[Thursday], the House voted to pass House Bill 3096 on third reading. It has been sent to the Senate for further consideration.
House Bill 3096 allows a law-abiding adult to carry a handgun without first having to obtain government permission. This ensures that citizens have the right to self-defense without government red tape or delays. Additionally, this legislation maintains the existing Concealed Weapon Permit (CWP) system, so citizens who still wish to obtain a permit may do so. Currently, 20 other states have constitutional/permitless carry.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday finessed a vexing question about the congressional logjam over a hot-button gun control issue: federal background checks for firearms purchases.
In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement of several executive actions aimed at curtailing gun violence, Psaki was asked if the White House believes Congress will actually pass two bills expanding checks.
“The president is going to lead the analysis of what is viable and doable to all of you,” she said, the Daily Caller reported.
“He is not vote counting himself,” she said. “He is also clear about challenges in moving forward with legislation that the Senate. He will continue to advocate for that just as he did today, this morning in the Rose Garden surrounded by some of the bravest and most courageous advocates for gun control, gun safety legislation in the country. He also is not going to wait.”
When pressed on how that communication between Biden and a divided Congress would go, Psaki replied: “I certainly would anticipate the president will arrange conversations with members of Congress.”
“Oregon’s Republican Senate minority leader declined to join his fellow party members in a walkout over gun control legislation last month. His presence in the Senate (along with five of his closest GOP friends) allowed the body to reach a quorum of at least 20 members and bring legislation banning firearms in the capitol up for a vote…which, in the Democrat dominated Senate, passed easily.”
BLUF:
The problem is: Straight partisan victories will be nearly impossible in the Senate as long as the filibuster is in force for non-taxing-and-spending legislation – like new gun laws.
The filibuster is supposed to encourage bipartisanship – but given the new hyper-partisan reality, what it really encourages is gridlock.
Applause, because when Congress is in session, no one is really safe.
President Biden will find it difficult – if not impossible – to get bipartisan support in Congress for new gun control measures, like a new assault weapons ban, which passed with bipartisan support in 1994 and expired ten years later.
Most gun control measures get broad public support, including requiring background checks for private and gun show sales (83 percent in a 2019 poll), a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines (61 percent) and a ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons (57 percent). But what matters politically is intensity of support. Getting gun laws through Congress has always been difficult because of single-issue voting by gun rights supporters.
The gun issue drives their votes; for most other voters, it doesn’t.
In another reversal from the previous administration, Joe Biden on Friday lifted sanctions and visa restrictions that President Trump had imposed on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC is an international tribune based out of The Hague, Netherlands, and claims the jurisdiction to prosecute crimes within member nations. It deals in cases involving genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The Trump administration had placed penalties on the ICC because of the court’s efforts to investigate the actions of the American military in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, by a 6-3 vote, the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety voted outHouse Bill 1911, by Rep. James White (R-Woodville), and House Bill 1927, by Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), NRA-backed permitless carry proposals that would allow law-abiding citizens to carry a handgun without a state-issued License To Carry (LTC). It’s time for Texas to join the 20 other states that have legalized this personal protection option!
The existing LTC law would not be repealed under these measures. Criminals who are prohibited from possessing firearms (i.e., felons, fugitives from justice, individuals committed by the courts for mental illness, domestic abusers) would still be barred from carrying guns. This legislation would not prevent the enforcement of any laws broken by criminals who misuse firearms. These measures now move to the House Calendars Committee, which will determine if, and when, each measure is considered by the full House. Please contact your State Representatives and urge them to PASS PERMITLESS CARRY THIS SESSION!
