Even among the anti-gun leftists who have actually read the US Constitution, those words “shall not be infringed” from the Second Amendment might as well be written with invisible ink.
One US Senate hopeful from Nebraska has made it clear how far he wants to go in restricting the rights of American citizens to own the firearms of their choice.
The Daily Caller recently highlighted the example of Dan Osborn, who is running as an independent but seeks to replace the incumbent Republican on a leftist platform that includes this gem:
“I said, ‘Do you own an assault-style rifle, an AR-15, an M16, an AK-47, or anything like that?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah. I got a lot of them,’” Osborn claimed, according to the Plains Sentinel. “I said, ‘Let me ask you, would you have an issue with having to re-register those guns after taking a mental health exam—let’s say, I don’t know, just throwing a random number out there—every five years?’ He sat for a second and he said, ‘No.’”
ADVERTISEMENTPro-Second Amendment organizations have opposed so-called “red flag” laws citing concerns with due process, with the National Rifle Association roasting Osborn’s proposal in a Tuesday post on X.
“Nebraska Senate candidate @osbornforne says he would support a gun registry, red flag laws, and a 5-year ‘mental evaluation’ for owners of America’s most popular gun platforms,” the pro-Second Amendment organization posted. “This radical view would grant government control over who can exercise their constitutional rights.”
“Given that there is nothing even remotely close to requirements like that in the historical tradition of gun control in this country at the time of the founding, that law would face aggressive legal challenges and should be struck down,” Second Amendment Foundation Senior Director of Legal Operations William Sack told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The entire premise of fundamental rights is that you don’t have the burden of proof to prove to the government when you get to continue to exercise them.”
“Dan Osborn is pushing the agenda of his liberal donors. He wants to force law-abiding citizens to submit to government mental health exams just to keep firearms they already legally own,” Ricketts said in a statement to the DCNF. “This is an extreme position even among gun control activists. As senator, I’ll always defend Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
There was plenty more backlash against Osborn’s proposal in the comments:
Would this wise man be in favor of mental health checks for women that want abortions?
— Ibeanta Darwin (@IbeantaDarwin) June 11, 2026
We need mental health evaluations for political candidates before they're allowed to run, as well as audits of their tax returns, health assessments, citizenship verification, AND drug testing – or you can't run for office.
— Ariel Miller (@arielmiller7) June 11, 2026
Osborn can stuff it. Why is it always the Navy Vets who want to take our #Constitutional Rights away.
What part of "Shall Not be Infringed" don't they understand?#Nebraska #2A
— MasticatingDeceit (@VeracityAlways) June 12, 2026
How did we raise these people?
1st we let them take God from schools. 2nd we let them take the flag out of school. 3rd we let them teach our children to be pagans.— al bro (@AlAlbro62) June 10, 2026
As for which side of the aisle Osborn aligns with ideologically, as if it weren’t obvious from his anti-gun agenda, here’s a Politico report from a few weeks ago:
Nebraska Democrat Cindy Burbank defeated anti-abortion pastor Bill Forbes in the state’s Senate primary, giving independent Dan Osborn a clearer path against Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) in November.
Burbank was bolstered by some late spending from the state’s Democratic Party, which is backing Osborn in the Republican-heavy state. She’s expected to drop out of the race following her primary victory Tuesday.
Here’s a campaign ad calling out that clear partisan connection:
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