away from law-abiding Americans, but they have always denied the claims. However, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke let the cat out of the bag last week when a reporter asked if he was proposing taking guns away from Americans.

“Are you proposing taking away their guns and how would this work?” ABC anchor David Muir asked O’Rourke, referring to his so-called mandatory “buyback” proposal for AR-15s and AK-47s.

“I am, if it’s a weapon that was designed to kill people on a battlefield,” O’Rourke replied, garnering cheers from the debate audience.

“If the high-impact, high-velocity round when it hits your body shreds everything inside of your body because it was designed to do that,” O’Rourke added, “so that you would bleed to death on a battlefield and not be able to get up and kill one of our soldiers.”

“When we see that being used against children,” O’Rourke said, “H___ yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47, we’re not going to allow it to be used against fellow Americans anymore.”

            It appears that American gun owners have a different idea. Alpha Dog Firearms of Tempe, Arizona, ran a “Beto special” on AR-15s and sold all their inventory of the rifles in four hours. Are the owners of the new guns preparing to fight the U.S. Government, or did they just recognize a deal when they saw it?


            Open-carry advocate Lauren Boebert confronted O’Rourke at a campaign town hall in Colorado on Thursday about his plan to confiscate firearms. “I am here to say h___ no, you’re not!” She happened to have a gun on her hip when she made the statement, but she doubled down on her position during an interview with “Fox and Friends” later. She seemed to be particularly upset that O’Rourke would use the victims of the mass shooting at the Aurora movie theater in 2012 to support his political campaign. “Those are our victims…. We experienced those losses. That was a community loss, and honestly those victims were defenseless.” She has a strong point because the theater was declared a “gun free zone.” This means that the people who entered the theater were defenseless.

            Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is apparently trying to put the cat back in the bag because he suggested that O’Rourke’s stand on the gun issue is different than that of other Democrats. “I don’t know of any other Democrat who agrees with Beto O’Rourke, but it’s no excuse not to go forward.” Forward with what? Gun confiscation or just more “gun control”? 

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) seem to agree with Schumer. Manchin said, “I can tell you one thing: Beto O’Rourke’s not taking my guns away.” He claimed that Beto is only one person, but his comment “was very harmful to make it look like all Democrats” have the same opinion. Coons expressed similar comments, saying that he is a gun owner and enjoys skeet shooting and hunting with his sons. He admitted, however, that O’Rourke’s comments “will be played for years at Second Amendment rallies with organizations that try to scare people by saying, ‘Democrats are coming for your guns.’” These Senators can say whatever they please, but I still believe that there are Democrats who are trying to take guns away from lawful Americans.

            O’Rourke may be able to claim some success because the West Hartford, Connecticut, based gun-maker Colt announced that the company was suspending production of AR-15 rifles for use by civilians. The reason give is that there is an “adequate supply” in the market already. The company claims that the decision was driven by the market rather than public pressure about the use of the rifle by mass murderers. The company will, however, continue to make and sell AR-15s for “our warfighters and law enforcement personnel” who “continue to demand Colt rifles.”


            I do not know whether to believe the Colt spokesperson or not. It seems like a big coincidence that they stop making civilian AR-15 rifles just when O’Rourke makes his statement. I personally do not care if they make the rifles or not, but I do not like the idea of individuals or businesses feeling forced to make decisions that would curtail the Second Amendment rights of Americans. I cannot see anything short of civil war that would force American gun owners to give up their guns.