Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

“I Did That!” Biden’s Gas Crisis Creates Public Safety Crisis

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

“I Did That!” Biden’s Gas Crisis Creates Public Safety Crisis

The Biden Administration is serious about making it more difficult for responsible citizens to exercise their gun rights, which is hardly surprising from the most anti-Second Amendment president in history. What is less obvious is the effect President Biden’s other policy decisions have had, directly or indirectly, on making communities less safe.

Besides his gun control wishlist, Biden campaigned on a commitment to “unleash a clean energy revolution,” endorsed a ban on fracking, and promised to eliminate “fossil fuel,” with “no more drilling” by oil producers. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order to revoke permission to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported Canadian oil to the United States. Shortly after, Biden ordered a moratorium on new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters. One source notes that “[d]omestic oil production under Biden has yet to come close to the pre-pandemic levels reached under the prior administration.”

Two years ago, the national average price for regular gasoline was approximately $2.24/gallon; overall, between 2015 and 2020, the average price per gallon stayed under $3.00. By late 2021 – month’s before Putin’s war on Ukraine – the “AAA found that gas prices across the US hit their highest average levels since 2014,” and prices have continued to climb. As of June 28, 2022, the AAA Gas Prices website indicates the national average price per gallon (regular gas) was just under $5.00, with prices well over that mark in many of the western states. Californians, for instance, are now ponying up $6.30 for a gallon of gas that had cost $4.27 a year ago. [Average gas prices per state are based on the AAA website.]

Industry analysts expect the gas price hikes will continue into the foreseeable future. President Biden, when asked recently about the record-high prices, shrugged them off as part of an “incredible transition” away from fossil fuels. (As the Biden stickers on the gas pumps say, “I did that!”)

This “incredible transition” means that law enforcement personnel, emergency medical technicians, fire departments, and other first responders across the country have been forced to make hard choices about service delivery.

One county sheriff’s office in Michigan – average gas price $5.03/gal. – has already exhausted its fuel budget, with several more months to go before new funding becomes available. As a result, deputies were told to deal with “non-in-progress calls, non-life-threatening calls, [and] calls that do not require evidence collection or documentation” over the phone rather than in-person. Another Michigan county sheriff’s office has implemented a delayed response to low priority calls and has cut back on patrols.” We instructed our officers to not idle their vehicles and to do stationary traffic control rather than patrol and drive all over the place just trying to find violations,” with further restrictions on driving anticipated in the event gas prices continue to rise.

In Ohio – average gas price $4.84/gal. –  a county sheriff has also been forced to shift to “stationary patrols” to reduce fuel use, and a Parma, Ohio fire department spokesperson notes that the continued unforeseen surge in prices may mean “we then have to subtract that same amount from perhaps a training budget, or a vehicle budget, or an equipment budget.”   

Unprecedented gas costs have caused other first responders to reconsider funds allocated for new equipment or vehicles. A fire rescue department in Colorado – average gas price $4.90/gal. – is deferring planned upgrades to its fleet, and a West Virginia county sheriff predicts, “I’ll have to start cutting equipment” as fuel prices rise.  

An ambulance service for Forth Worth and 14 other Texas cities – average gas price $4.52/gal. – has seen its fuel costs more than double over the last year, and is now tapping into its reserve funds. An official with the company points out that its hands are tied: “We don’t have the option of not using fuel…We respond to 500 or 600 911 calls a day, and it’s not like we can just stop going to calls.” Likewise, Willliamson County, Texas, has “drained its annual fuel budget weeks ago, leaving first responders and taxpayers in a predicament unlike any other.” The county expects it will be forced to draw on its contingency funds to ensure that “we are there to take care of our community.” 

For law enforcement, cuts in service, and potentially in training, equipment, and personnel because fuel consumes an increasingly large portion of operating budgets, place added stress on agencies that are already struggling with the fallout of progressive demands to “defund the police,” staff reductions, and new highs in violent crimes.

Ultimately, those on the receiving end of Biden’s “incredible transition” – whether it is unprecedented gas costs, runaway inflation, or gun control – are everyday Americans. Not only is it “painfully clear … that Joe Biden will do anything he can to achieve his goal of diminishing the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” his actions mean that citizens now are even less able to rely on the police and other first responders for help when needed.     

Millions of America’s gun owners already understand that the police can’t always come, and you are your own best guarantee of safety and security. Far from being an obsolete or outdated right, the Second Amendment is of the first importance in ensuring that individuals have access to the means of protecting themselves and their families.

Justice Samuel Alito, in his concurrence in the historic New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen decision released by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 23, emphasized that is still as significant today as it was two centuries ago. After citing several instances where individuals used a firearm in defending against a frightening criminal attack, he concluded with these words:

…the Second Amendment codifies the right of ordinary law-abiding Americans to protect themselves from lethal violence by possessing and, if necessary, using a gun. In 1791, when the Second Amendment was adopted, there were no police departments, and many families lived alone on isolated farms or on the frontiers. If these people were attacked, they were on their own… Today, unfortunately, many Americans have good reason to fear that they will be victimized if they are unable to protect themselves. And today, no less than in 1791, the Second Amendment guarantees their right to do so.

IN THIS ARTICLE
Police
TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

News  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

Last week we reported on a major breakthrough on behalf of veterans who risked losing their Second Amendment rights because of a long-running scheme by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report certain beneficiaries ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on HB24-1292, the ban on semi-automatic firearms. Please contact your legislators today by using the button below and urge them to OPPOSE HB24-1292!

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

A number of firearm-related bills, including enhanced preemption, are moving in the Louisiana Legislature. It's critical that NRA members and Second Amendment supporters get involved to keep the momentum going!

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.