Leading in with some numbers this week, US Border Patrol and Homeland Security confirm that since Donald Trump has become president the number of illegal aliens attempting to cross the border has dropped by 40% and the number of arrests of those who do make it across is way up.
To most Americans this is good news. It means that finally our borders are becoming more secure and the more secure our borders are, the safer our country will be. But to many liberal politicians and others who dwell among the more so called ‘progressive’ share of the population, this news is just terrible. Nancy Pelosi and New York Governor DiBlasio are devastated by this turn of events. So too are many Hollywood actors. All of these people have the same thing in common. They insist that the laws of the land be enforced, but only those laws that they agree with. The laws that they don’t like, such as border security and immigration, are to be ignored. And as far as building that border wall goes, they are fiercely opposed to any wall designed to keep people out. They make their position on this perfectly clear from behind the walls and guarded gates of the mansions that they themselves live in.
Here are some more numbers for you this week. Recent surveys and polls are showing that there is an increase in the number of American women of all demographics and in every part of the country (legally) buying guns. And it’s not just a noticeable increase, it’s a big increase. In fact, the PEW survey and Professor John Lott, who is an expert on Second Amendment Issues, have reported that in the year 2000, only 35% of Americans thought that having a gun in the home made them safer. That number has since shot up to (no pun intended) 63% and the biggest increase responding in the affirmative were women. And now, even 41% of Democrats agree; a huge jump since 2000.
The political ramifications of this new trend do not bode well for gun control advocates going into the future. Second Amendment rights are becoming more important to an increasing number of citizens and it’s now clear that this was a contributing factor in the election loss of Hillary Clinton and a number of other office seekers nationwide, who made their anti-Second Amendment stances part of their campaigns.
So, what are the reasons for the current trends regarding gun ownership? The surveys indicate it’s a mixed bag. Safety and the fear of crime is one of the driving factors. With the threat of home grown and foreign caused terrorism frequently in the news, the added security that many feel owning a firearm adds to that safety is a big incentive. There is also a major uptick in the popularity of the ‘shooting sports’. More gun ranges, quite a few of them family friendly, are opening all across the nations. Shooting skeet and trap is also a pass time that is gaining enthusiasts. When you factor that in with growing numbers of hunters in America, all these things add up to an increasing acceptance of what detractors call this nation’s ‘gun culture’.
This growing interest in gun ownership among so many more Americans has also exposed the ineffectiveness of the massive and well-funded campaign to discourage or actually demonize it. Hundreds of millions of dollars by billionaires like George Soros, Michael Bloomberg and others, along with Hollywood activists and anti-gun themed public service announcements constantly being aired, is falling flat and all but ignored. More Americans than ever are making their own decisions on this issue and if these latest surveys are right, it a trend that will continue for a long time to come. The times certainly are changing.
