By Anthony Morelli
Republican politicians continue proving that they can’t be trusted with gun rights.
Many gun owners think Republicans are their friends and allies.
But that illusion might be shattered after one stunning betrayal from a top Republican.
According to HubScore, Kentucky is one of the highest gun-owning states in America, with 54.6% of households owning a gun.
As such, one would think that politicians in Kentucky would be bending over backwards to try and stay on the good side of the gun owners who live in their districts.
But that is frequently the opposite of what actually happens. Politicians will campaign on protecting the Second Amendment, then come to the Capitol and cut deals with the gun control lobby and negotiate their constituents’ rights away.
This is the type of shady business that makes people disillusioned with politics, and it has reared its ugly head once again in Kentucky.
Whitney Westerfield is a Republican who has served in the Kentucky Senate since 2013, and is one of the most seasoned veterans in that chamber.
He clearly thinks he is invincible, as he has decided to take a sledgehammer to the rights of gun owners in his district, and somehow thinks that won’t cost him during election season.
According to Bearing Arms, “The state of Kentucky is a pretty red state, all things considered. Sure, the governor is a Democrat, but Republicans control most other statewide offices as well as both chambers of the legislature. So if gun control were to ever happen in the state, at least as things stand, Republicans have to be behind it.
“And one has offered a red flag-like bill that is apparently intended to address some of the concerns over red flag laws.”
Apparently the gun control lobby had “concerns” over the gun laws in Kentucky – they were probably “concerned” about the fact that guns are legal in the first place – and recruited a Republican to “address” their concerns.
Bearing Arms covers some of the serious issues with Westerfield’s proposal, saying: “It’s either give up your guns now and have time to get a lawyer – if you can afford to get a lawyer, that is – or have to be in court in a couple of hours regardless of literally anything else going on in your life and face losing your rights because you aren’t equipped to counter the accusations against you.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine why a lot of Westerfield’s fellow Republicans are unimpressed with this.”
This is an awful proposal by a Republican politician who is clearly trying to suck up to the gun control lobby and the anti-gun politicians that he serves with.
He is selling out his own constituents for what he perceives to be his own political gain.
However, Westerfield may soon find out that there is not as much to be gained politically as he thought.
After all, his district is full of gun owners who are not going to be happy about this. And when the time comes to vote on his re-election, they may be inclined to go in a different direction.