Yesterday, the committee also voted out two additional bills: House Bill 918, by Rep. Ben Leman (R-Iola), which lowers the age eligibility requirement for a License To Carry to 18 for, and extends this self-defense option to, a person who has obtained an active family violence protective order or magistrate’s order of emergency protection; and, House Bill 1407, by Rep. Schaefer (R-Tyler), which allows a LTC holder to have a handgun in his or her vehicle that is visible and in a holster but not on the person – an important clarification, and an extension of legal, safe and practical carry options in one’s car or truck. These measures also head to the Calendars Committee, which will consider whether or not they will receive a House floor vote.
Wow, @PressSec Psaki seems like a bundle of fun, eh? Her sparkling personality and friendly demeanor just light up the room.#SarcasticTweet
During a March 28, 2021, interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) admitted that Democrats probably cannot round up 60 votes for the universal background check legislation contained in H.R. 8.
Host Chuck Todd pointed out that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) have both made clear they do not support H.R. 8.
Todd suggested that Manchin and Tester believe the bill is “too broad” as written.
He then asked Murphy if there is any chance of getting the 60 votes for the bill that Democrats need in order to secure passage.
Murphy responded, “I think it’s unlikely that H.R. 8, as it’s written today, can get 60 votes, but I don’t think it has to change very much in order to get the sufficient number of votes.”
Earlier in the interview, Murphy said, “Don’t count us out.” He added, “I’ve gotten a lot of calls from Republicans in the Senate who don’t want to fight this fight any longer because the NRA’s authority is fading; the anti-gun violence movement’s impact is increasing. I think we have a chance.”
On Sunday, Breitbart News reported that the NRA has witnessed a surge in membership that continued in January 2021 and continues even now.
The NRA’s Andrew Arulanandam noted that the civil rights organization is “gaining 1,000 new members a day” just from people signing up via the Internet.
Senate Democrats punted on taking up House gun-control bills on Friday, acknowledging that the restrictions put forward by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) were “dead on arrival,” according to senior Senate aides.
Facing pressure from gun-control activists and Democratic elected officials alike, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) told colleagues on Thursday he would bring background check legislation to the floor shortly after the Senate returns for business on April 12. But with Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), Jon Tester (D., Mont.), and Susan Collins (R., Maine) publicly stating their opposition to House-passed background check bill H.R. 8, Democrats must find a viable replacement. The political environment makes that a nearly impossible task, according to multiple Senate aides.
A senior Republican aide said H.R. 8’s requirement that licensed gun dealers perform background checks nearly every time someone sells or even lends a gun to another person is a non-starter.
“H.R. 8 is just dead on arrival,” a senior Republican staffer said. “Period. It doesn’t have the votes. Not only does it not have the votes quietly it doesn’t have the votes loudly because Manchin and Toomey are out there opposing it.”
Yesterday, the Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed legislation that enhances Wyoming’s Permitless Carry laws, House Bill 116. The measure now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration.
House Bill 116 expands Wyoming’s permitless carry law, which has been in effect since 2011, to all law-abiding adults, not just Wyoming residents who have resided in the state for at least six months. This ensures that visitors and new residents have their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays.
Joe Biden is the face of the United States. But Joe Biden no longer looks like Joe Biden. And he no longer sounds like Joe Biden — especially in the long and excruciating silences when he forgets what he’s saying or fumbles for his cue cards.
The United States no longer looks like itself either. The sorry theatrical display of Biden’s first press conference is an accurate image of what has happened to American democracy. A carefully limited number of carefully selected journalists asked carefully vetted questions. A carefully chosen president read carefully written answers off his cue cards, and carefully avoided taking any questions from Fox or Newsmax.
The White House is no longer the home of democracy. It’s a reality TV series in a care home. Biden mused about how the country has lost its way, about how it used to be so much better, but he seemed fatalistically feeble, as if it was all too much and all too late, and he has already given up. As if the nation is in its twilight years.
‘We’ve got so much more to do,’ he said, as he continually does. But he also ad-libbed, ‘I’ve never been able to plan three-and-a-half, four years ahead.’
