The Trace, that darling of the gun-control echo chamber funded by Michael Bloomberg’s bottomless wallet, has decided to shine a spotlight on Philadelphia’s Black Lion Party—an armed collective that’s openly declaring war on local cops and ICE agents. In their latest piece, they’re breathlessly covering this group’s social media boasts about hunting law enforcement, complete with photos of AR-15s, tactical gear, and rhetoric straight out of a militant manifesto. It’s not subtle: these folks are parading their Second Amendment rights not for self-defense or sport, but to intimidate and target feds and badges. The Trace frames it as some gritty urban resistance story, but let’s call it what it is—a blatant perversion of 2A that even they can’t fully spin without highlighting the hardware.
What’s clever here is how The Trace’s coverage inadvertently torpedoes their own narrative. They’ve spent years demonizing gun extremists on the right—think January 6 optics or militia memes—yet now they’re platforming a left-leaning armed faction with explicit anti-cop, anti-ICE vibes, rooted in racial grievance politics. This isn’t the first time; recall their kid-gloves treatment of antifa street squads toting rifles during 2020 riots. The hypocrisy is glaring: when white guys in camo hold the line at the border, it’s a threat to democracy. When black militants in Philly gear up to protect the community by targeting enforcers of immigration law, it’s… newsworthy nuance? For the 2A community, this is gold—undeniable proof that selective outrage defines the gun-grabbers’ playbook. It exposes how assault weapon bans wouldn’t touch these groups if they align with progressive causes, while law-abiding carriers get the ATF boot.
The implications for gun owners are profound: this story reinforces why 2A absolutism matters. If armed groups on the left can flaunt firepower against cops without the media horde calling for nationwide confiscation, it validates our core argument—rights aren’t conditional on ideology. But it also warns of blowback; as these incidents proliferate, expect renewed pushes for red flag laws or duty-to-retreat expansions that ensnare everyone. 2A advocates should amplify this relentlessly: curate clips, meme the double standard, and remind folks that disarming citizens leaves the state—and its ideological foes—monopolizing force. The Trace just handed us the mic; time to turn up the volume.
