The rabid resistance at all costs by the liberal left plays right into President Trump’s game-plan. With the sanctuary city refrain being played out around the country, there is another movement starting to take place. A growing number of communities in California, the most geographically and politically left state in the lower 48, are going against their state-mandated protection of illegal immigrants. There are clear signs of fissures in the liberal base, and Californians realize the sanctuary state policy is not in the best interest of their state or the country, and they are making their feelings known.
An Interesting Tactic and Response
It seems the harder the Trump administration pushes its immigration enforcement efforts, the more vocal the other side gets. Some would say that the Trump administration is losing this battle. Some point to lower courts blocking his policies, but a closer look must be taken at the results and the tactics of the administration. The scenario is becoming clear. A pattern is emerging in the way President Trump governs as well as the results he is achieving. Try to follow me here as I lay out what may be a much more pragmatic tactic than it appears on its face.
Trump pushes his border wall and immigration policies. He turns loose the reins and lets ICE go to work. That results in loud and constant calls of racism, heavy-handedness, overreaching, and generates the sanctuary city movement. So, one would think his push for enforcement of immigration laws has hit a roadblock. Not so fast.
The Trump administration has, in fact, pushed the left so far that they have fallen off the liberal cliff. Their constituents are starting to see their party is not doing anything to help the nation but are only resisting for the sake of resisting.
The good folks stuck in these bastions of liberalism are starting to push back against their party. It is possible that Trump will gain many allies in the very heartland of the opposition as they, those fighting the administration, are seen to have gone too far.
As of this writing, the following California communities have decided to side with the Trump administration and follow the federal government. They have all voted to resist the Sacramento-based California Sanctuary city laws.
Beaumont — Riverside County
Dana Point — Orange County
Ripon — San Joaquin County
Los Alamitos — Orange County
Laguna Niguel — Orange County
San Juan Capistrano — Orange County
Aliso Viejo — Orange County
Mission Viejo — Orange County
Yorba Linda — Orange County
Newport Beach — Orange County
Westminster — Orange County
Huntington Beach — Orange County
Orange — Orange, County
Fountain Valley — Orange County
Escondido –San Diego County
Gun Control
After the horrific Parkland, Florida school shooting, the president was very vocal and upfront in his desire to approach the problem in a way not normally seen in politics. Throwing political correctness aside, he held meetings and sessions to get ideas and options to halt the school shootings our nation has seen in recent years. His idea to arm select teachers and staff, an idea I agreed with, was a real break from the normal moment of silence and call for more gun control laws. Arming certain teachers in schools and giving them a fighting chance to protect their students and stop the aggression before the police arrive is an idea that has merit. Before the police arrive, it allows the staff a chance to make a difference instead of hiding and hoping for the best, a hope that is often unrealized. Unfortunately, even when police arrive quickly, as was the case in Florida, the initial deputy chose not to engage.
The reaction to the Florida school shooting by the liberal press and left-leaning politicians was as expected. Calls for more laws, more control, ban this or ban that…was all the press could talk about. Bills were put to the vote, and some jurisdictions passed more stringent gun laws. As we already know, passing new laws has zero effect on the problem. There are plenty of laws already on the books that are not enforced. How passing even more laws would change that is a mystery to me.
The Market Makes a Statement
Shortly after the Florida incident, Dick’s Sporting Goods, as well as other retailers, made changes to the way they sell and market firearms and ammunition. Dick’s Sporting Goods, a major US retailer of firearms, announced it is immediately ending its sales of military-style semi-automatic rifles. The rifles they are talking about are mainly the AR-15-style rifle. After the announcement, Dick’s Sporting Goods stock dropped 19 points the very next day.
The parent company of Mossberg guns, O.F. Mossberg & Sons Inc., announced in a press release that it would no longer do business with Dick’s. It was not diplomatic about the reason for this decision either. “It has come to our attention that Dick’s Sporting Goods recently hired lobbyists on Capitol Hill to promote additional gun control,” CEO Iver Mossberg wrote. “Make no mistake, Mossberg is a staunch supporter of the US Constitution and our Second Amendment rights, and we fully disagree with Dick’s Sporting Goods’ recent anti-Second Amendment actions.”
MKS Supply, which makes Hi-Point Firearms, also announced it would no longer do business with Dick’s. In a statement, MKS wrote that it “values the customers that it proudly serves and the God-given freedoms that they enjoy” and that it believes it’s “equally important to show our commitment to our customers by standing behind their Second Amendment rights.”
Springfield Armory, another gun manufacturer, also dropped Dick’s, writing on its Facebook page that the decision was because the retailer had hired lobbyists but also citing Dick’s decision to destroy the firearms it wasn’t selling and raise its gun-purchasing age. There’s speculation that it’s only a matter of time before companies like Remington, Ruger, and Colt will stop doing business with Dick’s as well.
The Rise of the Gun Sanctuary
As happened with sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants seeing anti-sanctuary communities spring up, so too have the gun control advocates. Community after community does not agree with the always predictable gun control crowd and the more and more restrictions touted by the liberal left. Those communities have started a counter-gun control movement. Gun owner sanctuary cities have started to make themselves known.
Five counties in rural Illinois have declared themselves “Sanctuary counties for gun owner’s rights.” As many as 20 more communities in Illinois are looking at doing the same thing.
Here in Edwards County, Texas, where I live, the commissioner’s court just approved the same thing, pledging to not “enforce unconstitutional laws” that infringe on the Second Amendment. The actual wording says: “Edwards County, in support of the Second Amendment in the United States Constitution, has been declared a sanctuary county for gun owners in order to protect their rights. This means that Edwards county officials won’t accept any state law that unconstitutionally restricts the Second Amendment.”
Personally, I have carried a firearm most, if not all, of my adult life as a law enforcement officer, a member of the military, and now as a private citizen. I have my concealed carry license, I carry a weapon daily, even on the state campus where I am completing my law degree.
The anti-sanctuary city movement, where it applies to immigration, I can understand. But this second sanctuary city for gun owner’s rights is a little over the top in my opinion. It is mainly symbolic and a way to voice the opposition to the drone of gun control that always comes to the forefront when an incident happens. The gun control crowd use those incidents to push their agenda.
I understand the desire to want to do something to try and balance the narrative but do we really need a county to pledge not to enforce unconstitutional laws? Is that not what they are supposed to be doing anyway?
Remember, it will not be the county or the city officials that decide what is and what isn’t constitutional. That falls directly to the Supreme Court, and there is no indication they are leaning to limit the Second Amendment. In fact, they have been doing the exact opposite.
Trump’s Counter Strategy
President Trump pushes hard on his points. The opposition pushes back but tends to go off the deep end in their response. This results in the resistance looking petty, biased, and more partisan than anything. It shows no effort to do what is right, only to resist the president, and their rabid resistance at all costs plays right into President Trump’s game-plan.
The left’s single-mindedness of fighting the president is costing them support as it is seen for what it is: a policy with no answers, no plans, just resistance. It slowly erodes the base of support they counted on. Trump has pushed them so far that they no longer can form an intelligent opposition and they are paying for that myopic approach.
One thing for sure is it is becoming interesting to watch and see how this all shakes out. Pass the popcorn, please.
