Fact Checking Biden's Anti-Gun Speeches in September 2022

Fact Checking Biden’s Remarks on the Safer America Plan

Ultimately, it’s the midterm election season so every politician is going to spitting off hyperbole and lies to score more brownie points with voters so it’s important not to get too wrapped up in what the opposition is saying. At the same time, it’s equally important to make sure they don’t get away with what they’re saying as well; a fine and difficult line to walk on.

This speech was held at the Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on August 30th, 2022. Below you’ll find our fact checking with some references to provide background on why these statements were false or severely lacking in historical context. So really, we’re context-checking here.

“I have two shotguns at home. It’s a long story but I support the Second Amendment.”

You can be a firearm owner and still know nothing about gun laws, the wide variety of gun culture, how a firearm works and be in support of overreaching restrictions and unconstitutional

“Right now, you can’t go on and buy an automatic weapon. You can’t buy an automatic weapon.”

Actually Mr. President, you can legally buy automatic weapons in states that allow you to do so. All it takes is filling out the appropriate ATF forms.

“If you want to fight a country you need a F-15. You need something a little more than a gun.”

That’s funny seeing as the United States hasn’t sent a single fighter jet to Ukraine in their conflict against the Russian invasion. We sent plenty of ammunition, rockets and small arms though didn’t we — and Putin had a hell of a time in what he assumed would’ve been a quick and decisive campaign.

“We have to act for all those kids gunned down on our streets every single day that never make the news. There’s a mass shooting every single day in this country in the streets of America.”

Statistically speaking, that’s simply not true. Anti-gunners like Biden, his administration and the mass media are addicted to death toll numbers like bears are to honey. See Mother Jones’ Database of Mass Shooting in the U.S..

This is where things Biden said might get you even more heated:

“In 1994, I took on the NRA and passed the assault weapons ban. For 10 years, mass shootings were down. But in 2004 Republicans let that ban expire. And what happened? Mass shootings in America tripled.”

To blame the Republican party for the first federal “assault weapons” ban expiring is incredibly disingenuous. It had a sunset clause to begin with and was always set to expire. That’s how the bill was written. Additionally, there were 17 mass shootings leading up to the ban that began in 2004 from 1994 to 2004.

Following the next decade, from 1994-2004 there were another 16 mass shootings. Attributing the reduction of one mass shooting based on this arbitrary gun control law is hardly scientific. In a similar regard, banning the AR-15 today, a gun that is common-use and ownership among millions of Americans would be a foolish and naive philosophy if the goal is to reduce or completely eliminate mass shootings.

“Look, I’m prouder that, after seven years, we finally have a Senate-confirmed director of ATF, responsible for fighting gun crime. For seven years, the other team would not let us appoint anyone to that job - to help local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, identify the ballistics… We finally got it passed this time out, barely. Seven years, because they didn’t want anybody in that job. “

Look, it takes two to tango. The Democrats in Congress are just as culpable for not being able to confirm an official director but it’s also not the full story. Previous leaders of the ATF were mostly Acting Directors. The last official director was installed in 2004 and only held the position for two years. Blaming any single party of politicians in Congress is an unfaithful representation of what the status quo has been for the past two decades spanning across multiple administrations. In fact, since the formation of the ATF as an independent organization (originally part of the IRS) in 1970, Steve Dettelbach is only the 7th official Director to hold that position.

“You know what the Mexicans are - Mexico, which has real problems, causing us real problems - you know what their biggest complaint is? Can’t we stop gun - gun trafficking across the southern border into Mexico?”

This racist interjection was more ironic than anything else given the ATF’s major faux pas in their “Fast and Furious” operation which ultimately involved the U.S. arming cartels with firearms which ended up getting one US Border Patrol agent killed and created hundreds of crime scenes across Mexico during the Obama administration.

“It’s not about taking away anybody’s guns. In fact we should be treating responsible gun owners as examples how every gun owner should behave.”

That’s interesting because the Biden Administration has not given out any awards, medals or public commendations for people who stopped mass shootings or defended themselves and others with a firearm. We’d like to see what a responsible gun owner looks like in the eyes of the Biden Administration because they likely do not exist. But if they do, it might look like someone who only owns a couple of shotguns at home and use them once a decade, if at all.

“Like most rights, the rights granted by the Second Amendment are not unlimited.”

Well, Biden is correct. Each state and county limits it in their own different ways based on who can buy what guns at what age with certain restrictions or not. Law abiding citizens are subject to a lot of different requirements to remain compliant with local and state laws, even more so under federal ones as well.

Issues with Biden’s Speech on “the Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation”

People are tired of the gerontocracy, politicians are too old, too wealthy and too disconnected from the average American and simply don’t feel their needs are being met or understood. Putting faith aside, the fact is people are not all equal in this country and they never will be. We’re all of different cultures, value systems, social and financial echelons and to pretend that these differences do not exist is a disservice to the American public as it only amounts to lip service to say that we’re all the same. As Biden paints a target on those who subscribe to the political “MAGA trend” it actually contradicts his main point in this speech and further increases the divide between people of different political beliefs. These remarks were dramatically presented at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 1st, 2022. Below we review the inflammatory statements that Biden publicly made which have only fanned the flames and further fueled the political and cultural divide in our nation.

Here were some of the lines of his speech that we take issue with:

“That in America, we’re all created equal.”

False.

“Equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.”

True.

“There is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.”

Critics would say the same about the Biden Administration and their agenda that’s propagated by the mass media.

“MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.”

Pretty infuriating for Biden and his cronies to trample over the 1st and 2nd Amendment then point at his political opponents to say that they’re the ones who don’t respect the Constitution.

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards - backwards to an America where there is no rich to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.”

Other than issues surrounding contraception, this statement is false.

“They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law…”

Both parties operate in the same fashion when appointing judges or department heads when their party is in the position to do so. Therefore, this statement is a twisted view on what happens in reality.

“They look at the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6th - brutally attacking law enforcement - not as insurrectionists, but they look at them as patriots.”

Among the protestors at the capitol that day, there were a large number of people that were peaceful and did not participate in trespassing on any government property or violently engage members of law enforcement.

Just because we prepare for violence doesn’t mean we wantonly condone it. It also takes a specific kind of person today to have the time and finances to be able to take time out of their lives and protest in the streets. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans do not have that luxury because they have work to go to, mouths to feed and bills to pay.

“I believe America is at an inflection point - America must choose: to move forward or to move backwards? To build the future or obsess about the past?”

To understand the past and history, is to prepare for what may come in the future. Biden’s verbiage here and his administration’s actions suggest that they prefer us to be sheep who don’t ask questions, don’t challenge them and simply bend to their will while the rules they make only apply to us and not them.

“This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not reject it. This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not repudiate it. And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence.”

Convenient how the BLM rioters didn’t get the same level of condemnation from Biden when he himself called for police to be defunded back in 2020.

“There are public figures predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets.”

A clear example of how only a few key politicians understand the consequences of Democrats’ actions and the direction they’re taking this country with regard to gun control regulations.

“American democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law and the institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me, only if we respect our legitimate political differences.”

How can civilians be expected to respect the rule of law and federal institutions when our political leaders don’t?

What sets a lot of people off is the double standards. You’ve got politicians trading stocks related to their work, family members of high profile politicians skirting the law, such as Hunter Biden or Nancy Pelosi’s husband and these examples, just to name a couple, are all harming trust in the government.