How funny. How sadly reflective of the senility of American democracy that he thought that was a smart answer. How shamefully embarrassing for the compliant, complicit media that not one of his questioners bothered to ask whether an inability to plan for the future was what the American people need in their president — especially a 78-year-old who says he expects to run, if that is really the word, in 2024, when he will be 82.
It’s true, Biden managed not to fall off the dais, or go completely blank, or fall over his dog. It’s true, he matched the topics on his cue cards to the subjects of the questions. But this press conference was nerve-wracking and enervating to watch. It’s obvious that Biden’s mind often has no idea what his mouth is saying. This press conference was supposed to dampen concerns about his mental acuity. Instead it confirmed that Biden is too old and complacent for the scale of the task.
Gun control activists are growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that even with Democrats in control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, their agenda is still in doubt on Capitol Hill. A new piece at POLITICO highlights the palpable sense of desperation starting to emanate from anti-gun organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety and its affiliate Moms Demand Action, where activists know that their window of opportunity to put new restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms is closing. The razor-thin Democratic majority in the House and Senate could very well disappear after the 2022 midterms, and activists
For the gun reform movement — a centerpiece of the Democratic Party’s agenda for at least a quarter century — the question this week has become, if not now, when?
… It’s a pivotal moment for gun politics. The history of midterm elections suggests Democrats are at risk of losing the House next year, shrinking their window for legislative victories.
“The time is definitely now,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of the gun-control group Giffords. “We can’t wait.”
There’s a muddled message coming from the anti-gun advocates. On the one hand, they say that now is the time, knowing that they’re likely to lose ground in next year’s elections, but they’re still trying to spin their movement as one that’s growing in popularity across the country.
Tom Sullivan, a Colorado state lawmaker who sought elected office after his son, Alex, was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012, said the climate surrounding gun legislation has “obviously” shifted — as evidenced by his own election and those of other survivors of victims of gun violence, including Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia, whose teenage son was shot to death in 2012. Gun control was a winning issue for Democrats in some congressional swing districts nationally in the midterm elections in 2018.
“We can run on this issue, and we can win elections on this issue,” Sullivan said. “Quite obviously, the tone has changed.”
Sullivan’s comments ignore the fact that, despite spending tens of millions of dollars in states like Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas in an attempt to flip state legislatures into anti-gun majorities, the 2020 elections actually resulted in Republican gains at the state level. Republicans in Iowa just sent a Constitutional Carry bill to the desk of Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called for (and is likely to receive) a Second Amendment Sanctuary measure from lawmakers in Austin.
At the federal level, Democrats and gun control activists lost ground in the House, and were it not for the absolute sh*tshow in the Georgia Senate runoffs, Republicans would still be in control of the U.S. Senate. The gun control movement didn’t receive a mandate in the 2020 elections, but they have to act like they did because they know that they’re likely to be in an even worse position after the midterms.
In that sense, the gun control groups are right that this is the best position for the movement in decades, but that doesn’t mean that they’re still in a great position to get what they want. As long as it still takes 60 votes to pass most legislation through the Senate, the prospects for new gun control laws is murky at best. That’s why you’ll be seeing more calls from gun control groups to nuke the filibuster in the coming days and weeks.
The gun control debate has put more pressure on Democrats to abandon the legislative filibuster in the Senate, broadening the range of constituencies lobbying for the change. Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter was killed in Aurora and who now advocates on behalf of survivors of gun violence, said, “The best thing that can happen right now — the one thing I would give everything up for — is get rid of the filibuster so we can pass some laws.”
If the filibuster goes away, the least of our worries will be the passage of gun control bills like H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446. At that point, Democrats would try to ram through Biden’s gun ban and a host of new infringements on our Second Amendment rights, while also passing legislation like H.R. 1 that’s designed to ensure a permanent Democratic majority in Congress. One party rule is completely antithetical to the very idea of the United States, and it would be nothing less than a legislative coup. I’m not worried about my Second Amendment rights if the filibuster were to disappear. I’m worried about the future of the nation itself.
