Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

President’s Column: If Gun Restrictions Were Applied To Technology, They Would Not Compute

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

President’s Column:  If Gun Restrictions Were Applied To Technology, They Would Not Compute

What if computer owners were the object of Bloomberg’s lies? What would be the public reaction if the government, claiming to prevent cybercrime or digital terrorism, required all citizens to undergo an FBI background check before acquiring or disposing of computers? What if the transfer of any computer without government approval were a felony? And what if not passing the background check, for reasons the   government was under no obligation to divulge, made computer possession a criminal act?

The outrage would be overwhelming. After all, virtually all owners of digital devices and computers are neither terrorists nor criminals—they are just Americans exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech. 

Most Americans own and use computers or cell phones at home, at work or on the go. We buy them, trade them, sell them and give them as gifts. Smartphones, tablets and similar portable devices are now ubiquitous. And we periodically upgrade these devices to keep pace with improvements in technology.What if the media and politicians were demanding that all computer owners pay the price for the acts of hackers?

Computers have become essential parts of our daily lives. They have brought us the greatest revolution in the history of free speech and as such are protected by the First Amendment.

As with firearms, in peaceable hands, they are a force for good.

But, as with firearms, computers can be used for criminal and evil ends. Fraud. Dissemination of child pornography. Cyberbullying. Identity theft. And for life-and-death evil in our computer age, look no further than the sophisticated use of technology by ISIS to spread its horrific barbarism and recruit jihadists to fulfill their apocalyptic vision of destroying Western civilization through mass murder. These ISIS seventh-century monsters are very adept at using 21st-century technology to achieve their evil ends.

For all of us who use our computers for commonplace purposes, there is the specter of hackers—cowardly operators who find joy and excitement in their malice of inflicting pain and damage on millions of innocent computer users worldwide.

If you’ve had your hard drive destroyed, lost emails or family photos, or had priceless work wiped out, corrupted or stolen, you know how damaging these attacks are. 

Hackers, using computers as weapons, have stolen or compromised millions of private files: health records, Social Security numbers, bank records and credit records.

Protecting against these malicious intrusions is a multibillion-dollar business, involving tens of thousands of super-smart people working around the clock.No law can “prevent” cybercrime. And no law will “keep computers out of the hands of cybercriminals.”

Add to this, massive worldwide law-enforcement efforts to catch and punish cybercriminals. Virtually every aspect of hacking and terrorism has its consequences in criminal law. That’s why it’s called cybercrime.

No law can “prevent” cybercrime. And no law will “keep computers out of the hands of cybercriminals.”

Again, what if the media and politicians were demanding that all computer owners pay the price for the acts of hackers?

Given that threat, anybody who owns a digital device would know that their liberty, their right to pursue happiness, is at stake. They wouldn’t stand for it.

But that is exactly the senseless threat gun owners face in states that billionaire Michael Bloomberg has targeted for ballot initiatives to criminalize all now-legal firearm transactions between law-abiding citizens with his deceit about “universal” background checks.

We know, and Bloomberg knows, that any aspect of commerce involving criminals is already covered by very tough federal laws. It’s a truth he hides from the public. 

Making the innocent pay the price for the guilty when the guilty pay no price—that philosophy is at the very core of all gun-control schemes.

For a peaceable person who owns a firearm, that concept is abundantly obvious. It is not obvious to non-gun owners, and that is the essence of Bloomberg’s game plan.

With his multimillion-dollar, state-by-state ballot initiatives to force gun owners to submit to “universal” background checks for every now-legal firearm transaction, Bloomberg is counting on deceiving non-gun-owning voters into believing his snake-oil pitch.

He thinks those voters are stupid. They are not.As NRA members, the most well-informed voters in the nation, we can counter Bloomberg’s deceit person to person.

It is our obligation to reach those voters to explain the threat to our freedom in terms of what would be identical threats to their liberty. 

Put in terms of computers, knives, cars, boats, stamps, anything used by ordinary people and abused by criminals, voters will understand the danger of Bloomberg’s game. What criminals do with those objects has nothing to do with what good people do with them.

As NRA members, the most well-informed voters in the nation, we can counter Bloomberg’s deceit person to person. He’s counting on low-information or no-information voters. It’s up to us to turn those friends, neighbors and acquaintances into high-information voters who understand the truth.  

BY Allan Cors

President

Allan Cors is the President of the National Rifle Association of America.

TRENDING NOW
U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

ATF Invites FFLs Zeroed Out Under Biden-Harris to Reapply

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

ATF Invites FFLs Zeroed Out Under Biden-Harris to Reapply

Among all the infringements of the Second Amendment perpetrated by the Biden-Harris regime, one of the most punitive and consequential was ATF’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). 

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

Excellent news for gun owners came last week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes the complete removal of suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA). 

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

On May 21, two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging that body to pass H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

When the Biden-Harris administration made clear they intended to use a “whole-of-government” approach to suppress Second Amendment rights, few could have predicted their efforts would extend all the way to the dentist’s office.

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

Everything is relative, so the saying goes, which means that once in a while, it’s instructive to read about the gun laws and the state of gun rights in other countries. 

NRA-ILA Petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to NFA Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, June 6, 2025

NRA-ILA Petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to NFA Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Petition for Certiorari requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court hear a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Challenge to Machinegun Possession Ban

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Challenge to Machinegun Possession Ban

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation filed an amicus brief arguing that the federal prohibition on machinegun possession is unconstitutional as applied to the defendant in the Fifth Circuit case, United States ...

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

We have been reporting on recent reforms by ATF to make its operations more transparent, professional, and public safety focused and less openly hostile to law abiding gun owners and the industries that serve them. 

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

The pro-Second Amendment community understands that guns are not toys.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.