Do Something, goes the suddenly popular chant. In response to the wave of mass killings this year, it’s being shouted at any available political figure. Be careful what you ask for.
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More than 200 mayors from across the country sent a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), urging them to immediately call the Senate back to Washington, D.C. to take action on gun control legislation.
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When Netflix’s bland new psychological thriller “Secret Obsession” was released last week, I never expected keen political insights, let alone a unique cinematic twist. (Warning: Some spoilers ahead.) Under closer scrutiny, however, the film solidifies the need for individual rights, and presents a damning picture of California’s unconstitutional gun laws.
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Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was welcomed by a large, raucous crowd during his Nashville campaign stop Sunday afternoon. Former U.S. Rep. O’Rourke (R-TN-16) tweeted a video from the rally. Nashville! pic.twitter.com/Gx6aGYvvPY — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) July 7, 2019 In promoting the event, the Tennessee Democratic Party tweeted, “2020 Democratic presidential candidate @BetoORourke will hold a campaign rally at @MMusicWorks in Nashville tomorrow, July 7th at 3 p.m. CT! The event will feature live music from @Elizabeth_Cook and @RaelynNelson Band.” 2020 Democratic presidential candidate @BetoORourke will hold a campaign rally at @MMusicWorks in Nashville tomorrow, July 7th at 3 p.m. CT! The event will feature live music from @Elizabeth_Cook and @RaelynNelson Band. RSVP: https://t.co/WfP0aAVus7 — Tennessee Democratic Party (@tndp) July 6, 2019 The venue was Marathon Music Works on Clinton Street. Music was provided by Elizabeth Cook and the Raelyn Nelson Band. O’Rourke’s campaign billed the visit as his first stop in the Volunteer State. O’Rourke retweeted this tweet: “HAPPENING NOW! @BetoORourke in Nashville, Tennessee! He believes background checks on every gun sale can save lives and recognized @MomsDemand as making a difference across America! #gunsense #tnleg”. https://twitter.com/krayoncolorz/status/1147986578695950336 The Tennessee Holler, a liberal activist site, tweeted a photo with O’Rourke…
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by Amy Swearer All too often, advocates of strict gun control promise that more complex and convoluted laws will save lives without imposing a serious burden on the right of law-abiding citizens to exercise their constitutional rights. Their argument simply doesn’t hold up. Their gun control laws fail not only to address how actual criminals get their firearms, but they also impose a real burden on ordinary citizens’ Second Amendment rights. They even risk making felons out of otherwise law-abiding citizens. If that sounds like an exaggeration, just look to the case of Ronald Stolarczyk of Oneida County, New York. He’s now facing felony charges for lawfully protecting himself against criminals without first getting the county’s permission to possess a handgun in his home—something that would cost him hundreds of dollars and months of paperwork. The 64-year-old Stolarczyk was “minding his own business in his kitchen” one day when he heard voices coming from his garage. Stolarczyk tried simply waiting for the intruders to leave, but the two assailants soon ascended the stairs and attempted to enter his central living space. Stolarczyk then yelled at the burglars to leave, hoping that knowledge of his presence would scare them away.…
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by Whitney Tipton Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday to hold gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed with their products. The measure, introduced in both the House and Senate, seeks to repeal legislation passed in 2005 that enacted litigation protections for the gun industry, National Public Radio (NPR) reported. “Responsible actors in the gun industry don’t need this limitation on liability. And the irresponsible ones don’t deserve it,” California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said at a press conference Tuesday. Victims of gun violence deserve their day in court. Watch as @SenBlumenthal and I, alongside activists with @MomsDemand, @NewtownAction, @bradybuzz & @GiffordsCourage, introduce legislation to hold the gun industry accountable: https://t.co/qmPp8mH9XF — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 11, 2019 “All we’re doing through this proposal is giving victims of gun violence their day in court,” said Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, co-sponsor of the bill’s Senate version. The NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) oppose the bill. “It’s like blaming Ford or General Motors for the negligent use of their cars,” Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of government affairs for the NSSF, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “It is wrong to hold the gun…
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Ohio House Democrats announced their plans Wednesday to introduce a package of gun-control laws in response to the so-called constitutional carry bill making its way through the committee process. As The Ohio Star previously reported, Republicans introduced a bill in March to bring constitutional carry to the Buckeye state, which would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons without obtaining a permit. “Gun owners are law abiding citizens who follow the rules, and we need to let them be able to protect themselves,” Rep. Tom Brinkman (R-Mt. Lookout), a cosponsor of the bill, said at the time. Democrats called the bill a “solution in search of a problem,” and revealed their plans to introduce a number of equally controversial gun-control laws. “The answer to gun violence is not simply more guns. The answer is responsible gun ownership with laws that protect the gun owner and non-gun owner alike,” Rep. Adam Miller (D-Columbus) said in a press release. “If HB 178 passes it will be easier to own a concealed weapon than it is to register to vote. Our children and our law enforcement community deserve better.” The package of bills includes the Child Safety Protection Act, which would require…
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by Peter Hasson Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday used the shooting at a California synagogue that left one person dead to demand the Senate act on a gun control bill. One person is dead and three others are injured following the shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue, authorities said. Police have one suspect in custody, who is described as a 19-year-old male. #UPDATE: What we know about the Chabad Poway synagogue shooting today:-Suspect: 19 year-old, white male is in custody, he used AR-style rifle, surrendered w/o incident-Fatality: 1 older female -Injuries: 3 patients – a female juvenile & 2 adult males, all in stable condition — Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) April 27, 2019 “Heartbroken to hear of the San Diego synagogue shooting, particularly so on this final day of Passover,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a tweet, before pivoting to gun control. “We have a responsibility to love + protect our neighbors,” she wrote. “The longer the Senate delays holding a vote on #HR8, the more we put Americans at risk.” Heartbroken to hear of the San Diego synagogue shooting, particularly so on this final day of Passover. We have a responsibility to love + protect our neighbors. The…
