Democrat James Clyburn Admits Current Gun Control Push Is Just ‘First Step’

House Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) introduced gun control legislation this week and made clear that the current push is just the “first step.”

On March 1, 2021, Breitbart News noted National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) warnings that Clyburn was going to put forward gun control to extend the period of time it takes to undergo an instant background check for a gun purchase. Current law allows such checks to be extended up to three business days to allow FBI reviewers to sift through pertinent criminal records. Clyburn’s bill would expand the extended review to at least 10 days.

NPR spoke with Clyburn about his gun control proposal, and he made clear it is only the beginning. He opined that the legislation expanding the time frame for background checks to be conducted “is a good first step,” then quickly moved on to talk about the need for universal background checks.

Clyburn said, “A large majority of Americans, including gun owners, support universal background checks. This legislation is needed to keep weapons out of the hands of those who should not have them and save lives.”

Ironically, Democrats often point to the Parkland, Sandy Hook, and Las Vegas mass shootings when promoting universal background checks. Some will also point to the January 8, 2011, Tucson, Arizona, attack in which Gabby Giffords was injured. But they never explain that universal background checks would not have hindered, much less stopped, any of these attacks. That is because those who attacked Parkland, Las Vegas, and Giffords all acquired their guns via background checks.

The Sandy Hook attacker stole his guns, so no amount of background checks would have stopped him.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.