The AR-15 and similar modern sporting rifles are the boogieman for anti-gun jihadists throughout the nation. They’re absolutely convinced that these are the most evil things imaginable, that the only reason why someone would want one is to commit some atrocity, despite the fact that tens of millions of these things, at a minimum, are in private hands and we have nowhere near that much violence.
But, that’s still the narrative some people want to run with.
Apparently, the mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, is one of those, as my friend Jeff Charles noted over at our sister site, Townhall.
Scott continued, arguing that more gun control is the solution for high crime rates. “The president could also do some very simple things for us, Jake. Not just for Baltimore, but for the whole country,” he said. “The president can say, no one will no longer be able to go into a store and buy a AR-15. The president could join mayors around the country and standing up to Glock to end these Glock switches that allow our residents and our police officers to be shot with a gun that is now automatic. And that can only happen with one company. He could end ghost guns in this country. He could do all of these things, but he won’t.”
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott claims Trump could reduce crime by banning AR-15s.
“The president can say, ‘no one will no longer be able to go into a store and buy a AR-15.'” pic.twitter.com/xrM5Kvt52Q
— Hotep Jeffiziah Charles🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) August 13, 2025
Well, that’s a bold claim. Trump can just up and say you can’t buy an AR-15 anymore? I’ll get to that in a second
First, I’m going to note that Glock doesn’t make the switches. They’re illegal to manufacture, Glock didn’t even design the damn things, and they’re not responsible for people getting an illegal device that was created beyond their control, so “standing up” to them won’t accomplish a blasted thing except blaming the wrong party.
Why not blame China, since a lot of these are imported from there? That would at least make a bit of sense.
Now, as for just waving a magic wand and making AR-15s illegal, if Trump could do that, why couldn’t Biden? I mean, Biden was anti-gun and wanted a ban, so if he could just declare them illegal unilaterally, like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did, why didn’t he? More accurately, why didn’t whoever was actually running the country during those four years do it?
Could it be that the president can do no such thing?
Of course he can’t. Presidents can do way too much, to be honest, but they can’t just declare something illegal just because they want it to be really, really badly. Look at the bump stock ban, after all. President Trump had the ATF reverse a previous ruling on bump stocks and declare them to be machine guns, only for the Supreme Court to say that the executive branch can’t just redefine things contrary to the laws Congress passed.
That means Trump has no grounds to just declare AR-15s illegal.
Which is fine, because such rifles aren’t a part of the problem, as Jeff noted.
Crime in Baltimore has declined considerably over recent years. But it is doubtful that gun control is contributing to the decrease. Moreover, the notion that banning AR-15s and other “assault” rifles will reduce homicides is laughable when one looks at the numbers.
Between 2007 and 2017, rifles of all types accounted for only 3.2 percent of total homicides. They were used in only three to six percent of homicides involving firearms each year. If the government banned rifles, these numbers would likely not change. Those who wish to commit gun crimes would simply use handguns or other firearms.
Bingo.
But, as Jeff also points out, Scott is doing what all of the other anti-gunners are doing, trying to deflect after Trump federalized law enforcement in the District of Columbia. They want to make this about guns, all while ignoring the absolute failure of DC’s strict gun control policies and the long and storied history of criminals ignoring laws in the first place.
Baltimore is doing some great things, but the gains they’ve made aren’t because of gun control. It’s been in spite of it.
Editor’s Note: Mayor Scott and his friends in the radical left will stop at nothing to enact their gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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