2023, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Probably a good year for the Second Amendment, a less-good year for the country, and a tee-up to a possibly ugly 2024

So, it’s New Year’s Eve, time to reflect on the events of the past year and look forward to what lies ahead. For gun owners there were definitely some bright spots amid the darkness of 2022. I think for those of us who cherish the rights protected by the Second Amendment (2A) a fair amount of optimism is warranted for 2023. For Americans in general, the case for optimism is less strong. Nevertheless 2023 promises to be interesting with an exciting mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

• The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) finally stepped up and ruled on the Second Amendment in the form of NYSRPA vs Bruen making it clear the 2A protected the right of citizens to carry firearms for protection outside the home and effectively ending the “may issue” practice still used in some states.
• California, New York, New Jersey and the other two or three oppressive states ignored the ruling and continued to pass laws intended to further restrict citizen’s rights. Those laws are all undergoing legal challenges and will likely be struck down in 2023 because of the legal tools provided by the SCOTUS ruling.
• In California the assault rifle ban, the standard capacity magazine ban, and the safe handgun roster are all being challenged and will likely be struck down in 2023 again thanks in large part to the SCOTUS ruling.

The Bad

• Putting aside Second Amendment issues for the moment, few of my readers would argue with the opinion that the country is headed in the wrong direction. In fact, many would agree that we are well on our way down that wrong path and are proceeding at an increasingly alarming rate. The following excerpt concisely describes the dark path we are on and is from an article by Scott S. Powell titled A Mandate for the GOP House recently published on the American Thinker site:

People who are honest and well-informed know that America cannot continue and survive on its present trajectory. Economically, our nation is already bankrupt; not only do current liabilities exceed assets, but debt is now growing on a long-term annual basis at 8% or more, while assets are projected to grow on average at not more than 3% annually. Politically, our federal government is operating at ever new levels of dysfunction and corruption with less and less accountability to the Constitution in either the spirit or the letter of the law.

A few Important examples of federal government dysfunction and corruption include:  the widespread failure of elected officials to uphold their oath of office; the political weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI; the unequal two-tiered practice of justice and law enforcement; the flood of illegal immigrants and criminal enterprises into the United States as a direct result of willful federal government policy; and the violation of the First Amendment by federal agencies such as the FBI, DoJ, DHS, the CDC, and DoD, who have been directing traditional and social media to suppress views that dissent from preferred Deep State narratives, which include suppressing information and truths that affect elections. 

The road to recovering from the above-mentioned ills unfortunately runs through the Republican party which is currently not up to the task. This was painfully illustrated by Mitch McConnell and his 18 RINO buddies in recently passing the extremely destructive Omnibus bill. The Republican party won’t be in a position to help the country until those politicians are voted out of office.

The Ugly

• 2023 will be the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. The Democrats will field the usual rogues’ gallery of candidates all of whom are extremely weak. This will set the stage for Gavin Newsom to emerge as the likely candidate enabling Californians to share our pain with the rest of the country. For something a little uglier, there is still the possibility, although unlikely, of the resurrection of a Hillary Clinton candidacy. For real horror buffs, imagine the specter of candidate Michelle Obama.
• As ugly as the Democrat side is, there is the real possibility for the Republicans of an ugly primary fight between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis and all the destruction that will produce.

Given all that, I’m still very optimistic about 2023 and the future of America. I’m optimistic because we are in a fight of good versus evil and I am 100% sure good will prevail. I know this because the American people are good, and it will be the American people rather than a political party that will ultimately save the country. As an example, I’d like to mention three Americans that I am fortunate to know and have worked with:

• Charlie Cook, host of the world-famous YouTube channel Riding Shotgun with Charlie. Charlie is a gun owner and very enthusiastic Second Amendment activist who fights the good fight from a very oppressive east coast state while holding down a day job and supporting a wonderful family.
• John Petrolino a.k.a The Pen Patriot. John is an extraordinary 2A activist fighting from behind enemy lines in the Garden State. John is a rare investigative journalist who regularly publishes articles of interest to the gun owning community. In his spare time, like Charlie, John works a day job and supports his beautiful family.
• Michael Schwartz founder and Executive Director of San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO). SDCGO is the premier 2A advocacy group of southern California. Michael and SDCGO are responsible for restoring concealed carry rights to the 3.4 million residents of San Diego County. Citizens were denied those rights for decades in San Diego. I consider it an honor and a privilege to know Michael and be part of SDCGO.

All of you know people like Charlie, John, and Michael. They exist all across the country and fight for us all every single day. Seek out these people, support these people, join these people. Join the fight and 2023 and America’s future will be very bright indeed. Happy New Year!

©2022 Joseph T Drammissi

This article and more of Joe’s work covering the Second Amendment and other topics can be found on Substack at https://getagrip.substack.com