Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas is on a mission: Revive his failing presidential campaign by exploiting mass shootings to campaign for gun control. The candidate is proposing to restrict private gun sales, ban “assault weapons,” and more. But O’Rourke’s ideas aren’t so popular back home.
Texas lawmaker Matt Schaefer offered up a unique counter-argument against expanding background checks, sparking controversy when he tweeted: “Ending private gun transactions like Beto wants to do will hit undocumented people hard. It will make vulnerable people less safe,” as part of a larger thread on the importance of gun rights for self-defense.
Ending private gun transactions like Beto wants to do will hit undocumented people hard. It will make vulnerable people less safe. #txlege
— Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 4, 2019
Here’s what Schaefer told the Dallas Morning News:
After the News pressed the lawmaker on why illegal immigrants ought to be allowed to access guns, Schaefer said:
Schaefer’s stance is certainly unorthodox — and is, unsurprisingly, eliciting backlash — but he might be onto something. Conservatives don’t just believe that the Second Amendment grants people gun rights, rather, they think it enshrines what is an already-existing, god-given right to self-defense.
It’s true that conservative philosophy does view those who break the law as sacrificing their rights, but only proportionally. And there’s nothing inherent about crossing the border illegally that warrants the stripping of such a fundamental right, as compared to say, a convicted domestic batterer or rapist, who most conservatives would certainly agree has sacrificed their right to own a gun.
Ardent gun rights advocates are backing Schaefer up. I spoke with Firearms Policy Coalition Director of Legal Policy Matt Larosiere, who had this to say:
Democrats such as O’Rourke, who claim to be staunchly pro-immigrant, should have to explain their support for gun control proposals that, as Schaefer and Larosiere note, would potentially disarm undocumented immigrants. If Democrats truly support immigrants, they ought to support an otherwise-law-abiding illegal immigrant’s right to self-defense, too.
