Biden and His 9mm Ban

By Ben Baker

The president's call for banning 9mm handguns is actually a much deeper belief that Americans should not have the needed guns to hunt, fish, shoot and very importantly defend themselves.

Biden prides himself on his attempts to ban guns. Despite being a gun owner himself, his agenda calls for greatly restricting the rights of Americans to be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

At a CNN Presidential Town Hall, President Joe Biden said, "I'm the only guy that ever got passed legislation, when I was a senator, to make sure we eliminated assault weapons. The idea you need a weapon that can have the ability to fire 20, 30, 40, 50, 120 shots from that weapon, whether -- whether it's a 9-millimeter pistol or whether it's a rifle, is ridiculous. I'm continuing to push to eliminate the sale of those things."

Exactly why the president reserved his ire for the 9mm specifically is something he has not yet shared with the American people.

Clues 

A few clues are:

Production - In 2019, handguns accounted for 65% of imported guns. Shotguns were 19% and rifles at 16%. US gun makers also produce more handguns than rifles and shotguns.

Common - The most popular cartridge today is the 9mm. It combines comfortable recoil with plenty of terminal punch. Why Joe does not apply this logic to other dangerous things Americans own makes no sense.

Crime - Forgettin' Joe has not said so exactly, but handguns bother him because of their use in crime. "Although most crime is not committed with guns, most gun crime is committed with handguns," says the Bureau of Justice. Most murders are also committed with handguns.

Looking Deeper

Looking into the crime files deeper, it first seems like the president has a point. The 9mm is the most common caliber used in crimes with a handgun.

Keep going. One point the president conveniently ignores is in the Bureau of Justice report. To wit, most stolen handguns are revolvers. Most 9mms are autoloaders.

More importantly and something Ole Joe does not want people to know is when a gun is used in a crime, a majority of the time, the gun was stolen.

Further, crime is on the rise and is increasingly a political issue.

One critical point the president wishes would disappear is that the Supreme Court has twice ruled Americans have a right to handguns.

Bizarre

In calling for gun control, the president also appears to have a bizarre and limited grasp on reality.

“We protect geese from Canada more than we do people,” he said.

In this reality, hunting Canada geese is legal (and fun and they are tasty). You do need permits and licenses and most states limit how you can hunt the birds. You can even get a permit to hunt Canada geese out of season if they are a nuisance.

Hunting people is not legal, unless you are the government, in which case there are no rules or permits. 

Not Get His Way

In a sign that the president is not going to get his way in everything, the nomination of gun control advocate David Chipman to direct the BATF was withdrawn. This is a decided victory for gun owners.

While the president blamed Republican opposition as the reason for withdrawing the nomination, some Democrats objected as well.

Remember, guns have two enemies, rust and politicians.