Tag: gun control

Rand Paul Says Gun Control Bill Was Kept ‘Secret’ And Senators Not Allowed Time To Read It

As the Senate passed a gun control bill this week with fifteen Republicans siding with Democrats, Senator Rand Paul noted that no one had time to even read the legislation because it was “assembled in secret.”

“Unfortunately, this legislation was assembled as many are — in secret, absent well-placed leaks to journalists,” Paul tweeted, adding “There doesn’t appear to be a willingness or time provided to read, understand, debate or amend this bill.”

The Senator further vowed to try to introduce amendments to the bill to “correct the constitutional deficiencies.”

The Senate voted 64-34 Tuesday night to advance the bill. 

How can any elected official sincerely decide on legislation without reading it or debating it?

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Supreme Court Strikes Down New York’s Unconstitutional Concealed-Carry Gun Law

The Supreme Court voted 6–3 on June 23 to strike down New York state’s draconian concealed-carry gun permitting system on constitutional grounds.

The Supreme Court has been strengthening Second Amendment protections in recent years and observers have said the court’s 6–3 conservative supermajority could help expand gun ownership protections. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,” and in McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), it held that this right “is fully applicable to the States.”

The ruling comes amid rising crime rates, activist demands to defund police departments, and a Biden administration push to strengthen gun control policies. A gun control package, introduced in the wake of a series of high-profile mass shootings, is moving forward in Congress.

The Empire State’s gun permit law, like laws in seven other states, generally requires an applicant to demonstrate “proper cause” in order to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun in public.

New York makes it a crime to possess a firearm without a license, whether inside or outside the home. An individual who wants to carry a firearm outside his home may obtain an unrestricted license to “have and carry” a concealed “pistol or revolver” if he can prove that “proper cause exists” for doing so, according to state law. An applicant satisfies the “proper cause” requirement only if he can “demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community,” according to a 1980 ruling by the Supreme Court of New York in Klenosky v. New York City Police Department.

The specific issue before the court was whether the state’s denial of the petitioning individuals’ applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violates the U.S. Constitution.

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Biden admin orders ammo maker to stop selling 5.56 rounds to Americans

The Biden administration has reportedly ordered an ammunition manufacturer to stop selling Americans some 5.56mm rounds, which is the most common for the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

In an effort to severely limit the sale of ammo used in AR-15s, the U.S. military has ordered Winchester – which manages the U.S. Army’s Lake City ammunition plant – to stop selling its excess M855/SS109 (5.56mm) ammo to the public, The Truth About Guns reported citing a source close to the matter.

The Lake City plant, located in Independence, Missouri, produces nearly 30 percent of the commercial market’s sales of 5.56 ammo.

Larry Keane, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s general counsel and senior vice president, first revealed the administration’s plans in a tweet on Wednesday.  

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Disarming the Poor: Congress Proposes 1,000% Tax on AR-15s

If Congress won’t ban AR-15s, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer (VA) wants to slap a 1,000% tax on them – which would of course mean only people with lots of money, such as drug dealers and rich people, could afford them, while punishing lower-income Americans.

Introduced last week, Beyer’s Assault Weapons Excise Act has 36 Democratic co-sponsors, according to the Washington Post. The group hopes the idea might bypass the Senate filibuster, which would require the support of at least 10 Republicans.

According to Beyer, the idea is to increase the price to such a degree that it significantly limits who’s able to buy them. The tax would also apply to high-capacity magazines.

“It’s trying to hit the sweet spot, where it’s not an all-out ban, but people’s independent purchasing decisions would be much more ‘no’ than ‘yes,’” Beyer told the Post, adding. “You want to shift the demand curve pretty significantly.”

Beyer said part of the thinking behind the 1,000 percent figure was to have a high-enough fiscal impact that the Senate parliamentarian would find it qualifies for inclusion in a reconciliation package, meaning it could pass the Senate with a simple majority. -WaPo

“In a nation crying out for progress on gun safety, we would present a plausible way forward in this Senate,” he said.

The tax would only apply to newly purchased guns, and would not apply to government buyers. The proceeds would go into the general fund.

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Push To Ban ‘Assault Rifles’ Like Fight To End Slavery, CRT Backer Ibram X. Kendi Tells CBS News

The ongoing effort to ban so-called assault weapons is similar to America’s bloody fight to end slavery, a CBS contributor and chief proponent of Critical Race Theory (CRT) said Sunday.

In a segment commemorating Juneteenth, Ibram X. Kendi told “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan he teaches his young daughter that the struggle for emancipation continues today. Kendi, the network’s “Racial Justice Contributor,” said “freedom” today means liberation from poverty and guns.

“I’m actually going to teach her that … throughout this nation’s history, there’s [sic] been two perspectives on freedom, really two fights for freedom,” Kendi said. “Enslaved people were fighting for freedom from slavery, and enslavers were fighting for the freedom to enslave.”

