Busse Back on the Speaking Circuit After His Political Career Crashed and Burned

Running for statewide office as a Democrat in a state like Montana is a challenge no matter who the candidate is, but former Kimber executive-turned-gun control activist Ryan Busse proved to be a particularly unpopular choice among voters last November. While incumbent Senator Jon Tester lost his seat to Republican Tim Sheey in a relatively close race (Sheehy won 52.6% of the vote compared to Tester’s 45.5%), both Busse and Kamala Harris were absolutely crushed by Greg Gianforte and Donald Trump, respectively. Both Harris and Busse failed to get even 40% of the vote in their campaigns. 

Now that Busse’s joined the ranks of the unelectable, he’s back on the stump for gun control. The activist was recently invited to speak to students at Rock Valley College in Illinois, where he let loose this whopper.

When asked if Illinois’ gun legislation earns the former candidate for Montana governor’s approval, Busse shifted his focus to improving gun culture.

“Laws and regulations, that will fix itself,” he contends. “But we have a broken culture in our country.”

If Busse actually believes the first part of his sentence he’s such a moron that he shouldn’t be anywhere near an institution of higher learning, either as a speaker or a student. On what planet to laws and regulations that violate our Constitution fix themselves? These infringements don’t magically pop into existence, and they’re not self-correcting either. They’re put in place because of gun control outfits like Giffords, where Busse is still listed as a senior advisor, and when they’re challenged in court they’re defended by “expert” witnesses like Busse, who has been paid anywhere from $150 to $300 per hour to provide testimony in support of things like bans on magazines and so-called assault weapons. 

In fact, Busse’s actually been paid by the Illinois Attorney General to serve as an expert witness in support of the state’s ban on so-called assault weapons and “large capacity” magazines, to the tune of $200 an hour for his written expertise and $350 per hour for any “travel or testimony connected” to the defense of the gun control laws. So why did he choose not to inform his Illinois audience about that, instead pivoting to talk about a “broken culture”? 

Richard Pearson from the Illinois State Rifle Association rebuts the argument that firearm companies are responsible for the “broken culture” or gun violence.

“Firearms companies don’t really play any role in that,” the ISRA executive director attests. He likens the thought to claiming auto companies aren’t responsible for vehicle crashes. 

… Regarding the auto comparison, Busse states regulations in that industry protect underage drivers from taking the wheel in dangerous cars. The former executive maintains his goal isn’t taking guns away but a shift in marketing.

“The way you sell it – the way you market it should be balanced with responsibility,” appeals Busse.

What on earth is he talking about? There are no industry regulations that stop underage drivers from getting behind the wheel of any car, including ones they might happen to steal. And while Busse may indeed want the gun industry to change its marketing, he’s also interested and invested in putting (and keeping) gun control laws on the books that aren’t aimed at violent criminals but are instead directed at legal gun owners. 

It’s a shame that Rock Valley College chose to give Busse a platform where he could impart such vast amounts of misinformation and hide his own involvement in the state’s gun control laws without any opportunity to rebut or rebuke him. Busse shouldn’t be lecturing anyone about gun control in the first place, but any venue that gives him sole access to a microphone instead of allowing someone to debate him and debunk his BS is doing a disservice to their audience… and perhaps even willfully aiding and abetting his hostility towards the industry that for decades he called home.