Bill Straub: Massie’s Second Amendment Caucus may be be out of step with mood of country

WASHINGTON – The Whiz Kid is at it again.

Just a little more than a week before the city of Louisville revealed that 2016 proved to be its deadliest, with homicides reaching at least 113 and law enforcement authorities responding to more than 400 shooting reports, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-SomewhereorotherLewisCounty, is revving up that old Second Amendment war horse, essentially promising the good people of these United States a Glock 19 Gen4 in every pot and an Uzi in every garage.

Massie is the grand, spanking-new chairman of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus, founded by Wonder Boy along with 13 like-minded lawmakers who won’t rest until every man jack and presumably every woman jack and baby jack, are packing heat.

Think that’s a joke? Massie told one website, Rare.us, that “I would dearly like to see the day when any U.S. citizen can carry in every state.’’

When President-elect Donald Trump (ugh!) promised to make America great again by returning to the thrilling days of yesteryear when, as the old Three Stooges joke went, men were men and women were glad of it, it wasn’t clear that he intended to take us all the way back to 1880s Tombstone, where every would-be gunslinger wore a piece on his hip and dared anyone to draw.

But that seems to be the Massie interpretation. Most of us grow out of the influence of the old Wyatt Earp television show after reaching some stage of maturity. Not Wonder Boy.

It seems soon to be former President Obama has been a little too strict on the issue of firearms ownership for the man who has consistently opposed the establishment of gun-free zones around schools and other spots where one might find children at play.

“I created the Second Amendment Caucus to reverse the erosion of the Second Amendment that has occurred over the last few decades,’’ Massie said in his announcement. “Even though Republicans have controlled the House for six years, I haven’t seen a single pro-gun bill brought up in a committee for a hearing or debate, much less a vote.’’

What a shame.

Whiz Kid further vowed to “draft and advance pro-gun legislation as well as invite firearm experts, constitutional scholars, and pro-gun groups to speak to the caucus on Capitol Hill.’’

And what sort of steps might we see? Massie already is dedicated to making sure those individuals on the no-fly list produced by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center don’t suffer from the disappointment of being turned away when they enter your friendly neighborhood gun shop.

Wonder Boy also is flatly opposed to steps taken by Obama, primarily in wake of the 2015 San Bernardino shootings that left 14 dead and 22 seriously wounded, to stiffen federal regulations regarding gun sales, asserting that the caucus dearly hopes President-elect Trump “will nullify them as soon as possible.”

One of Obama’s initiatives was to crack down on internet gun sales, where the seller has no earthly idea about the purchaser’s background – criminal or otherwise. Obama warned at the time that those who engage in the business of internet firearms sales or offer their wares at gun shows should obtain a license and subject buyers to background checks, which isn’t unreasonable given that those same requirements are imposed on gun shop owners.

Massie, who had a rather humorous cheesecake photo taken of him last year lovingly fondling one of the AK-47s he possesses as if it were a pet cat, proudly maintains a ghastly view of gun rights. The duly-elected lawmaker appears rather displeased you can’t ring up Etsy on the old computer and purchase an entire arsenal without the seller first guaranteeing that you’re qualified to own a weapon up to and including a bazooka.

Opposing any gun control measure in knee jerk fashion is a dangerous position to take – one that even the late conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia rejected. But Massie has never cited a gun restriction that he likes and handing out firearms like they’re pieces of candy on Halloween is a strategy destined for disaster.

Chicago in 2016 became America’s version of the Killing Fields. According to the Windy City’s police department, 762 homicides were recorded last year — an increase of 277 over 2015, a 57 percent jump. The increase was Chicago’s largest in more than 50 years and dredged up memories of the Capone era. In addition, 2016 saw more than 1,100 shootings than it did the previous year.

Does anyone seriously think more guns are going to address that situation? More guns can only mean more shootings. There is a misconception, propounded by Trump, by the way, that Chicago has the nation’s toughest gun control laws, a claim rejected by, among others, former city Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.

Regardless, one report established that almost 60 percent of the guns used to commit a crime in Chicago from 2009 to 2013 were first bought in states like Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi that do not require background checks for gun sales at shows or over the Internet.

So consider what the situation in Chicago would look like if any gangster could walk into a local gun shop and purchase a spanking new Smith & Wesson waiting to be discharged.

It’s not as if lax gun regulations are addressing the calamity. In Kentucky, for instance, it is not necessary to obtain a permit for the possession of firearms. Individuals are also permitted to carry shotguns and rifles without a license. Only concealed carry requires a permit. Those easy access laws did nothing to curb the bloodbath in Louisville this past year.

Despite Massie’s founding of the Second Amendment Caucus and Trump’s desire to make firearms more accessible, the public is exhibiting a growing desire to get the situation under control. States that held referenda on guns over the recently completed election cycle – including ballot initiatives in Nevada, Washington and California, resulted in potentially life-saving measures despite strong opposition from the powerful gun lobby.

In Nevada, for one instance, voters passed Question 1, the state’s background check initiative, despite opposition from both the governor and attorney general, and despite an aggressive and misleading $6.6 million campaign by the National Rifle Association – the gun lobby’s largest investment after its record-breaking $30 million spent on the presidential election.

So, as Wonder Boy Massie continues to play cops and robbers as if it’s the second grade, only with real guns and real bullets, people are beginning to say enough is enough.

Washington correspondent Bill Straub served 11 years as the Frankfort Bureau chief for The Kentucky Post. He also is the former White House/political correspondent for Scripps Howard News Service. A member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, he currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, and writes frequently about the federal government and politics. Email him at williamgstraub@gmail.com.