Weekly Spotlight 11/28 – 12/4/22
Here’s Why The “Assault Weapons Ban” Won’t Be Considered In The Lame Duck Session
With a month left until the Republicans take control of the U.S. House, and as Congress dives into getting end-of-year priorities across the finish line in a Lame Duck session, President Biden is calling once again for passage of the “Assault Weapons Ban.” As the President continues his campaign for this erroneous and irresponsible policy, the question remains on just how aligned other lawmakers are with pushing this gun control agenda in the final weeks of the Congressional session.
For many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the “Assault Weapons Ban” or any gun control is low on their list of priorities for the Lame Duck session. Issues like passing a spending bill to keep the government open, the debate over foreign aid with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has been passed every year for the last six decades, are what the majority of lawmakers are focusing their time and energy on. And these are just the topline issues. When you look at the more ambitious targets that lawmakers have for the next four-weeks, nowhere do you see a ban on “assault weapons,” but rather debating same-sex marriage rights, revising the Electoral Count Act, dealing with a potential rail strike… the list goes on.
If the more pressing issues like ensuring the government does not shut down is not reason enough for President Biden and his allies to drop their cries for restrictive gun laws, their efforts will undoubtedly be put on the backburner at Noon on January 3, 2023 when 118th Congress begins.
In NBC’s Chuck Todd “Meet the Press”, Ranking Member on the House Oversight Committee Representative James Comer (R-KY) addressed the issue of gun control saying, “if passing a bill would simply end gun violence, then I think you would have overwhelming support in Congress for that.” He followed that remark by saying that Republicans are “going to continue to protect [the] Second Amendment rights, but while at the same time [Republicans] want to get serious about crime in America, the fentanyl crisis, as well as the looting that’s taking place in cities…so these are issues that are going to be debated early on in the new Republican majority.” Representative Comer’s remarks are a clear warning that any policies that would work against public safety, such as the “Assault Weapons Ban,” would not be a focal point of Republican leadership.
Despite the misguided narrative that claims gun control will make our communities safer, incoming leadership in the U.S. House understands that this is simply not true.
History has taught us time and time again that banning firearms that are deemed to be “assault weapons” shows no significant association with decreasing homicide rates. Instead, America needs to applaud defensive gun use for its role in saving lives and lawmakers need to focus on passing legislation that empowers law-abiding gun owners, like the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act that will enable Americans to use their weapons to save and protect wherever they go.
Lucky for the American people, Congress did not get far enough in the legislative process over the last two years when it comes to enacting gun control policies, although we are keeping our eye on both state and federal lawmakers who wish to undermine the importance of our Americans’ right to carry. Furthermore, the 2022 Midterm Elections resulted in pro-Second Amendment candidates winning in a number of key races for Congress. It is our hope that legislative focus will now remain on truly making our schools, supermarkets, streets, and cities safer rather than ignoring the root causes of violent crime to move a senseless gun control agenda.
Stay updated with this issue and others by visiting our website and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook so you stay an informed gun owner.
OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Washington Examiner: Black Friday Gun Sales Were Third Highest Ever
People weren’t just buying TVs at Walmart on Black Friday. Last Friday also went down in history as likely the third-best day for gun sales ever, with the FBI recording 192,749 background checks. Traditionally, Black Fridays are the best gun sales days of the year, and last Friday was bested by only two other recent Black Fridays, in 2017 and 2019. Just those three days combined for sales background checks of nearly 600,000. FBI background checks are the best way to figure gun sales, though not on a scale of 1 to 1. The industry’s representative, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said, for example, “The NICS checks are unadjusted, representing raw data from the FBI and are inclusive of all background checks related to firearms.”
Fox Business: Montana AG Concerned FedEx, UPS May Be Tracking Gun Ownership For White House
Montany Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent letters to logistics companies UPS and FedEx demanding information on their altered policies on firearms and whether they are in cooperation with federal agencies. “What this looks to me, and a lot my colleagues, is the administration … can’t get more gun control passed through the Senate and through the House. And so what they’re trying to do is pressure their friends in large business to do it for them,” Montana AG Austin Knudsen told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Wednesday. Knudsen was pushed to send the letters Tuesday, first obtained by the Free Beacon, after receiving complaints from “several Montanans who hold Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs)” who told the attorney general that new regulations and information collection effectively circumvent warrant laws.
The Guardian: Six Million Americans Carried Guns Daily In 2019, Twice As Many As In 2015
An estimated 6 million American adults carried a loaded handgun with them daily in 2019, double the number who said they carried a gun every day in 2015, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health. The new estimates highlight a decades-long shift in American gun ownership, with increasing percentages of gun owners saying they own firearms for self-defense, not hunting or recreation, and choosing to carry a gun with them when they go out in public, said Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington, and the study’s lead author.
Associated Press: Group Files Emergency Motion To Stop Oregon Gun Control Law
A gun rights group, sheriff and gun store owner filed an emergency motion in federal court late Wednesday seeking to stop enforcement of one of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. The gun control measure narrowly approved by Oregon voters is set go into effect on Dec. 8. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut on Thursday scheduled a hearing on the motion for Dec. 2. The state has until next Wednesday to file a response to the emergency motion for preliminary injunction.