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Polk County has declared itself to be a sanctuary – not for illegal immigrants, but for law-abiding gun owners. At Thursday evening’s Polk County Commission meeting, the County Commission voted 8-1 to adopt a resolution declaring Polk a gun sanctuary to protect citizens’ Second Amendment rights, according to a story by the Cleveland Daily Banner. The county is the first in the state to do so. The resolution is based on one passed by in neighboring Cherokee County, North Carolina in March. More than 200 counties in nine states have vowed not to enforce new state measures that restrict gun access, and 132 have voted to become gun sanctuaries despite questions of the measure’s constitutionality. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/REYNOLDS_Polk-County-Gun.pdf” title=”REYNOLDS_Polk County Gun”] Polk County Sheriff Steve Ross, who supported the resolution, spoke to Chattanooga’s NewsChannel 9. “The vast majority of America feels that we have a second amendment right to bear arms, and we have a right to protect our family and our homes,” Ross said. “We don’t feel the government has a right to come in and take guns from law abiding people that have done nothing wrong.” The resolution does not protect law-breaking citizens with guns, but instead protects…
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by Peter Hasson Former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who on Monday announced plans to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, has a track record of siding against his party on key social issues. Weld supports allowing abortions up until birth, including partial-birth abortions, and in the past called for a ban on “assault weapons.” Weld in 2016 ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Libertarian Gov. Gary Johnson. The pair won zero electoral votes and received just over three percent of the vote nationwide. In a June 2016 interview with Bloomberg Politics, Weld was asked if it would be accurate to compare his positions on social issues to those of former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards. “Yeah, that’s right,” he answered, adding that he favored allowing abortion-on-demand, including partial-birth abortions, which have been illegal since 1995. Weld in 1992 described allowing abortions up until birth as “a price I would pay in order to have government stay out of the thicket.” His positions on abortion aren’t just outside the mainstream in the Republican Party, they’re outside the national mainstream as well. Just 13 percent of Americans think abortion should…
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by Nick Givas Eagle County Sheriff James Van Beek said he will refuse to enforce Colorado’s new “red flag” gun control law, during a Monday interview on “Fox & Friends.” The statue says firearms may be taken away from citizens who are deemed dangerous, but who may not have broken any laws. “I just became very, very concerned because of the whole way they went about it. It was supposed to be for mental health. It was supposed to be for taking care of people … and at least in my opinion, they went about the process totally backwards,” Van Beek said. “They went after the people’s rights. They went after [it] in a manner that I didn’t think gave them due process because they said, ‘well we need to do these things. We need to take these things away from them. We need to take these tools away from them.’ But they never provided any kind of assistance. So there was no outlet. So to me there wasn’t any kind of due process.” Van Beek said family members or friends who are concerned about someone’s mental health can now go to court and have their guns taken away. “Either a household member or a…
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by Henry Rodgers California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said she owns a gun for “personal safety” Thursday, adding she wants to protect the second amendment after leading efforts to ban assault weapons. “I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do — for personal safety,” Harris told reporters after attending a party with supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, according to Business Insider. “I was a career prosecutor.” The 2020 hopeful also said she believes she can solve gun control issues, mentioning a lack of leadership. “We are being offered a false choice,” Harris continued. “You’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. It’s a false choice that is born out of a lack of courage from leaders who must recognize and agree that there are some practical solutions to what is a clear problem in our country.” Harris was the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 before being elected to the Senate. Now, she hopes to take on Trump in the 2020 election, but will have to get through a crowded Democratic primary first. The California Democrat has previously…
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by Aaron Tao Many people are often surprised to learn that I am a gun owner and firm defender of the Second Amendment. After all, I, a first-generation Chinese-American immigrant, do not fit the stereotype of the typical American gun owner. Of all of America’s cherished freedoms, the natural and unalienable right of self-defense, recognized and protected (not granted) by the Second Amendment, took me the longest to fully embrace. But as an open-minded rationalist, the lessons of history and statistical research proved overwhelming (not to mention the sheer fun of learning the basic operations and mechanics of firearms) and eventually helped me understand why tens of millions of my fellow Americans treasure their right to keep and bear arms. Cultivating Civic Virtue From the colonists winning independence from Great Britain to African-Americans vindicating their civil rights, the role of the gun is inseparable from American identity. The gun is the ultimate multipurpose tool that empowers its user with the means to put food on the table, as well as preserve one’s life, whether against common street criminals or government tyranny. The philosophical underpinnings and lived experiences that shaped American gun culture all matter (and reinforce each other), but I want to focus on one aspect in particular: the cultivation of civic virtue. Owning and shooting a gun…
