NRA Calls Sen. Booker’s Gun Violence Plan ‘Senseless, Slapdash’

According to U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, his plan to tackle gun violence is "the most sweeping gun violence prevention proposal ever put forth by a presidential candidate." But if you ask the National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm what they think, you’ll get a different reply: it’s “senseless and slapdash.”

Last week – as part of Booker’s plan to attack the problem of gun violence in the United States – he suggested that the IRS should take a look into yanking the NRA’s status as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The group was not amused by his suggestion.

On May 10, the NRA-ILA added its voice to a growing chorus of gun rights advocates who are blasting the senator’s plan. Here’s what its spokespeople wrote (read their full statement here):

“In an obvious and desperate attempt to garner attention in an overcrowded 2020 Democratic presidential field, Sen. Cory Booker threw long-cultivated anti-gun strategy and messaging to the wind and further exposed the gun control endgame when he released his ‘Plan To End the Gun Violence Epidemic.’ The document is a slapdash gun control advocate wish list, at the core of which is a plan to create a may-issue federal gun owner licensing scheme and confiscate millions of commonly-owned, semi-automatic firearms.”

Aside from the “impracticality and hypocrisy” of Booker’s proposal, it would also be ineffective and unconstitutional, the NRA-ILA stated.

The NRA-ILA said that – as intended – Booker’s “senseless gun control declaration” garnered him some modest media attention.

“For a candidate that has made criminal justice reform a focal point of his campaign, Booker’s indifference to the incarceration of nonviolent and otherwise law-abiding gun owners makes clear that his compassion does not extend to those who defy his political sensibilities,” the NRA-ILA wrote. “And there is ample evidence that many would defy Booker’s preferred policies.”

Responding to critics of his plan, Booker’s campaign team said they were “threatened” because the senator is “connecting directly with voters hungry for change.”

The senator didn’t mince words in his earlier announcement about the plan.

"I'm sick and tired of hearing thoughts and prayers for the communities that have been shattered by gun violence… it's time for bold action," said Booker, who lives in Newark, where he once served as mayor.

"In my community, kids fear fireworks on the Fourth of July because they sound like gunshots," Booker said. "In communities across the country, from Newark to Charlotte, from San Diego to Chicago, and everywhere in between, Americans are being killed and families are being torn apart. We must do better. We need to do better."

• See related article: Cory Booker Releases 'Sweeping Plan' To Combat Gun Violence

BOOKER’S PLAN… AND THE NRA’S REACTION

Booker said that as president, he'd make "commonsense changes" to federal gun laws. Here are some details about two controversial aspects of his plan, along with the NRA-ILA’s reaction.

GUN LICENSING

Booker Campaign – “Just as a driver's license demonstrates a person's eligibility and proficiency to drive a car, a gun license demonstrates that a person is eligible and can meet certain safety and training standards necessary to own a gun. The proposal to enact minimum standards for gun ownership builds on rigorous evidence at the state level demonstrating the connection between gun licensing and reduction in gun violence. Individuals could seek a gun license at a designated local office, widely available in urban and rural areas, similar to applying for or renewing a passport. They would submit fingerprints, provide basic background information during an appointment, and demonstrate completion of a certified gun safety course. The FBI would then verify submission of required materials and run a comprehensive background check before issuing a federal gun license, after which the license-holder could freely purchase and own firearms. The license would be valid for up to five years before renewal with regular, automatic checks to flag non-compliance with license terms. Recognizing that many states have already implemented state licensure programs, states could continue to do so, provided that they meet baseline federal standards.”

NRA – “[One] core aspect of Booker’s gun control agenda is federal firearm owner licensing, which he likens to a driver’s license, complete with a firearms version of the DMV. Such a license would be required to merely own a firearm. Americans should not be required to obtain a license that serves as a prior restraint on the exercise of a constitutional right. That aside, this lazy analogy is flawed. Constitutional scholar and UCLA School of Law Professor Eugene Volokh has pointed out on multiple occasions what treating firearm ownership like car ownership would mean in practice… Like all of his gun control proposals, Booker’s description of the licensing scheme is short on details. However, The New York Times reported that under Booker’s proposal, the application process would include “sitting for an interview.” The only reason to subject an applicant to an interview is to inject subjective criteria into the licensing process. Under such a scheme, a person’s ability to exercise their constitutional right would be at the discretion of federal government functionary and whatever prejudices they may hold. Perhaps unbeknownst to Booker, over the last three decades the vast majority of states have removed subjective criteria and government discretion from their concealed carry licensing procedures. In some jurisdictions, such discretion had been, and still is, used to deny residents’ right to bear arms outside the home wholesale. In other jurisdictions that discretion has fostered corruption and been abused to limit the Right-to-Carry to the rich or well-connected.”

WEAPON BANS

Booker Campaign – “Ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and bump stocks… Large-capacity ammunition magazines and assault weapons have been present in many mass shootings in the U.S., made for no other purpose than to kill people quickly and efficiently.”

NRA – “Booker’s proposal does not provide a definition of “assault weapon,” so it is unclear the exact firearms that would be implicated under his plan. However, given that Booker is a cosponsor of S.66, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) “Assault Weapons Ban of 2019,” it can be deduced that the senator from New Jersey seeks to prohibit an even larger category of commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms than Bill Clinton’s 1994 ban… Booker need only to look at his home state of New Jersey to understand the folly of his proposal. An April 17, 1992 New York Times article, “Owners of Assault Guns Slow to Obey Law,” noted, “In New Jersey, which enacted an assault weapon ban in 1990, 2,000 weapons have been surrendered, made inoperable or registered as collectors' items, according to the State Police. The state Attorney General's office estimates that there are between 20,000 and 50,000 assault weapons in New Jersey.”

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