President Biden is threatening to use an executive order to impinge upon the Second Amendment right to bear arms in what one Israeli politician describes as, “The first act of a dictator when he rises to power.”

Biden: Keeping His Second Amendment Promise

President Biden marked the third anniversary of the Parkland High School Shooting on Sunday by calling on Congress to enact strict gun-control legislation.

“Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets,” Biden said in a statement.

At a follow-up press conference, White House Press Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked if the President would utilize an executive order to enact gun control. She answered in her characteristic ambiguously circuitous manner.

“The President has a range of actions at his disposal,” Psaki responded. “I think you were asking…about a legislative package, which I know.  But he hasn’t ruled out either of those options, of course, but I don’t have anything to announce for you in terms of what the next steps would look like.”

The right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment to the US constitution which states simply, “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.” Some of the reasons given for this amendment are:

• participating in law enforcement
• safeguarding against a tyrannical government
• repelling invasion
• facilitating a natural right of self-defense

Biden’s position on gun control was an explicit part of his platform. On his web page, he classified gun violence as  “a public health epidemic”, promising to end it with “executive action.” On his page, he vowed to enact legislation that would hold gun companies liable for how their products are used. Biden’s plan includes the ability to sue legal gun owners even if the gun is used to prevent a crime or in self-defense. Biden added that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act “protects these manufacturers from being held civilly liable for their products – a protection granted to no other industry.” It should be noted that contrary to Biden’s claim, no industry is held liable for the misuse of their product. 

Whose Plan is it Really?

This stance, including resorting to executive action, is more consistent with the stated position of Vice President Kamala Harris than with that of President Biden. During a CNN Presidential Town Hall in April 2019, Biden was asked if he would utilize executive order to enact gun-control. He responded, “Some things you can but some things you can’t.”

Then-presidential hopeful Harris chided her future boss, saying, “Hey Joe, instead of saying ‘No we can’t, let’s say yes we can.” 

Biden then reminded her, “It has to be constitutional. We have a constitution,” to which Harris responded again, “Yes, we can.”

She then stated her full intent:

“Upon being elected, I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws, and if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action”

GUN CONTROL: ANTI-BIBLE

Though Judaism does not permit hunting as it precludes ritual slaughter, bearing arms for personal protection has many strong Biblical precedents. Abraham was proficient at war, emerging victorious in a battle against four kings. The Jews left Egypt with weapons and used them effectively many times before arriving in Israel–where God required they conquer the land. David established his reputation by using a sling against Goliath. But the need for citizens, most especially Jews, to bear weapons against a capricious government was illustrated in Shushan when the Jews chose not to wait for divine intervention and rose up in arms against their enemies. 

Halacha (Torah law) most clearly requires a Jew to carry, or be prepared to carry, weapons, as stated in the Biblical precept:

 And you shall very much safeguard your souls Deuteronomy 4:15

The Talmud (Berachot 58a) requires every person to protect himself and, in another section (Sanhedrin 57a) the sages applied this principle also to situations where someone other than yourself is in danger. 

FEIGLIN: “The first act of a dictator is to collect the weapons from the citizens”

Moshe Feiglin,  an Israeli politician, Temple activist, and the leader of libertarian Zionist party Zehut, noted an additional Biblical precedent for the Second Amendment, or, more precisely, what happens when it does not exist. Feiglin cited the book of Samuel in which the Philistine conquerors had absolute control over the production of metal implements and, as a result, no Jews had weapons.

Thus on the day of the battle, no sword or spear was to be found in the possession of any of the troops with Shaul and Yonatan; only Shaul and Yonatan had them. I Samuel 13:22

“The first act of a dictator when he rises to power is to collect the weapons from the citizens,” Feiglin told Israel365 News. “This is a historical fact that we also learn from the Bible. Taking away weapons from the people has nothing to do with preventing murder and everything to do with controlling the people. This is the definition of a conquered nation; one in which the people do not have the right to carry weapons.” 

“It is clear that Haman was not able to take the weapons from the Jews, otherwise, the story of Purim would have ended very differently,” Feiglin said.

“If the US government really cared about the lives of their children, they would make it illegal to own a private pool since far more children die from drowning in private pools than die from guns. I doubt there is one American who would call for filling in all the pools.”

“The right to own a pool is certainly no greater than the right to carry a gun and, in fact, is only justified by a pleasure principle whereas the right to own a gun has many serious justifications,” Feiglin added.

He went on to explain the religious basis for having a gun.

“The Torah is based on the freedom of the individual,” Feiglin said. “Man must be free to serve God. It is for this reason that the Philistines took away the right to carry arms. Their real intent was to drive the Jews away from serving God. “

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killed 17 people, making it the deadliest high school shooting in US history. After the shooting, Governor Rick Scott implemented new restrictions to Florida’s gun laws and also allowed for the arming of teachers who were properly trained and the hiring of school resource officers.