« Sunday Morning Book Thread 06-06-2021 | Main | A Scholarly Discussion Of Kitchen (And Other) Tools? Why Not? »

The Left's Deeply Dishonest Response To A Rational Judicial Decision: A Perfect Example Of Emotions Trumping Facts

The insanity of the byzantine "Assault Weapons" laws in the various blue states has to be seen to be believed. For instance, in the People's Republic of New Jersey, any muzzle device must be pinned and welded to the barrel, and cannot be a flash suppressor but can be a compensator. Adjustable stocks? Hah! And bayonet mounts are bad too, presumably because there have been far too many bayonet attacks, and if it saves just one life...

And California may be even more insane. But a rational judge heard a lawsuit against the nuttiness, and agreed that it is laughably counter to the 2nd Amendment and other precedents.

California's Assault Weapons Ban Violates Second Amendment: Judge

“The Heller test asks: is a modern rifle commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for a lawful purpose? For the AR-15 type rifle the answer is ‘yes.’ The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and keep the popular AR-15 rifle and its many variants do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense at home. Under Heller, that is all that is needed. Using the easy to understand Heller test, it is obvious that the California assault weapon ban is unconstitutional. Under the Heller test, judicial review can end right here,” Benitez wrote.

That makes sense. it is a rational critique of California's law, and is amply supported in the judge's 94 page ruling.

But in the introduction to the ruling -- in fact the first sentence -- the judge equates the AR-15 with another popular tool.

Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment.

And in the absence of any substantive challenge to the judge's holding, the ranting fascists who currently hold sway in California latched onto that throwaway line to insert an emotional tag to their attacks.

“Overturning CA’s assault weapon ban and comparing an AR-15 to a SWISS ARMY KNIFE is a disgusting slap in the face to those who have lost loved ones to gun violence,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said late Friday. “This is a direct threat to public safety and innocent Californians. We won’t stand for it.”

“Today’s decision is fundamentally flawed, and we will be appealing it. There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with swiss army knives,” Bonta added.

Never mind that the judge wasn't making a legal point, or even anything more than a comparison of two popular things. It has no force of law, has no influence on the legal arguments, has nothing whatsoever to do with the following 94 pages of legal discussion, but there is the hyper-emotional hook to get the soccer moms exercised!

It is deeply dishonest, but one of the important tools in the socialist kit. Find something that, taken out of context, seems odd or discordant. Then hammer the trivial point home, conflating the unimportant with the substantive.

This is what they are best at; obfuscating the real issues and inflating nonsense to ridiculous importance. Just look at the other hot-button issues of the day, and you will see similar tactics. Trans (fake) women should be allowed to compete with real women? Why? For their own mental health? But that has nothing to do with fairness in competition. Voter ID is the Devil! Why? Because blacks can't get IDs? That's arrant nonsense, but they couch it in vague terms and latch onto ancillary points to buttress that deeply offensive argument.

Never mind that their arguments make no sense. It is the emotional aspect that is important. And it works.