By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Unless New York Sen. Charles Schumer, currently the Senate Minority Leader, can work a political miracle, he could be headed for the door, and American gun owners, whom he has made miserable for decades on Capitol Hill, will not be sorry.
They also will not be responsible. According to an opinion piece in The Hill by Douglas E. Schoen, Schumer’s position as a leading Democrat is “under fire from both moderates and his left flank.”
While former President Joe Biden used to grandstand on his record of restrictive gun control, Schumer has been less bombastic but just as devoted to enacting increasingly restrictive gun control laws.
But it’s not guns which have gotten him in trouble this time. It’s having been unable to keep his troops in step by losing eight important votes to keep government shut down. Eight Democrats crossed the aisle last week and voted to reopen the government.
An unscientific poll of readers by The Hill Monday was showing a whopping 78 percent of respondents saying he “definitely should” resign as Minority Leader. He has been in the Senate for nearly 30 years, and before that, he served in the U.S. House for several terms. Indeed, he appears to have never had a job outside of public office, and when he would next face election, in 2028,. He’s going to be nearly 78 years old, according to Schoen, who predicts Schumer would be primaried if he runs for another term.
An article at Yahoo News describes Schumer as the “least popular” Democrat Senate leader ever, and “underwater” politically with his own party.
“At a time when voters of both parties, but particularly Democrats, are upset with the gerontocracy in Washington,” Schoen writes, “the ground under Schumer’s feet appears shakier than at any point in his long career.”
It’s looking like a matter of “when” rather than “if” Schumer leaves at the end of his current term. American gun owners, especially Second Amendment activists, will not be crying at his departure, even if it means Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is his likely successor. One look at Schumer’s campaign website explains why.
- “Chuck Schumer wrote the original Brady Law requiring background checks on gun sales, as well as the original Assault Weapons Ban, and now as Senate Majority Leader he is committed to legislation that will keep guns out of dangerous hands and keep our communities safe.”
- “As a member of the House of Representatives, Chuck Schumer wrote the original bill requiring background checks on gun sales from federally licensed dealers or manufacturers, also known as the Brady Bill.”
- “Chuck Schumer helped write and pass the 1994 assault weapons ban, which outlawed the manufacture and importation of semi-automatic weapons like the AK-47.”
The gun prohibition lobby has adored Schumer, supporting him at each election cycle. Back in 2022, when he last ran for re-election, Giffords threw their weight behind his campaign.
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has spent his entire career fighting for the safety of New Yorkers,” Giffords said. “Now, as the top Democrat in the United States Senate, he’s ushering in a new era of bold change to counteract America’s epidemic of gun violence.
“Throughout his career,” the organization continued, “Leader Schumer has never wavered in his support of commonsense gun safety policies. As a member of the House of Representatives, Leader Schumer wrote the original bill requiring background checks on gun sales from federally licensed dealers and manufacturers. While this legislation has blocked 3.5 million gun sales from prohibited purchasers, Leader Schumer knows that we still need to do more to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of those seeking to do harm—especially those who commit domestic violence. Under his leadership, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which will provide added protection to the nearly 4.5 million women across the United States that are threatened with a gun by an intimate partner annually.”
With three years remaining in his current term, Schumer perhaps epitomizes the Capitol Hill careerist. If he steps aside from his leadership position, as did Rep. Nancy Pelosi before announcing last month she would not seek another term in 2026, he could still be a loud voice for restrictive gun control measures. And if the Senate flips in next year’s mid-term election, he could exit in ’28 more gracefully than he’s being treated now by members of his own party.