DES MOINES, Iowa — A bill relaxing Iowa’s gun laws is heading to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk following a 31-17 vote Monday in the Senate.
The Republican-backed bill House File 756 would no longer require Iowans to have a permit to buy or carry a handgun, making them optional.
The bill passed the House last week.
“The right to keep or bear arms is a fundamental right,” Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison said. “So a lot of our citizens feel they should not have to pay a fifty-dollar fee to [the] government a permission slip basically, a permit.”……
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have told BuzzFeed News they are considering curtailing their ambitions on gun reform and pushing a narrower piece of legislation that can actually pass, rather than sweeping reforms that would likely be doomed.
The party winning both chambers of Congress plus the White House may have raised hopes for long-sought gun control measures, such as a ban on assault rifles. But Democrats are instead starting to look at smaller measures that can win bipartisan support and break the National Rifle Association’s strong influence over Congress.
With the Senate split 50–50, any gun control measure needs at least 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster. The shooting rampage in Atlanta that left eight people dead this week has not softened Republican resistance to any new laws that broadly restrict access to firearms. In interviews with BuzzFeed News, a half dozen Republican senators expressed opposition to universal background checks and said that policy would likely be dead on arrival in the Senate.
That leaves Democrats with a choice between lowering their aims or fighting for an extensive bill and risking coming away with nothing. There does not appear to be much appetite for the latter path.
“Do you try and move a comprehensive gun bill that will go nowhere?” said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons. “Or do you take a small bill, pass it, then a medium-sized bill and pass it?”
Now it’s being reported that his wife, Jill Biden, is hitting the road in his place as the key messenger of the trillion-dollar COVID ‘stimulus’ which gives billions to Democrat pet projects but less than a few thousand dollars to Americans whose jobs and livelihoods were destroyed by political mandates after the China coronavirus hit:
Jill Biden hits the road as a key messenger on the White House’s stimulus victory lap https://t.co/D5LDLWWjJG
In the final months of the Trump administration, House Democrats universally voted to demand the unconstitutional use of the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
The 25th Amendment was meant to remove presidents who were unable to discharge their duties. President Trump was clearly able to do so, but Biden may be exactly the disastrous scenario that the 25th Amendment was created to avoid. And he may be its worst test case.
A basic problem with the Biden administration is that there really isn’t one. Like most journalists I use the term as a formality, but the White House site calls it the Biden-Harris Administration. It’s not unheard of for younger presidents like George W. Bush to lean on more experienced vice presidents, but a politician who spent 46 years in public office letting a newbie like Kamala Harris handle most of the phone calls with foreign leaders is the opposite of that scenario.
The Biden campaign has been open about Kamala Harris being trained to step into Biden’s shoes because it doesn’t expect him to run for reelection or even make it through one term.
Except that presidents aren’t supposed to run for office as figureheads or stalking horses.
Kamala Harris isn’t talking to foreign leaders because she has more experience, but because the guy whose job it is to do it isn’t up to anything challenging beyond some photo ops, stumbling through a teleprompter speech, and then a trip back home over the weekend.
BLUF:
The battle over America’s future–or, rather, whether it has one–is being fought at all levels of government. But under our federal system, leaders of states with above-average voters like Florida and South Dakota are best positioned to carry the banner of conservatism. Which explains why Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem are early front-runners for the 2024 presidential nomination.
The conflict in which we are now engaged is stark. The Left hates America and wants to destroy (or “fundamentally transform”) it. The Democratic Party, having drunk the Critical Race Theory kool-aid, is now openly anti-American. So those are the battle lines: on one side, those who love our country and want to preserve it. On the other, those who hate our country and want to destroy it.
Unfortunately, our public education system is almost 100% in the hands of the haters, organized and mobilized by the teachers’ unions. Our children are steadily being indoctrinated in anti-Americanism. But here and there, a few politicians stick up for our country.
