Category: Gun Crime

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GOP Gun Crime WTF?!

Texas Republican Posits Absurd New Reason For Mass Shootings: ‘Dang Smartphones’

Republicans will do anything to avoid admitting that sensible gun control is needed in the United States.

Despite the grim death toll from the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings, it now appears that the GOP will continue to block even modest gun reforms such as making it mandatory that a person must be 21 before purchasing a semiautomatic weapon or adding enhanced background checks, both of which are supported by an overwhelming number of Americans.

So, if guns aren’t the problem (at least to hear the Republicans tell it), then what could be the underlying cause for the bloodshed we see on the streets of the country?

According to Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) the blame lies with your smartphone.

HuffPost reports:

During a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday, Fallon rejected a call for new gun regulations by suggesting guns were around long before the relatively recent rash of mass shootings began.

“Guns have always been readily available in this country but mass shootings and particularly mass shootings of schools were nonexistent or extremely rare until they became a grisly recent phenomenon,” Fallon told the committee.

“So what’s changed in the last 50 years?” he asked, before offering his own theory.

“There’s been a noticeable breakdown of the family, there’s been an erosion of faith and there’s been a seismic drop in social interaction in large measure due to the overuse of these dang smartphones and the proliferation of social media, which is probably better described as anti-social media,” he said while holding up his own device as a visual aid.

Yep, your iPhone or Android device are the killers. Not the lack of mental health services, not the ability to buy weapons of mass murder almost anywhere in the country, but the thing you use to make phone calls, text your loved ones, and surf the internet.

Of course, what Congressman Fallon failed to address is why other countries such as our allies in Britain, France, Germany, and Japan don’t have as many mass shootings even though smartphones are ubiquitous in those nations, too. Why? Because they make it much more difficult to purchase and legally own a weapon.

So, Mr. Fallon, put your hands up and tremble, because we’re all about to start posting on Twitter about what an idiotic douche you are.

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Congress GOP Gun Crime

WATCH Katie Porter Shut Down A GOP Witness At A Hearing On Guns

California Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter masterfully handled a witness testifying for Republicans on the issue of gun control, making it clear that she wasn’t about to be steamrolled and lied to.

Amy Swearer of the right-wing Heritage Foundation was appearing before the House Oversight Committee, and she immediately suggested Porter had incorrectly accused her of perjury regarding legislation on assault weapons:

“Would you like the explanation?” Swearer asked Porter, to which the congresswoman replied:

“I have not yielded, Ms. Swearer.”

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) squawked that Swearer had not been allowed to answer, but he was promptly ruled out of order by the committee chair.

Swearer then got even angrier:

“I have been accused of falsely testifying under oath and I would like to address it!”

Porter:

“Earlier today, you testified you hope this is the last time you have to testify before this Congress. For the sake of our nation and the integrity of this Congress, I do too.”

The witness responded:

“I said after a mass shooting. Trying to figure out how to solve a problem that we are heavily invested in solving.

“How dare you.”

Once again, Porter had the perfect comeback:

“Reclaiming my time. How dare you misstate the law.”

Seething, Swearen hissed:

“How dare you ask questions that you do not even want the answer to.”

Rather than let Swearen continue, Porter told her:

“Ms. Swearer, I’m moving on.”

 

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Congress GOP Whining Gun Crime Uncategorized

David Hogg Slam Dunks MT Greene After She Whines About His Refusal To Meet With Her

Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg expertly clapped back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) after she whined about his refusal to meet with her when he’ll be in Washington, D.C. later this week for a protest to call for sensible gun control legislation.

Greene attacked Hogg on Twitter:

“I hear you & your girls are funded to come to town this week to once again try to manipulate some of my gutless weak colleagues to vote for gun control that will violate our freedoms and leave Americans defenseless.”

That was all Hogg needed to masterfully destroy the Georgia Republican, reminding her that she only wants to meet with him so she can draw attention to herself and her extremist position on the issue of guns in the United States.

“Congresswoman Greene, I’m more interested in protecting children and meeting commonsense people who are looking for reasonable solutions to stop children from dying. Don’t really have time to help you go viral for attacking survivors so you can fundraise. Respectfully, David.”

Newsweek reports that Hogg and Greene have engaged in a social media debate before on the issue of guns:

It’s not the first time the pair have sparred on Twitter. The Georgia Republican harangued Hogg in April about his stance on guns.

Hogg tweeted on April 3 that he believes it should be a requirement to have a license to purchase a gun.

Greene responded by suggesting Hogg hang out “with actual deer hunters” because it would help him “learn to be more masculine and you will appreciate how we will get our food supply when Biden’s inflation makes buying food unaffordable.”