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by Amy Swearer Last month, we documented some extraordinary examples from January of armed citizens relying on their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves and others. We pointed out that these were average, everyday Americans who were just going about their lives. They did not go looking for evil but were nonetheless prepared to deal with the evil that found them. February has produced even more evidence that the fundamental right to keep and bear arms is not an anachronism that no longer deserves constitutional protection, but a vital tool safeguarding individual liberty. Studies routinely indicate that every year, Americans use their firearms in defense of themselves or others between 500,000 and 2 million times. Very few of these defensive gun uses receive national publicity – if they receive publicity at all. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Below, we’ve highlighted just a handful of the many times during the month of February that law-abiding Americans demonstrated the importance of the Second Amendment. Feb. 2: A restaurant owner in Akron, Ohio, scared off a masked man who attempted to rob him with a knife. The man fled, and…
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A representative from Moms Demand Action sat down with Esme Murphy on WCCO Sunday morning where she repeatedly claimed that the gun-control group is “nonpartisan.” Moms Demand Action is a national organization with chapters in states all across the country that are pushing for gun-control measures, such as the red-flag bill and universal background checks bill that recently cleared the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee. In Minnesota, the organization is often credited for helping flip the Minnesota House from Republicans to Democrats during the 2018 midterm election. “I think I told you last year that if our leaders didn’t pass gun safety legislation then we would elect leaders who will, and that’s exactly what we did. We are just thrilled that the Minnesota House now has a majority that’s committed to taking action to save lives, and they’ve already done that by passing both criminal background checks and red flags out of the public safety committee,” Erin Zamoff of Moms Demand Action told Murphy. She went on to note that “the Minnesota House and the governor are making this a priority in 2019,” and warned the Minnesota Senate that “it’s in their interest to get on board.” “We’re a nonpartisan…
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Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) budget proposal calls for a one-time payment of $350,000 and $200,000 each year thereafter to implement gun control measures that are currently being considered by the Minnesota Legislature. As The Minnesota Sun reported Friday, both a “red flag” bill and a universal background checks bill cleared the House Public Safety Committee this week. By including these proposals in his budget, however, Walz can sidestep the legislative process and secure gun control in the state through the passage of his budget. Buried in his proposal for the Department of Public Safety is a request for funds “totaling $350,000 in the FY20 and $200,000 each year ongoing for measures to prevent gun violence.” “The funding included in the budget provides resources to implement two proposals currently introduced in the legislature. First, the governor recommends a proposal to create a new requirement for background checks when private parties transfer any firearm. With the exception of immediate family members, private parties must obtain a transferee permit and all transfers will be subject to a background check,” Walz’s proposal states. It notes that an initial amount of $188,000 and an annual amount of $38,000 would be used “to modify and maintain…
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DFL lawmakers are closer than ever before to passing multiple gun-control bills in Minnesota as a Republican-controlled Senate stands in the way. A universal background checks bill and a “red flag” law both advanced out of committee this week. The former was approved by the House Public Safety Committee late Wednesday night in a 9-7 vote, while the latter was approved the following morning in a 10-7 vote. House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who made gun control a top priority heading into the 2019 session, said that “it’s just a different moment in our history,” and she’s “hoping that the Minnesota Senate is ready to acknowledge that and take action.” The bills in question are House File 8 and House File 9, among the first bills introduced this session by DFL legislators. HF 8 would mandate “criminal background checks” for all firearms transfers, requiring a “permit to purchase” for all purchases and transfers from anyone. It would also raise the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21. HF 9 allows law enforcement and family members to petition a court to “prohibit people from possessing firearms if they pose a significant danger to themselves or others.” That bill lays out a number…
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President Donald Trump is threatening to veto two Democratic bills expanding federal background checks on gun purchases, saying they do not sufficiently protect gun owners’ Second Amendment rights. The House is expected to vote this week on separate bills requiring background checks for all sales and transfers of firearms and extending the background-check review from three to 10 days. The bills are the first in a series of steps planned by majority House Democrats to tighten gun laws after eight years of Republican control. The White House says in a veto message that the bill expanding background checks would impose unreasonable requirements on gun owners. It says the bill could block someone from borrowing a firearm for self-defense or allowing a neighbor to take care of a gun while traveling. The other bill, extending the review period for a background check, “would unduly impose burdensome delays on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm,” the White House said. The bill would close the so-called Charleston loophole used by the shooter in a 2015 massacre at a historic black church to buy a gun. But the White House said allowing the federal government to “restrict firearms purchases through bureaucratic delay would undermine…
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by Joshua Nelson The Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote this week on two gun control bills, one of which would subject gun sales by licensed dealers to federal review while the other would impose a universal background check on gun owners. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee passed both measures on a 23-15 vote along party lines. In a public statement, the National Rifle Association said the measures would not cut off criminals’ access to firearms and instead would inconvenience law-abiding citizens. Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Pete King, R-N.Y., are spearheading what some call the most high-profile action on gun control in two decades. Neither is a member of the Judiciary Committee. Titled the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, one of the bills targets firearms purchased online or at gun shows, requiring these purchases to be subject to the federal background check system. The legislation would amend current law that mandates only licensed firearms dealers must perform background checks before approving a gun sale. The amendment would require all gun transfers go through licensed firearm dealers to run background checks. Gifts between family members and temporary transfers for use at a shooting range and hunting would be exempt…
