Note to NY Post: It’s Guns for Reformed Felons, Not ‘Criminals’

As New York publications go, the NY Post is probably one of the better ones. Granted, that’s not saying much, but a lot of times they’ll cover stories the rest of the mainstream media tries to bury, such as Hunter Biden’s laptop. They paid a price for that in the short term, but garnered a fair bit of respect in the long term.

Unfortunately, it’s still a New York City publication, which means there’s a certain amount of derp that is inevitable, I suppose.

Take, for example, their headline regarding the Department of Justice finally delivering on the promised procedure for felons to seek to have their gun rights restored. The phrasing is…off.

“DOJ finalizes firearm rule to have criminals’ gun rights reinstated”

Uh…yeah. About that…

The Justice Department unveiled a new process Monday for people barred from owning firearms because of past criminal convictions to have their gun rights restored. 

The launch of the “Federal Firearm Rights Restoration” application process marks one of Attorney General Todd Blanche’s first actions as the newly minted head of the DOJ and a major victory for Second Amendment advocates, who have long argued that nonviolent felons should have an avenue to regain their right to bear arms. 

“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and the federal government should not permanently deprive Americans of a constitutional right without regard to whether they pose a danger to public safety,” Blanche said in a statement. “This rule establishes a rigorous, commonsense process that protects the public while giving deserving Americans a real path to restoration.”

Pardon Attorney Ed Martin said the finalized rule will pave the way for the “unprecedented restoration of firearms rights” to some “30 million Americans who have lost their Second Amendment rights.” 

Nothing here seems to hint that their headline might have been misleading until much farther down, when they finally say:

The department will weigh each applicant’s record and reputation to determine whether they pose a likely threat to public safety before reinstating their Second Amendment rights.  

In other words, it’s for reformed felons, not criminals. There is a difference.

J.D. Delay is one of the most famous felons on social media. He’s been a criminal, but he’s not anymore. He’s a prime example of the difference. He reformed and has given up those criminal ways. He doesn’t hide from his past or make excuses for it, he just does what he can to avoid repeating those mistakes.

That’s a far cry from someone who was out robbing people last night. That guy is a criminal.

See the difference?

A criminal is someone who commits crimes. A felon is someone who was convicted of committing a felony. The two overlap in many cases, but they’re not universal. A felon who continues to commit crimes is still a criminal, but those who try to move on with life by walking the straight and narrow aren’t.

This matters because while anti-gunners continue to attack the Trump administration’s moves to restore gun rights, not just for felons but for all of us, they’re going to latch onto this kind of language and use it to justify their opposition, even if the rights are only restored to people with years upon years of clean living under their belt.

And yes, even as other felons get guns illegally and continue to commit crimes.

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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