Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, recently spoke out against a public health advisory issued by the Surgeon General. In a Twitter post, he called the move unconstitutional and wrote, “We will not comply. Florida will always reject the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional power grabs.”
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis on Tuesday, June 25th, which incited a quick backlash by gun rights advocates. NRA Director Randy Kozuch released a statement, “This is an extension of the Biden Administration’s war on law-abiding gun owners.”
Governor DeSantis issued his statement on June 27th. In the Surgeon General’s announcement, he stated, “Firearm violence is a public health crisis. Our failure to address it is a moral crisis.”
The Surgeon General’s advisory called for universal background checks, required secure firearm storage, and a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use. There was a call to “create safer conditions in public places related to firearm use and carry.”
The Surgeon General Report – More Than Words?
It’s worth noting that a public health advisory is not a law and does not create any administrative policies regarding firearms. It’s not binding in any way. In reality, it’s nothing more than the Surgeon General taking a political stance against American Civil Rights.
What is worth noting is that current gun control efforts are focused on administrative means to strip citizens of their gun rights. Lawmakers are not creating gun control laws but using dictates and executive orders to enforce gun control. The administrative war on firearms isn’t new, but in recent years, the use of administrative policies has increased drastically.
One of the most brazen uses of this administrative war on gun rights was President Trump’s bumpstock ban. Since then, the Biden administration has attempted to use administrative efforts to ban 80% frames and lowers, pistol braces, and to prevent private gun sales. This represents a terrifying use of administrative power that circumvents Congress.
While the statement from the Surgeon General isn’t binding, it could potentially help set the stage for future administrative gun control efforts. This time, the focus could be on using public health laws to create administrative rules that greatly affect gun owners. While political pundits may see Gov. DeSantis’s rejection of the advisory as unnecessary, I believe things like this should be fought from the very beginning.
It’s like a fire. You do not allow it to grow into an uncontrollable blaze; you use your resources to stomp it out before it can cause any damage.
Reading Into the Advisory
The Advisory from the Surgeon General is chock full of anti-gun talking points and language. It uses terms like “assault weapons” to mislead to the extent that it’s a downright lie. In reality, rifles like the AR-15 are very rarely used in crime. According to FBI statistics, hands and feet are used more often than rifles of any kind.
Terms like large-capacity magazines are also strategically used to deceive and mislead. What’s a standard capacity magazine? The term large-capacity, when used by anti-gun advocates like the surgeon general, simply means standard capacity. They don’t specify a standard capacity, so they can always lower the capacity.
If they get ten, they’ll go for seven. They’ll ask for five if they get a restriction to seven rounds. The language used is purposeful, and anti-civil rights advocates have mastered the art of deceitful language. More state and local governments should take a stand against anti-firearms administrative rulings, assignments, boards, rules, etc. Put the fire out early and ensure their constituents are able to retain their constitutional rights.