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by Jose Nino Is more gun control legislation coming to Congress? The 2018 midterm elections produced a split Congress with Democrats gaining control of the House and Republicans gaining seats in the Senate. The change in House leadership will signal changes in gun control legislation in the near future. The Guardian has detailed House Democrats’ desire to pass gun control legislation in the upcoming Congress: “Ted Deutch, a Democratic congressman from Florida who represents Parkland, where a February school shooting left 17 dead, said this week that he expected House Democrats to focus on bills with more bipartisan support. Those measures included bump stock bans and “extreme risk protection orders”, also known as red flag laws, which give law enforcement and family members a way to petition a court to temporarily bar an unstable person from buying or owning guns.” Red flag laws might just be the “come together” moment establishment politicians have been looking for. What Are Red Flag Laws? Red flag laws or Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are the euphemistic label for new gun-control measures. Under red flag laws, law enforcement has the ability to confiscate an individual’s firearms who is deemed a threat to themselves…
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In terms of legislation, 2018 may be considered one of Ohio’s most impactful years in recent history. From the approval of the first medicinal marijuana dispensary to new abortion limitations, 2019 will see a dramatic change for many Ohioans. Compiled below are ten of the most significant changes coming to the Buckeye State. Expanded Gun Ownership Rights – House Bill 228 Through an override of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s veto, the Ohio congress passed HB 228, expanding a citizen’s right to self-defense. The bill was originally intended to be a ‘stand your ground’ law but shifted following the significant public controversy. As passed, the law shifts the burden of proof in self-defense cases to the prosecution. Before passage, Ohio was the only state in America in which a defender had to prove that they were acting in self-defense. Dismemberment Abortion Ban – Senate Bill 145 While Governor Kasich’s received widespread conservative criticism for his veto of the “Heartbeat Abortion Bill,” the Governor did sign one of the most extensive abortion limits in the country. SB 145, signed into law in late December, has banned one of the most commonly used second-trimester abortion procedures currently practiced nationwide. Governor Kasich has signed more than 20 abortion limitations during…
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The only thing barring Democrats from total control of Minnesota’s government is a one-seat Republican majority in the Senate, but that might not be enough to block gun-control efforts during the upcoming session. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) recently indicated that he has “some openness” on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party’s gun-control proposals, but insisted that he’s a “strong supporter of Second Amendment rights.” https://twitter.com/paulgazelka/status/1075130258813280258 But his December 18 tweet sparked some optimism among DFL legislators, who now believe they “have a pretty good chance this year of convincing suburban legislators who might have been reluctant in the past to vote for these bills,” Sen. Ron Latz (D-St. Louis Park) told KSTP. Latz said the DFL is looking at two specific gun-control policies, namely universal background checks in the state as well as a “red flag” law, which allows the state to temporarily seize guns from people who are deemed a danger to themselves or others. As Battleground State News reported Thursday, House Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman (D-Brooklyn Park) said a “gun violence prevention measure” can be expected in a package of bills introduced in January. Rob Doar, vice president and political director of Minnesota’s Gun Owners Caucus, noted that there…
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by Chris Calton In 2000, Emory University history professor Michael Bellesiles published the book Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture. The central argument of the book was that the culture of American gun ownership does not date back to the colonial era and, instead, emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century when technological advances made firearms more affordable. Among the academic left, the book was wildly popular. Scholars gave glowing reviews of the book, and Columbia University awarded Billesiles one of the most coveted prizes in the history profession: The Bancroft. Enhancing his newfound academic fame were the enemies he made, namely the National Rifle Association. Charlton Heston, to the glee of anti-gun academics, vocally criticized the book. Bellesile reveled in the attention, telling Heston that he should earn his PhD before criticizing anybody who has one. Leftist scholars were thrilled to have an academic book that appeared to thoroughly demolish the notion, so cherished by American gun owners, that the country was founded on a culture of widespread gun ownership. They even admitted as much, with the publisher saying that it was “ecstatic” about publishing it “because the book knocked the gun lobby.”[1] But even amidst…
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by John Miltimore A new academic study has found that, once again, gun laws are not having their desired effect. A joint study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of California at Davis Violence Prevention Research Program found that California’s much-touted mandated background checks had no impact on gun deaths, and researchers are puzzled as to why. California Gun Laws Are a Failure In 1991, California simultaneously imposed comprehensive background checks for firearm sales and prohibited gun sales (and gun possession) to people convicted of misdemeanor violent crimes. The legislation mandated that all gun sales, including private transactions, would have to go through a California-licensed Federal Firearms License (FFL) dealer. Shotguns and rifles, like handguns, became subject to a 15-day waiting period to make certain all gun purchasers had undergone a thorough background check. It was the most expansive state gun control legislation in America, affecting an estimated one million gun buyers in the first year alone. Though costly and cumbersome, politicians and law enforcement agreed the law was worth it. The legislation would “keep more guns out of the hands of the people who shouldn’t have them,” said then-Republican…
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Last week Tennessee Democratic Party Senate Candidate Phil Bredesen attended a fundraiser in New York City at the home of former New York City Mayor and potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. Despite his claims that he supports the Second Amendment, Bredesen has received a D rating from the NRA (which endorsed Republican Marsha Blackburn in the race) and has now tied himself to Bloomberg and his anti-gun agenda. Bloomberg recently expressed a desire to deny minority citizens their Constitutional rights when he called for banning gun ownership for minorities at a 2015 meeting at the Aspen Institute. Bloomberg noted that 95% of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he told the Aspen Institute. “These kids think they’re going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed,” Bloomberg said. “They just don’t have any long-term focus or anything. It’s a joke to have a gun. It’s a joke to pull a trigger.” After recognizing the racially charged nature of his own comments, Bloomberg tried to block audio or video of his speech to…
