Clueless About History

 Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions report Defending Democracy raises the spectre of insuurection.  I think their concerns about this danger are real and no just because of J6. For several years, BLM and Antifa engaged in "mostly peaceful protests", arson attacks on federal buildings, riots in response to losing elections, pro-Hamas demonstrators shutting down the lower house of the California legislature, lawyers firebombing police cars while handing out Molotov cocktails to others, public workers occupying the Wisconsin legislature.  For some reason Defending Democracy missed these other insurrectionary acts.

10/23/19 Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service:

These observations contribute to the Civility Poll’s additional finding that the average voter believes the U.S. is two-thirds of the way to the edge of a civil war. On a 0-100 scale with 100 being “edge of a civil war,” the mean response is 67.23.

6/15/23 Rasmussen Reports:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 34% of Likely U.S. Voters think the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years, but that includes only nine percent (9%) who say it’s Very Likely. This compares to 31% and 11% respectively two years ago. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

While Democrats were more worried about pending civil war in 2018, now Republicans (40%) are more likely than Democrats (28%) and voters not affiliated with either major party (38%) to see a second civil war on the horizon.

As I have previously argued, this would be a very bad thing: massive loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, encouraging America's enemies to destroy our allies.  Their solution:

Policy and Practice Recommendations

• Regulate the public carry of firearms

• Strengthen existing laws, or increase the enforcement of current laws, to prohibit paramilitary activity

• Prohibit the civilian possession of firearms in locations essential to political participation, such as polling places, legislative buildings, and protests to protect the core functions of government

• Enact and implement Extreme Risk Protection Order laws to temporarily disarm people who pose a high risk of violence

• Repeal or create exceptions for firearm preemption laws to give local governments the ability to create policies to address risks of insurrectionism in their jurisdictions 

• Break the insurrectionist permission structure by openly denouncing violence 

With that last one I can agree.  If only we could get Democrats to agree and stop making excuses for riots.

The items on the list show that they do not realize that what started the American Revolution was arms control:

Acting on intelligence that the militia were stockpiling weapons, Gage ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Smith to march to Concord and seize the arms.

Yes, gun banners are so afraid of insurrection that they want to take the steps that started a previous successful insurrection.  If you want an insurrection, keep pushing for gun  bans.  You will have no one to blame for inciting it but yourselves.