Republicans Cave to Gun Control with Violence Against Women Act

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Republicans Cave to Gun Control with Violence Against Women Act IMG NRA-ILA

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Red flags in H.R. 1620 up for negotiation,” Gun Owners of America alerted members earlier this month. “[GOA] has been fighting against a new form of ‘red flag’ gun confiscation orders in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act or VAWA since 2019, when anti-gunners politicized the funding to include gun control.”

Indicating support for negotiations was Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a past beneficiary of substantial financial and political support from the National Rifle Association, other national and state “gun rights” groups, and politically active gun owners in general:

“In September, HuddlePolitico’s ‘play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news’—reported on the negotiations, saying: Ernst told Huddle that she sees a path forward for VAWA, including on firearms provisions which have held up negotiations for years. ‘I think we’ve found a potential solution on that,” she told Huddle, without additional details. “We’re just running the traps,’ she said.”

A ”potential solution” for whom?

GOA asked its supporters to contact their senators with a pre-written form letter. I did, despite previously expressed reservations about wasting time and effort contacting doctrinaire Democrat gun-grabbers occupying secure seats. In such cases, there ought to be a way to have such emails sent to representatives in other states or districts who are more vulnerable and subject to “persuasion”—after all, what they will vote on affects us all, and people can donate to politicians (or their competitors) in other states. A reminder of that can’t hurt.

This time, my Democrat Senator, Sherrod Brown, ignored me, no doubt because I replied to his last bout of “I have always respected the Second Amendment” BUT phony excuse-making on “weapons of war” by calling him a tool. His staffers have no doubt put me on a “Do Not Respond” list.

My Republican Senator, Rob Portman, isn’t running again, and the boilerplate form letter he sent back that totally ignored the gun issues I wrote him about told me he not only wasn’t going to address the specifics but that he no longer had to care what his constituents thought.

Since Ernst appears to be the catalyst for compromise, one of her Iowa constituents (WarOnGuns Correspondent Michael G) also acted on the GOA Alert and sent me the responses from both her and Senior Senator Chuck Grassley.

It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Ernst pulled a Portman and blathered on about the VAWA bill but completely ignored the reason he was contacted, to pin her down on the “red flag” concessions she had indicated were negotiable. Since many other constituents had also responded to the GOA action, there is no other explanation than she knew what they wanted and was deliberately ignoring them and trying to hide behind non-responsive weasel words. That’s hardly an appropriate reply from someone who has relied on gun owner support before and will presumably need it again.”

Grassley, to his credit, addressed the “red flag” subject from the start. Unfortunately, if you break down what he’s really saying, he’s not promising he won’t support confiscations. He’s saying he will if certain conditions are met, and he – or rather, his PR flacks – says that in such an equivocal way that it’s likely to get past those who don’t know any better and are susceptible to false equivalencies.

“I believe any red flag gun legislation must have sufficient due process protections in place to protect important constitutional rights,” Grassley’s response asserts. “Red flag laws are mainly an issue for states, but I would support a federal proposal if it contains strong due process protections. Current proposals being discussed in Congress don’t do enough to safeguard an important constitutional right.”

OK, Senator. I’ll bite.

Define “sufficient due process protections” and how they compare with, say, being adjudicated guilty by a jury of your peers.

“Sentence first—verdict afterward” not only flies in the face of everything supposedly unique American justice has promised us it stands for, but it was also used not that long ago as an absurdist example of tyranny and madness that even children understood.

Further, it’s saying anyone disarmed without going through such a process can be trusted without a custodian — because that’s exactly what any “red flag laws” that don’t include incarceration until no longer a danger are going to result in: Someone deemed too dangerous to own a gun left in the general population with access not only to those he threatened but to the rest of us as well.

And all one needs to do to see the effectiveness of “legally” forbidding gun possession is enter “Chicago homicides” into Google and hit the “News” tab.

“You can be sure that any bill that seeks to restrict or restrain our Second Amendment rights will be given the strictest scrutiny and I will fight to ensure that no new extreme limitations are placed upon our Constitutional right to bear arms,” Grassley’s reply promises.

Not all courts agree with you on strict scrutiny, Senator, and that’s where it counts. And that leaves undefined what “new … limitations” you would not consider to be “extreme.” Don’t you think gun owners who have supported you because they trusted your NRA Political Victory Fund A+ rating deserve to know what you have in mind before you start using their rights as bargaining chips?

We could get into other parts of Grassley’s letter, starting with his acknowledgment that some laws are the proper purview of the states. That’s why the Founders defined the powers of the three branches of the national government and added the Tenth Amendment. It would seem that unless violence against women – or anyone, for that matter, has the effect of official actions to deny rights (like “red flag laws”!) or crosses state lines, the whole VAWA boondoggle is simply a wealth redistribution/bureaucracy building scheme for votes and a usurpation of power.

