Tim Walz' debate contradictions should be alarming to all gun owners

The CBS debate between Republican Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on Oct. 1 didn't focus much on firearms and the Second Amendment.

In fact, that topic has been largely overlooked in all of these presidential debates. Perhaps that's because the agenda-driven moderators know full well that both Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris are inconsistent at best on the issue but obviously heavily in favor of attacking 2A and gun owners.

Let's start with "moderator" Norah O'Donnell's often-repeated misleading question about firearms being the leading cause of death among children.

Fact check: As we have reported and as John Lott at Crime Prevention Research Center has shown, vehicle deaths are consistently greater than firearm deaths for those under age 18. For those under age 20, firearm deaths exceed vehicle deaths in 2020, 2021, and 2022, according to firearm homicide data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, according to FBI murder data, vehicle deaths exceed firearm deaths for 2019, 2020, and 2022 and probably even 2021, but the FBI data isn't available for that year, according to Lott's CPRC.

Misspeak and doublespeak

It's what Walz said in that short segment was more disturbing than the biased moderators, and it should concern every gun owner and Second Amendment supporter. I'm not referring to his gaffe about becoming friends with school shooters. Every "knucklehead" can misspeak. It's what he and Harris say with intention that is troubling.

As he and Harris repeatedly have promised during this campaign, "We're not taking anybody's guns away."

Except, that is indeed their plan. Harris admitted it during her meeting with the National Association of Black Journalists.

As Walz said during the debate, "And the idea to have some of these weapons out there, it just doesn't make sense."

After a short back-and-forth about mental health, Walz returned to his deception strategy: "No one's trying to scare-monger and say we're taking your guns. … You can still keep your firearms, and we can make a difference. … I'm of an age where my shotgun was in my car so I could pheasant hunt after football practice."

After falsely claiming "we've got folks that won't allow research to be even done on gun violence," he showed where he really stands.

"Sometimes it just is the guns," he said. "It's just the guns. And there are things you can do about it."

The Harris-Walz ticket is wanting gun owners to believe their firearms are safe, but they've made clear they have three primary objectives to the contrary: universal background checks, red flag laws, and a full ban on America's most popular sporting rifle that they keep calling an "assault weapon."

Watch him here.

Finland's faux firearms friendliness

While claiming to be committed to the Second Amendment, Walz pointed to a country like Finland as a model — a model that would be devastating to our 2A rights in the United States.

For example, according to Reuters, Finland tightened its gun laws in 2010, introduced an aptitude test for all firearms license applicants, and raised the minimum age for all applicants from 18 to 20.

A license there is always required for firearm possession, and all firearms must be registered. Further, firearms may be carried only while they are being used for a specific purpose (hunting and target shooting mostly), and they must be unloaded and stored in a case or pouch while being transported.

Permits for "ordinary" firearms are granted by local police, and permits for "especially dangerous" firearms are granted by the National Police Board.

Self-defense is not considered a valid reason to carry in Finland.

Far from Second Amendment rights

Compare that to the Second Amendment, which clearly states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Read that self-defense part again — "being necessary to the security of a free State."

When you consider the Harris-Walz plan to ban AR-15s, institute universal background checks, enact red flag laws, and follow the model of a country whose gun laws are incredibly strict, it is necessary to take Walz at his word. "Sometimes it just is the guns. … And there are things you can do about it."

No, Gov. Walz. It's never "just" the guns. Guns cannot leave a house on their own. They cannot walk into a school and shoot people. And they cannot pull their own trigger, even if an actor claims they can in his defense to avoid a homicide conviction.

It's always about people.

It's the bad people who do those things, and taking guns away from good people will not do one thing to prevent bad people from doing them.

Joe D. "Buck" Ruth, a longtime small-game hunter and gun owner who spent nearly three decades in the news industry, is the website and social-media manager for Buckeye Firearms Association.