Not surprisingly, Ron DeSantis is one of them. He is resisting the infiltration of Florida’s school system by Critical Race Theory, which is simply a long way of saying “racism.”
Critical Race Theory will be explicitly excluded from Florida’s new statewide civics education, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said while unveiling the program.
The Republican governor addressed the academic study while discussing his proposed $106 million initiative to support a new civics curriculum for students at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
…
“Florida civics curriculum will incorporate foundational concepts with the best materials, and it will expressly exclude unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory and other unsubstantiated theories.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Senate on Thursday advanced legislation that would allow most adults 21 and older to carry firearms — concealed or openly — without a license that now requires a background check and training.
After sailing through the Senate on a 23-9 vote, the proposal must now pass the House, which is likely in the GOP-dominant chamber. GOP Gov. Bill Lee has backed the bill and is expected to sign it into law.
Republican senators tweaked the original bill to ban those who had been convicted of stalking or driving under the influence from being able to carry a firearm. Those who had been hospitalized or judicially committed in a mental institution would also be banned.
The bill carries an estimated $17.7 million price tag because it increases penalties on gun-related crimes and anticipates more incarcerations as a result. The bill also increases penalties for anyone who is convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm. This would include unlawful possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
The push in Tennessee came after Republicans in the General Assembly relaxed the state’s handgun law in 2020 by allowing people to obtain a concealed-carry-only handgun permit that didn’t require them to demonstrate the ability to fire a weapon.
Fifteen states already allow concealed carry without a permit, and lawmakers in nine others have proposed allowing or expanding the practice. Most states require people to do things like get weapons training and undergo a background check to get a permit to carry a gun hidden by a jacket or inside a purse.
The Iowa House has passed a bill allowing Iowans to carry and purchase firearms without a permit, sending the measure to the Senate for consideration.
It’s the first time that a full chamber of the Iowa Legislature has passed such a measure, although gun rights advocates have pushed for years to remove the state’s gun permit requirements.
The House passed the measure, House File 756, on a 60-37 vote Wednesday night after several hours of debate. Every Republican representative, as well as Democratic Rep. Wes Breckenridge, supported the bill, while all other Democrats were opposed. Similar legislation has passed through committee in the Iowa Senate but has not received a floor vote……….
[March 17th], the House voted 82-33 to advance House Bill 3094 after second reading. HB 3094 still faces a third reading before the House can vote to pass it. The progress so far has been made possible by Rep. Bobby Cox showing his strong leadership and unwavering commitment to the Second Amendment by guiding this bill. Substantial amendments were unnecessary, as a standalone constitutional carry bill is also working its way through the legislative process and, in a press conference today, pro-gun lawmakers affirmed their commitment to pass it.
House Bill 3094 allows citizens who hold a concealed weapons permit, to carry a handgun in the manner they choose. Currently, South Carolina is one of just five states that does not explicitly allow open carry, among them Illinois, New York, and California. Self-defense situations are difficult to predict and everyone has different circumstances. It is unreasonable for the law to impose a one-size-fits-all method of carrying a handgun for self-defense.
The usual crap-for-brains congresscritter suspects at work.
Some states never have had a ‘permit’ system beyond federal requirements.
Missouri got rid of its permit system years ago, much to the relief of the county sheriffs who administered the system and increasingly had to take more personnel time and budget money away from patrol and service functions.
Preaching at the pulpit of gun violence with the support of all the large anti-gun groups, Democrats in Congress on Tuesday announced a plan to expand permit-to-purchase laws nationwide.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin, both of Maryland, along with U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, all of Connecticut, this week introduced the Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act. The measure aims to grow the practice of requiring a would-be gun owner to first apply for and be granted a state-controlled permit before they can legally buy a firearm. So-called permit-to-purchase laws are only in effect in nine states – to include both Connecticut and Maryland. Continue reading “”
