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Conservative 2nd Amendment Arguments in Tatters after Administration Blames Gun for Their Minneapolis Murder

Lawfare: It was never about 2A; it was always about who has the guns. After decades of screaming 2A was necessary for 1A, conservatives justify murdering an American citizen because he owned a gun.

Sarah Jones's avatar
Sarah Jones
Jan 26, 2026
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It was never about the Second Amendment. It was always about who has the guns.

All of the hyperbolic gun rights claims have disappeared in an instant and the same crowd that demanded to be able to open carry to a town hall or parade now claim carrying a gun is a threat and marks one a domestic terrorist.

For decades, conservatives and the gun lobby of the NRA have responded with outright hysteria to any suggestion of responsibilities and limits when it comes to gun “rights.”

The NRA has framed the Second Amendment (“2A”) as the foundational right upon which all other American liberties depend, arguing that without the right to bear arms, citizens cannot defend themselves against tyranny or uphold their other constitutional rights.

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So you’d think right now, as Americans’ constitutional rights are under assault, the Second Amendment crowd would be outraged as the Trump administration justifies murdering American citizen because he had a gun.

After all, this rabidly irrational crowd put the right to own a gun above women’s safety and lives, and even above children’s right to go to school without trauma and terror. Respecting the life and freedom of others was labeled a “slippery slope.” There were no compromises to be brokered given their fanatical unreasonableness. They insisted on changing every American’s experience of public life to cater to their desire to carry a gun wherever they went.

But now, that’s all changed. Now that the guns are in other people’s hands, people on the other side politically from them, they suddenly see guns as a threat.

Watch Sarah talk more about ICE and Minneapolis on Chew’s Views:

All of their 2A hysteria has been one huge lie. Just another political weapon of terrorism that was fine when it was weaponized against the “other” side.

Trump Admin Smearing ICE Murder Victim Alex Pretti

After a federal agent murdered another innocent US citizen who was exercising his right to monitor their behavior, the Trump administration lied about the murdered victim, claiming 37-year-old Alex Pretti had a gun at the time he was shot, as if the mere holding of a gun justified murdering him.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said during a press conference, “When someone makes the choice to come into an active law enforcement scene interfere, obstruct, delay or assault law enforcement—

Reporter: “Did he assault law enforcement?”

Bovino: “—and bring a weapon to do that. That is a choice.”

A reporter reminded Bovino, “He had a permit.”

A legal gun owner is now being demonized to the point of justifying his murder. Where’s the 2A lawmakers?

There’s more.

FBI Director (such a big title for someone who had never worked for the FBI previously and whose real title seems to be How to Abuse Taxpayer Funds to Show Off for Your Girlfriend) Kash Patel said, “Nobody who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines. That is not a peaceful protest.”

Oh?

The Trump admin is blaming the gun. Reuters verified video that shows Pretti, “holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, “as he tries to help other protesters who had been pushed to the ground by agents.”

So the victim wasn’t brandishing a gun. He wasn’t even holding it when they murdered him. It’s become clear that just having a gun is justification to be murdered if you are not a conservative or aligned with conservative politics or documenting the abuses of this administration.

In fact, video of the 1/24 ICE shooting shows Pretti had both hands on the ground when shot.

The NRA is even pushing back on the Trump administration’s attacks on Pretti for owning a gun. The BBC reported, “The NRA labelled a suggestion by a federal prosecutor that people who carry guns risk being lawfully shot by officers as ‘dangerous and wrong’.”

Reuters summarized the two recent murders thusly:

An ICE officer shot 37-year-old Renee Good in her car on January 7. The Department of Homeland Security said the officer had fired “defensive shots” after Good attempted to run him over, though online videos of the shooting verified by Reuters cast doubt on the government’s narrative.

ICE agents shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in a separate incident on January 24. DHS said Pretti approached with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him, though bystander videos verified by Reuters show Pretti - whom Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said carried a handgun lawfully - holding a phone as he tries to help protesters whom agents pushed to the ground.

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