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Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown is under fire once again, this time for calling American gun owners the “biggest terrorist organization on the planet.” Fox News reported on Brown’s 2015 Facebook post making that statement. A video of the report is available here. The Fox News report was based on a story by The Washington Free Beacon, which said, “A top spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party’s effort to get Phil Bredesen elected U.S. senator has said he views ‘white male’ gun owners as ‘the biggest terrorist organization on the planet.’” Brown is communications director for Tennessee Victory 2018, a project of the state Democratic party that’s been working exclusively on electing Bredesen. The group is hosting Bredesen for a Johnson City meet-and-greet on Thursday afternoon. Bredesen, for whom Brown once worked and is now actively campaigning on behalf of, has yet to denounce Brown’s hateful rhetoric. Bredesen has tried to claim he supports the Second Amendment, but has been given a “D” rating from the National Rifle Association. “The fact that Brown remains employed by Tennessee Democrats despite his hateful comments toward supporters of President Trump and the Second Amendment tells you everything you need to know,” said Tennessee Republican Party…
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Phil Bredesen, the Democrats’ U.S. Senate candidate in Tennessee, who claimed recently he was “not with the Dems” on gun control, on Tuesday was in fact with the Dems in New York, including gun-control advocate billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Video of the two men entering the venue separately is available here. The Leader (of Covington, Tennessee) on Tuesday said, “Bredesen called himself ‘conservative’ with second amendment issues and said he is a life-long gun owner. …’I’m not with the Dems on that stuff,” The Tennessee Star reported Wednesday. The Tennessee Republican Party said in a press release, “Actually, he is with them, raising money in New York with people who don’t respect law abiding gun owners’ rights. Make no mistake: Phil is bought and paid for by Chuck Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, and national Democrats.” The Star first reported news of the fundraiser on Oct. 4. The event was billed to financiers as an opportunity to “join Mike Bloomberg for an evening in support of Governor Phil Bredesen.” It is likely that Bloomberg is supporting Bredesen because he has a “D” rating from the National Rifle Association. The NRA has been calling for Bredesen to fix an ad in which he claims…
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On issues Tennesseans care about, Phil Bredesen likes to have it both ways, The Tennessee Republican Party said. The organization pointed to the National Rifle Association’s criticism of the U.S. Senate candidate for claiming he has an “A” rating, when that endorsement comes from 2002. His current score is a “D,” as The Tennessee Star has reported. Gun-control advocate Mike Bloomberg hosted a Manhattan fundraiser for Bredesen Tuesday. Bloomberg said in 2014, “And if you want to have a gun in your house, I think you’re pretty stupid – particularly if you have kids – but I guess you have a right to do that. Someday, there is going to be a suit against parents who smoke in their houses or have guns in their houses by a kid. It’s not that far-fetched,” The Tennessee Star reported. The Leader (of Covington) said Tuesday that “Bredesen called himself ‘conservative’ with second amendment issues and said he is a life-long gun owner. …’I’m not with the Dems on that stuff.” Bredesen did not say that the Manhattan fundraiser comes as Bloomberg announced he would contribute $20 million to the Senate Majority PAC, which aims to help Democrats capture a majority. That would put…
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New York native Phil Bredesen is at it again. Just two weeks ago the National Rifle Association chastised him for claiming an endorsement that was over a decade-and-a-half old. Now he is buddying up to perhaps the nation’s richest anti-gun advocate, Mike Bloomberg. The former Tennessee governor has a “D,” not an “A” rating from the NRA-ILA, like he claimed in an ad, The Tennessee Star previously reported. He received the “A” rating in 2002 as governor, but is currently down to a “D.” NRA-ILA Political Victory Fund executive director Chris W. Cox is using Twitter to call Bredesen out for his use of the old “A” rating, Breitbart reports. @PhilBredesen It’s not 2002, you’re not governor and you’re not A-rated by the NRA. Its 2018, you have earned a D rating for turning your back on self-defense and supporting the Hillary/Schumer/Bloomberg gun control agenda. @VoteMarsha is a 2A champion. You’re not. #stoplying pic.twitter.com/Wi0ORRmQTv — Chris Cox (@ChrisCoxCap6) September 20, 2018 Bredesen is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) who is retiring. U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) is his opponent. Now, former New York Mayor and gun control advocate Bloomberg will host a…
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Former New York Mayor and gun control advocate Mike Bloomberg will host a fundraiser at his Manhattan home next Tuesday for Tennessee Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen, CNBC reported. The involvement by billionaire Bloomberg is likely to increase scrutiny on one of the tightest races in the midterm elections, as Bredesen, a former Tennessee governor, is trying to flip the seat being vacated by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), who is retiring. The event is being billed to financiers as an opportunity to “join Mike Bloomberg for an evening in support of Governor Phil Bredesen,” according to the invitation. The Tennessee Republican Party said, “When President Trump said Phil Bredesen wouldn’t protect the Second Amendment during his speech in Johnson City, he was more right than he could have known. Today we found out that anti-Second Amendment zealot Mike Bloomberg is holding a fundraiser for Bredesen in New York.” Bloomberg said in 2014, “And if you want to have a gun in your house, I think you’re pretty stupid – particularly if you have kids – but I guess you have a right to do that. Someday, there is going to be a suit against parents who smoke in their houses or…