Others on Twitter also had some choice words for Greene, who has been known to raffle off semiautomatic weapons in order to draw attention to herself. Considering that Greene is facing an uncertain bid for reelection, she’s likely doing the same thing with her jabs at Hogg.

 

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Congress Gun Crime

Democrats Have A Way To Impose A 1000% Tax On AR-15s – And They Don’t Need A Single GOP Vote

With it becoming clearer by the day that Republicans in Congress have absolutely no intention of passing any sort of sensible gun control legislation this year, Democrats are trying to find creative ways to keep weapons of mass murder out of the hands of young people at the very least.

And Business Insider reports one House Democrat has a bill that could help slow the sale of semiautomatic rifles in the United States by imposing a 1000% tax whenever one is purchased:

The recent violence is prompting one House Democrat to draft a measure aimed at severely restricting access to the AR-15-style weapons used by different gunmen in the carnage. Rep. Donald Beyer of Virginia, a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means panel, wants to impose a 1,000% excise tax on assault weapons.

“What it’s intended to do is provide another creative pathway to actually make some sensible gun control happen,” Beyer told Insider. “We think that a 1,000% fee on assault weapons is just the kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation.”

What would such a tax do to the price of an AR-15 or similar weapon? According to NBC News, such a rifle currently lists for $500 to $2,000, depending on where it’s purchased. A 1000% tax would add anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 to the final price of such a gun. How many people have that sort of money to spend on a rifle of any kind, especially if the buyer is a young person?

But the real beauty of Beyer’s bill is that since it’s a tax issue, it could be included in budget legislation that only requires a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate to pass:

That outcome prompted Beyer to eye reconciliation, the legislative tactic allowing proposed laws to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold known as the filibuster and pass with a simple majority. Democrats employed the maneuver in 2021 to approve both the stimulus law and the House-approved Build Back Better bill over united GOP resistance.

One expert says his measure likely qualifies for inclusion in a smaller spending bill containing pieces of President Joe Biden’s climate and tax agenda. Democrats hope to revive it by summer’s end.

Zach Moller, director of the economic program at the center-left Third Way think tank, said the AR-15 tax would indeed qualify for the reconciliation exemption:

“Taxes get more deference in budget reconciliation than other policies from a parliamentarian point of view.”

Additionally, if Republicans do manage to retake Congress in the midterm elections, it’d be almost impossible for them to repeal the new AR-15 tax because President Joe Biden could veto any such legislation, and overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, which is nearly impossible.

For his part, Beyer says the 1000% rate is open to debate, but needs to be high enough to keep the guns out of the hands of young adults:

“There’s nothing magical about that thousand percent number. It’s severe enough to actually inhibit and restrict sales. But also successful enough that it’s not seen as an absolute ban.”

Expect Republican whining to begin in 3, 2, 1…

 

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Congress Fox News GOP Gun Crime

WATCH A Fox Host Lay Some Cold Hard Facts About Guns On Steve Scalise

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) got more than he bargained for when he appeared on “Fox News Sunday” to discuss the issue of gun crime, mass shootings, and raising the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon.

Fox Host John Roberts told Scalise that data proves the United States is far and away the world leader when it comes deaths as a result of gun violence:

“In terms of the developed world, the United States far and away leads every other nation … in terms of gun violence. “The U.S. way out in front with four deaths per 100,000 people. The next closest nation is Cyprus, way behind at just below .7 deaths per 100,000 people. What you think is responsible for that discrepancy?”

Rather than actually respond to the question, Scalise offered a rambling response that in no way addressed what he’d been asked:

“In the last couple of years you’ve seen this crazy defund the police movement. But you’ve also seen a movement that’s been going on for a few years in big cities where the D.A. aren’t even prosecuting criminals until it is shooting, or a violent crime. And they’re letting criminals back out on the street. And then inevitably what you see is higher rates of crime.”

Roberts then suggested the GOP might be “out of step” with voters on the issue of sensible gun control, noting that polling data shows 89 percent of Americans support background checks for gun owners, and 74 percent support red flag laws:

“You and other republicans have views about background checks and red flag laws that seem to run counter to what public sentiment is. So are the views that you and your colleagues hold out of step with where the nation is?”

The congressman responded:

“Under the guise of red flag, they take away due process, where they literally can come into your house and take away your gun without you even knowing that there was some kind of proceeding where somebody said, ‘Oh, I think that guy might be a threat.’ So now somebody can go and take away your Constitutional right. I don’t think people would agree with that.”

Roberts countered:

“Congressman, if that had happened in the case of the Buffalo shooter, 10 people would be alive today.”

Scalise answered:

“Again, due process is a Constitutional right.”

Here’s what the Second Amendment says:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Well regulated. And yet Republicans say Congress has no right to regulate guns. Their selective reading of the Constitution is both tiresome and dangerous.