“And in many ways that sort of contrast still exists today,” he continued. “There are people who are fighting for freedom from assault rifles, freedom from poverty, freedom from exploitation. And there are others who are fighting for freedom to exploit, freedom to have guns, freedom to maintain inequality.”

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Michigan Judge Orders GOP Candidate for Governor to Surrender Guns

Michigan Republican candidate for governor Ryan Kelley will have to surrender his guns while he awaits trial on misdemeanor criminal charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach, a judge ruled on June 16.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather made the ruling even as Kelley’s attorney argued he needs to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense as he makes campaign appearances in Michigan, local media reported. The judge also said Kelley can’t leave the state while awaiting trial and must surrender his passport.

Kelley is “a bit of a high-profile candidate in Michigan” as recent polls showed that he was the front-runner among GOP gubernatorial candidates, his lawyer, Gary Springstead, said. Kelley, who has a license to carry a concealed weapon, “asked that he be permitted to carry his firearm for his own self-defense, during the campaign,” Springstead added.

About a week ago, Kelley was arrested in Michigan and charged with participating in the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol, federal prosecutors said in a court filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The complaint noted that Kelley didn’t actually enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, and instead is being charged with entering and remaining within a “restricted building or grounds without lawful authority,” disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property on restricted grounds, and willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States government.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz: Biden’s IRS Spent Approximately $700,000 on Ammo ‘Between March and June 1’

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told Breitbart News Saturday the IRS spent approximately $700,000 “between March and June 1” purchasing ammunition.

Gaetz described the ammunition acquisition as “bizarre.”

He noted he and his Republican colleagues are trying to ascertain why the ammunition was purchased, noting, “There is concern that this is part of a broader effort to have any entity in the federal government buy up ammo to reduce the amount of ammunition that is in supply, while at the same time, making it harder to produce ammo.”

Gaetz noted a scenario where federal entities are buying up ammo puts citizens in a place where the exercise of the Second Amendment is limited due to the inability to get ammunition.

He painted a dire scenario where the government reduces ammunition production “and, on the other hand, [soaks] up the supply of it.”

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Social media posts could lead to gun confiscation under proposed Red Flag laws, PA Gov Tom Wolf suggests

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has shared an infographic showing how US citizens posting photos of guns on social media, along with “cryptic messages,” could lead to a court confiscating their guns under proposed legislation that he supports.

“Red flag laws allow us to take action when someone who has a gun begins to act erratically,” Governor Wolf posted. In the social media age, this could include in online posts. “Red flag laws still require due process, and any removal of weapons is temporary,” Governor Wolf continued.

Governor Wolf rebuked Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee for refusing to approve what he called “commonsense” bills addressing gun violence in the state. 

Instead of voting to move the four bills to the House for debate, Republicans on the Judiciary committee forced a vote to refer the bills to another committee. 

“Shameful. That’s what I’d call today’s action – or, rather, inaction,” Governor Wolf said. “Lawmakers have an opportunity to take commonsense steps, which the majority of Pennsylvanians support. Instead of taking a vote to advance these bills, they are just delaying debate on this legislation. Gun violence won’t delay. Every day the Republicans stall, more people are at risk.

“This isn’t just a ‘Philadelphia’ issue. This is a statewide and national issue that must be addressed. It’s reprehensible that Republicans continue to stall when our own constituents want this addressed right now,” Governor Wolf said. “I urge Republicans to stop these tactics and take action.”

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Right to own a gun could hinge on definition of ‘boyfriend’ in ‘red flag’ laws

Talks in the Senate chamber regarding the sweeping gun legislation that was passed in the House last week has hit a snag: what is the definition of a boyfriend? It seems lawmakers cannot quite discern when a relationship becomes serious enough for the label, and to bypass the “loophole.”

The question comes in regards to a provision in the legislation that would close the so-called “boyfriend loophole” in laws that bar people convicted of domestic violence, or have been subjected to a domestic violence restraining order, from purchasing guns.

According to the New York Times, laws currently bar people who are issued these convictions from purchasing guns only if they were married to, lived with, or  had a child with the victim.

Lawmakers are attempting to close this “loophole” by including other intimate partners, but are now stuck in negotiations as to when someone becomes an intimate partner.

“Is it one date or several? Could an ex-boyfriend count?” the New York Times questioned. Perhaps Congress could take a cue from social media, and only use the term when it becomes Insta official.

With lawmakers attempting to pass this sweeping legislation before their Fourth of July recess, Senators have now honed in on this issue as part of their final negotiations.

Lawmakers have questioned the definition of a boyfriend or intimate partner, and whether those who are subject to this kind of gun ban should be able to appeal in the future.

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