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by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) Last Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted, “I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn’t seem to make much sense!” The White House has not offered any clarification on what exactly Trump’s tweet meant, but if he is worried about plastic guns being sold to the public, he shouldn’t be. The Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 already makes the sale, and even the mere possession, of plastic guns illegal. Following Trump’s tweet, however, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., went to the Senate floor and tried to pass a bill by unanimous consent (meaning there would be no roll call vote, the bill would just pass the Senate immediately without any debate) that would have banned the mere publication of any designs for a plastic gun that could be produced by a 3D printer. I objected. Anytime legislation begins with words “It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally publish … ” I will force the Senate to take a long look at that legislation. The federal government already believes it has the power to ban the publication of 3D plastic gun designs under the Arms Export…
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by Mark W. Smith This is an excerpt from “#Duped: How the Anti-gun Lobby Exploits the Parkland School Shooting-and How Gun Owners Can Fight Back”. How is it that so many kids raised on “Harry Potter”, “The Hunger Games”, “Star Wars”, and all the Marvel action figure movies manage to miss a critical point of the stories? The lesson being: If you want to prevail over evil villains, you must have the proper tools to fight back. Millions of people protect themselves and their families with guns every day in the United States. They choose guns as a means of self-defense for the same reason the Secret Service uses them to protect the president: guns stop bad people from doing bad things to good people. It’s absurd to speak about the right of self-defense in theory but then deny people the tools they need to exercise that right. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] Without a gun, most Americans are defenseless at the hands of a violent criminal. How many of us have training in hand-to-hand fighting, the physical strength, and the mental resilience…
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by Molly Prince A major thoroughfare in Chicago was shut down on Saturday after thousands of anti-gun protestors overtook the highway, refusing to let any vehicles pass. The demonstration was organized to bring awareness to the city’s joblessness, high poverty rate, poor education system, skyrocketing crime and was demanding stricter gun laws, reported The Guardian. Father Michael Pfleger, the chief organizer of the march, had been calling for Dan Ryan Highway to be shut down for weeks prior to the event. “Inconvenience is the point. We want [people] to be inconvenienced, to think about what the South Side and West Side go through every day,” he told the Chicago Tribune. Illinois State Police, who have jurisdiction over the highway, initially said any disruptors would be arrested. However, the state police backed down, allowing protestors to occupy half of the northbound lanes, according to The Chicago Tribune. Shortly after the demonstration began, Pfleger and Rev. Jesse Jackson again called for protestors to shut down the entire highway and bring traffic to a total standstill. Chicago Police complied with the march’s request, against the apparent request of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. I’m disappointed in the Mayor. There was an agreement in place. I…
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by James D. Agresti Misinformation can be deadly, especially when it comes to issues like school shootings. This is because it can build support for policies that increase fatalities and generate opposition to reforms that can save lives. Despite these high stakes, a wide array of media outlets have spread fictions about violence, firearms, and armed security in the wake of the armed rampage that killed 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Value of Deterrence Shortly after the Parkland massacre, President Trump said: “A ‘gun free’ school is a magnet for bad people.” “Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches” would be a “great deterrent” to school shootings. “If a potential ‘sicko shooter’ knows that a school has a large number of very talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school.” After reporting the last of these statements, the Washington Post countered, “Some criminologists have questioned that reasoning, pointing out that some people who plan to commit mass shootings are prepared to die in the process.” Likewise, the New York Timeseditorial board wrote that “many deranged mass murderers expect to die themselves during their killing sprees. It’s almost laughable to believe that the president’s…
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By Natalia Castro Ten years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that every American has a basic right to defend themselves. D.C. v. Heller affirmed the constitutional right granted in the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms not just for the purpose of creating a militia but also for basic protection for every individual. The case was viewed as monumental for the defense of the Second Amendment, but states have chosen to continually ignore the ruling and make gun ownership a nearly impossible task. As we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Court’s ruling, we must accept how far we have come and how far we still must go. Before Heller, Washington, D.C. essentially banned handguns by making it a crime to carry an unregistered firearm and prohibiting the registration of handguns. D.C. also required residents to keep lawfully owned firearms unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock at all times. Heller, a D.C. special policeman who applied to register a handgun and was denied, filed a suit and the Supreme Court ruled in his favor. The late Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in which he explained, “The handgun ban amounts to a prohibition of an…
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by Molly Prince Constitutional lawyer and New York Times best-selling author Mark Smith combats David Hogg’s rhetoric in his latest book, “#Duped,” which serves as a response to the newly-minted gun-control activist and Parkland graduate’s recently released book, “#NeverAgain.” Smith exposes the left’s celebration and exploitation of students in order to advance so-called common sense gun control. “#Duped: How The Anti-Gun Lobby Exploits The Parkland School Shooting — And How Gun Owners Can Fight Back” deconstructs the progressive narrative and illustrates how advocates use children to promulgate an agenda that is so unpalatable they have failed to otherwise enact. Smith writes: From a political standpoint, children are ideal carriers of messages because they are unassailable, particularly if they have a direct connection to a tragedy. For the gun control movement, children represent a win-win-win. They are sympathetic, they are beyond reproach, and they cannot be challenged by anyone. These factors make children ripe for exploitation and explain why we see so many of them in the media today promoting gun control.” “#Duped” exposes not just why the anti-gun movement uses children, but also how. Using correspondence within the Obama administration, Smith highlights the parallels between the left’s response to both the…
