By: José Niño

The Super Tuesday primary contests concluded yesterday with Joe Biden now leading the 2020 Democratic Party nomination in terms of delegates acquired. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is his only real opposition, now standing in second place as far as delegates go.

On March 3, 2020, Sanders won California, Colorado, Utah, and Vermont. In contrast, former Vice President Joe Biden won states Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

For gun owners, neither of these candidates is friendly toward the Second Amendment.
Take Biden for example. The former Vice President supports “bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," and he even revealed to CNN that he "would institute a national buyback program” for “assault weapons.” Biden insists he would not confiscate previously owned firearms. True to his previous efforts in heading the gun taskforce that prompted the Obama administration to advocate for legislation mandating universal background checks in 2013, Biden tweeted on June 7, 2019: “It’s clear we need to … close the loophole that allows individuals to buy guns online or at gun shows without a background check."

Despite what the media say, Biden is no moderate on guns. The former vice president wants legislation “to give states and local governments grants to require individuals to obtain a license prior to purchasing a gun,” creating a de facto national gun registry. Going back to his assault weapons plan, Biden wants assault weapons and so-called high-capacity magazines to either be registered or sold back to the government in his aforementioned buyback program.

Similarly, Bernie Sanders has expressed anti-Second Amendment views during his time on the campaign trail. Sanders has pushed for “expand(ing) background checks," closing the “gun show loophole," and making all gun sales “subject to the same background check standards.” Sanders is in favor of banning “the sale and distribution of assault weapons" and wants the federal government "to implement a buyback program to get these weapons off the streets.” Furthermore, Sanders supports banning “high-capacity ammunition magazines.” Sanders recently co-sponsored a Senate bill to ban assault weapons and cast his vote in favor of the 2013 Assault Weapons Ban.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s entrance into the 2020 election on November 24, 2019 was rather surprising. The billionaire, anti-gun oligarch has generally been associated with his financing of rabid anti-gun groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety. Nonetheless, this was not enough for Bloomberg to have much of an impact during the race.

Following lackluster performances in the primaries, Bloomberg dropped out of the race on March 4, 2020, only after being able to pick up 44 delegates despite dumping over $500 million into his campaign. It would be a mistake to believe that Bloomberg is done, however. “Little Mike” will likely be back to his anti-gun ways and propping up gun control armies with his vast wealth. Everytown for Gun Safety has already spent $8 million in Texas races in 2020. This will not be the last we hear of Bloomberg and company.

No matter who wins the Democratic Party nomination, one thing is undoubtedly clear: The 2020 Democratic nominee will be 100% hostile toward the Second Amendment.

José Niño is a Venezuelan-American political activist writing from Fort Collins, Colorado. Contact him at [email protected].