According to Newsweek, a prominent figure in the gun rights community recently expressed his disappointment over the lack of response from firearm owners in relation to the ongoing federal gun trial of Hunter Biden.
Eric Blandford, the Georgia State Director for the Gun Owners of America, voiced his frustration on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
"I am disappointed in the shortsightedness of the 2A community in the Hunter Biden case. Remove political partisanship from the equation, you don't have to like Hunter Biden. Hell I don't obviously. But this is a chance to further prove the unconstitutionality of the 4473," Blandford wrote.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, is currently facing federal charges in Wilmington, Delaware, for alleged illegal possession of a firearm. The charges stem from an incident in 2018 when Biden allegedly lied about his drug use status while purchasing a pistol. Despite his well-documented history of drug use, Biden has pleaded not guilty to the charges, asserting that he had completed a rehabilitation program shortly before the weapon purchase.
The 4473 form, referred to as the Firearms Transaction Record by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is a mandatory requirement for all gun owners purchasing a firearm from a licensed seller. This form includes a question about the buyer's status as an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance," to which Biden had responded with a "no."
Jacob Charles, an associate professor at the Caruso School of Law at Pepperdine University, highlighted the limitations of the 4473 form in an interview with the Associated Press. He pointed out the difficulty in verifying the truthfulness of a buyer's claim about their drug use status.
"It's fairly rare for this line on the background check form to be prosecuted alone...It can be difficult to prove these kinds of cases because unless someone confesses or is under the influence at the time, there's not always a lot of evidence," Charles explained.
Blandford is not alone in his stance on the Hunter Biden case. CJ Grisham, the founder of Open Carry Texas, has also expressed support for Biden, despite his personal distaste for him.
"I think Hunter Biden is a despicable person, and I definitely don't believe in his politics, but the fact of the matter is he is charged with a bogus crime," Grisham stated.
However, not all gun rights advocates share this viewpoint. Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, believes that Biden should be subjected to the same scrutiny as all other gun owners, particularly given President Biden's critical stance on firearms.
"Gun Owners of America opposes all gun control, but so long as this President continues to use every tool at his disposal to harass and criminalize guns, gun owners and gun dealers, his son should be receiving the same treatment and scrutiny as all of us," Pratt said in a statement following Biden's indictment in September 2023.
Billy McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association (NRA), echoed this sentiment in a conversation with Politico last year, stating that "laws should be applied equally against all criminals."
As the trial continues, it remains to be seen how the case will impact the ongoing debate around gun control and the enforcement of existing firearm laws.
Login