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by George Rasley, CHQ Editor Last week, the American Medical Association passed a series of gun-related resolutions, including calling for a ban on “assault weapons” and came out against arming teachers to fight what it claims is a public health crisis. The Associated Press reports Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency-medicine specialist at Brown University, said Gun violence a diseaseat the meeting, “We as physicians are the witnesses to the human toll of this disease.” What exactly is the “disease” that stirred Dr. Ranney’s emotional outburst? Apparently, it is gun ownership. AMA delegates voted to adopt several of nearly a dozen gun-related proposals presented by doctor groups that are part of the AMA’s membership. AP reports they agreed to: Support any bans on the purchase or possession of guns and ammunition by people under 21. Back laws that would require licensing and safety courses for gun owners and registration of all firearms. Press for legislation that would allow relatives of suicidal people or those who have threatened imminent violence to seek court-ordered removal of guns from the home. Encourage better training for physicians in how to recognize patients at risk for suicide. Push to eliminate loopholes in laws preventing the…
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John Harris, Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA), says Tennessee’s candidates for Governor need to listen to more teachers before they speak for teachers. Harris was referring to whether teachers who have a carry permit should be allowed to carry on campus in order to protect themselves, their students and their colleagues in the event of a school shooting situation. Currently, less than half of Tennessee’s 1800 schools have an armed School Resource Officer (SRO) on campus leaving most Tennessee school children vulnerable. During Tuesday night’s gubernatorial forum in Nashville, three of the five major candidates participating indicated that they opposed allowing trained and permitted teachers to carry their weapons on school grounds as an additional line of protection in the event of a shooting incident on campus. Democrats Craig Fitzhugh and Karl Dean, and Republican Beth Harwell all indicated that they did not support allowing teachers to be armed. Governor Bill Haslam, Vanderbilt professors, and the Tennessee teachers’ union (Tennessee Education Association) strongly opposed legislation sponsored by David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) that would have permitted teachers to carry guns on campus. Republicans Bill Lee and Randy Boyd both said they supported allowing teachers who wished to do so, and were…
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In the wake of the terrible school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many have suggested that allowing teachers who have been trained in the use of firearms, and who choose to be armed, be added as a level of protection at schools throughout the U.S. Some Tennessee schools have armed Student Resource Officers (SROs) but many others rely upon unarmed security officers or have no security on site at all. A recent Tennessee Star poll by Triton Research, which conducted an automated poll of 607 likely voters in Davidson County over a two day period April 12-13, 2018, asked respondents: Do you support or oppose allowing teachers who have a permit to carry a gun being allowed to have their gun with them at school if they wish, after they have had some additional training and certification? Davidson County self-identified “likely voters” opposed arming teachers by a 54.6% to 38.8% margin, with 6.6% undecided. However, there was a clear distinction between the views of Republican and Democrat voters on the issue. Republicans SUPPORTED allowing trained and certified teachers to be armed on school campuses by 74% to 19%. 7% were undecided. Democrats OPPOSED the idea…
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By Robert Romano Indivisible.org is at it again, openly organizing more than 2,300 school walkouts on April 19 and April 20 to call for a “nationwide protest of our leaders’ failure to pass laws that protect us from gun violence,” urging more nationwide gun control laws in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. massacre in February. The purpose of the protest is purely about electoral politics, with the organizers saying, “if cowardly politicians fail to act, young people will show them the consequences of letting so many Americans die by voting them out in November.” Republicans have majorities in both the House and Senate, and “vote them out” appears to be specifically directed at them. But even if you wanted to say it wasn’t purely partisan, it is still is certainly about organizing voters towards a political objective. The real question is why are these political protests occurring during school hours? Why can’t they happen after school or over the weekends when they won’t be so disruptive? How many walkouts are they planning this year? Isn’t this disrupting academic studies? And why are State Attorneys General putting up with it? For example, in South Carolina, more than a dozen such school walkouts…
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by Ginny Montalbano Conservative Parkland student Kyle Kashuv is organizing a pro-Second Amendment Facebook Live show on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. I am working on having 4 prominent speakers, one every 15 minutes, go live on Facebook at 10:00 AM-11:00 AM on Friday, to discuss ways to save lives without infringing on 2A and the importance of mental health and not bullying. Stay tuned! #WalkUpNotOut #WalkUp https://t.co/gVuBikLgrU — Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) April 15, 2018 Kashuv, 16, tweeted that the goal is to “discuss ways to save lives without infringing on [the Second Amendment] and the importance of mental health and not bullying.” Confirmed speakers for the livestream so far include Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to President Donald Trump; Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA; Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director; and Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union. Apparently, according to people at my school, Fridays school walkouts were approved by the school board – the same school board that blocked @charliekirk11 from coming and said they're not letting MSD get political on campus. 🤔 — Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) April 16, 2018 Originally, Kashuv planned to bring Kirk…
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The American Federation of Teachers has threatened to pull its business from Wells Fargo unless it severs ties with the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers, but so far the bank is resisting. “We’re issuing Wells Fargo an ultimatum,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a Saturday statement. “We’re issuing Wells Fargo an ultimatum,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a Saturday statement. “They can have a mortgage market that includes America’s teachers, or they can continue to do business with the NRA and gun manufacturers. They can’t do both.”
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As a response to recent mass shootings, government officials in a Chicago suburb earlier this week criminalized the possession, sale, and manufacturing of “assault weapons” and “large-capacity” magazines, as and other media outlets reported — and the ban includes the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15, and the most common capacity magazines for it.
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Amid an 18-month-long court fight, a federal judge recently ruled that a lawsuit accusing Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey of improperly tightening the state’s strict assault-style weapons ban on her own can move forward.
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Laura Ingraham will spend a week away from her nightly Fox News program after after nearly a dozen advertisers withdrew their support over her recent comments about school shooting survivor and anti-gun violence activist David Hogg. “I’ll be off next week for Easter break with my kids, but fear not, we’ve got a great lineup of guest hosts to fill in for me,” the conservative commentator said during Friday’s episode of “The Ingraham Angle.”
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by Ginny Montalbano Kyle Kashuv, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, emerged as the most prominent pro-Second Amendment voice among students there after the shooting at the school that left 17 dead. Kashuv, 16, who has been embraced by many conservatives, hopes to debate David Hogg, 17, a Stoneman Douglas senior. Hogg is one of the most visible liberal voices among the Parkland students in the media spotlight. The son of an FBI agent, he has been lionized by the left as he advocates more gun control. By contrast, Kashuv does not get nearly as much media exposure as Hogg or other liberal-leaning Parkland students. His appearances typically are limited to Fox News Channel among the larger media outlets. The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more >> Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, argues that Kashuv is a worthy opponent for Hogg and other young liberals. In an email to The Daily Signal, Kirk said: Kyle is absolutely brilliant and deserves a chance to debate David Hogg in an open forum. David has insulted us gun owners enough,…
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by Craig Shirley Laura Ingraham might just be the most principled and assertive woman I have ever met. When she believes in her heart that the cause is just, she doesn’t back down come hell or highwater. In a field dominated by two-faced charlatans who rattle sabers at each other on television by day and drink cocktails together by night, Laura is the real deal. That passionate and opinionated voice on the radio isn’t some façade or “personality:” That’s Laura Ingraham. With all that verve and brashness, it’s easy to dismiss the individual, but her humbleness as a Catholic, her kindness as a mother of three adopted children, and her resilience as a breast cancer survivor affirms the words of St. Francis De Sales; “Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength.” If we lived in a world where the culture didn’t punish women for being conservative, Laura’s career would have earned critical acclaim long ago. While at Dartmouth College, she became the first woman to serve as Editor-in-Chief of The Dartmouth Review. She then earned her law degree from UVA, wrote speeches for the Reagan Administration, clerked for the Supreme Court, and has become one…
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by Bob Corlew I wish to write in response to former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’ recent Op-ed in The New York Times calling on the repeal of the Second Amendment. In an effort to uphold the law, as a citizen myself, but as a student of the law and former law professor and state court judge, I find it troubling that a core part of Justice Stevens’ argument, and the argument of many gun control advocates that the Second Amendment should be repealed is that private gun ownership and the Second Amendment protecting it is antiquated. The role of a Judge in America still today is that of interpreting the law that has been written. Too many judges today seek to cross the bridge from the role of interpretation of the law to that of becoming an activist in making or enforcing the law, which roles, of course, constitutionally are assigned to legislative and executive branches respectively. I understand that Mr. Stevens is now a private citizen, as I am, and in that role, he is free as a citizen to exercise his First Amendment right to speak on the issues of the Second Amendment, but I…
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By Robert Romano Finally, an honest liberal stands up and tells us all what he really thinks. Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens in the New York Times has called for the Second Amendment to be repealed, presumably so that Congress and the states can start banning guns. Therein, Stevens acknowledged that under current Supreme Court precedent, although he disagreed with the D.C. v. Heller decision in 2008, owning firearms is still an individual right secured by the Constitution. Here, Stevens, who is dead wrong in calling for the Second Amendment’s repeal, is underscoring the real challenge facing activists pushing for decisive action in the wake of the Parkland massacre pushing for more gun “control” measures. Stevens too advocates for more aggressive gun control laws, which he defines in calling for lawmakers “to enact legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons.” So, there is a big ol’ ban in there. Of which, there are more than 300 million guns nationwide owned by about 80 million people. About 85 million of those are estimated to be semi-automatic guns, which would be banned under Stevens’ plan. In meantime, there are about 132,000 schools public and private nationwide. Which do we suppose will be easier to secure: The 80…
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The March for Our Lives was big, just not nearly as big as organizers said it was. Multiple media outlets reported that the Saturday gun-control rally in D.C. drew more than 850,000 protesters, citing march organizers, which would have surpassed the massive 2017 Women’s March by more than 300,000.
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