Bad things can happen when you do that. Again, it wasn’t that long ago then-Attorney General Janet Reno used “inaccurate” allegations of child sexual abuse that should have been left to Texas authorities as the trigger to authorize an unconstitutional assault that ended with four federal agents and 86 civilians killed, including 20 children and two miscarried babies. How about the FedGov stays in its lane?

Perhaps the ultimate question for any Republican considering “negotiating” infringements on the right to keep and bear arms with Democrats is “Why?” or less succinctly, “Why the **** would you do that, you moron?”

Did your oath mean nothing? Are the people who voted for you and supported your campaigns clamoring for it? Do you really think it will buy you anything with the Democrats and with the media, or more likely, will they be back after you hand them your concessions demanding more, and accusing you of being inflexible extremists who only care about white supremacists?

What is this Republican death wish that seduces the GOP into believing that “moderates” are viewed by the communists (let’s call “progressives” what they really are) as anything other than useful idiots — or targets for elimination after they’ve outlived their usefulness? And more to the point, why do gun owners continue to let them get away with backstabbing? At least with Democrats, we can see it coming.


About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

David Codrea

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Deplorable Bill

The right of the people to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. That is what the 2A says, that is in our constitution. Any law that violates the constitution is null and void per Marburry vs Madison, a supreme court case. Seems to me that some legislators have committed a crime against the very people they are supposed to work for. The job of government is to protect the people and guarantee and further their unalienable constitutional rights and freedoms. Rights like life, liberty, the pursuit of happyness, the right to keep and bear arms, the right of… Read more »

Mack

David,

There are several points that you could have addressed but didn’t, so I will.

First, the VAWA was the creation of Senator Joe Biden which he later said was his “proudest legislative accomplishment” so he has a real interest in getting this legislation done.

Second, despite the legal fiction “substantially affects interstate commerce” the Supreme Court found major elements to be unconstitutional.See 529 U.S. 598 (2000).

Third, so-called ‘Red-Flag’ language has no place in this Act. That really would violate the principles of Federalism.

Ernst should know better; I suspect she does and just doesn’t care.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mack
JimmyS

Traitors commit treason. If they cared for the laws, they would not commit treason. They are there in office to push whatever treason they can get passed.

Stag

Republicans didn’t “cave” on anything. They have been supporting and enacting arms laws for decades. There are only a handful of Republicans in the federal government who have consistently refused to vote for any arms control. The rest are a bunch of butters and Fudds who only pander to gun owners during election cycles. Their supporters are either ignorant of that fact, support infringement as well, or are suffering from some severe cognitive dissonance if they refuse to believe it.

DDS

In some cases perhaps, but not all. I was watching CSPAN one day. Tanya Metaksa of NRA/ILA was testifying before a house committee about some anti RKBA bill or another when then Rep, Charles Schumer said the NRA had the Republicans in their pocket. My Rep., one Ileanna Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) turned to him and said she’d be happy to compare her NRA F rating to his at any time. That was in fact the magic spell. I voted against her every time she ran until she retired. And whenever I saw her in person, which happened at least once a… Read more »

Russn8r

I know a former director/officer who was in an elevator with Metaksa at an annual meet when she complained fundraising was dropping off so we needed DiFi to intro a gun control bill. No one laughed. She was serious. He said that’s how they think & talk when the cam’s not on.

Last edited 2 years ago by Russn8r
Russn8r

I think only the vast majority are corrupt stupid traitors & not all Rs are in on it. Does that make me a chump?

What’s the alternative to retaking the R party? LoLibertarian? Delusional globalist open immigration Ls are far worse. They can’t even honestly take the pledge of allegiance, let alone the oath of office.

Last edited 2 years ago by Russn8r
Grigori

I don’t understand why you got a down vote for your post. I have told people for at least the last twenty years that “R” does not necessarily mean pro-2A. You are absolutely correct.

Mack

“Republicans didn’t ‘cave’ on anything”

I have to say, Stag, you make an excellent observation.

And I will also say here I don’t really like using the word ‘cave’ when it should actually be ‘caved in’ which is better, I think.

When you’re in a cave, and then there is a cave-in, either you’re trapped or you’re dead.

Now the: apply that to the GOP.

See?

Jaque

In the end the only ones I trust are myself and God.

Politicians by definition cannot be trusted.

Its long past the day of reckoning. Its time to sharpen the sabers and load the cannons.

swmft

will a 50 bmg do ,no known body armor stops it

Wild Bill

Do you have a crew served weapon? I like the enthusiasm, though!

gregs

our representatives in congress are supposed to do just that, represent us, not themselves. they get elected to do what we want, not what they feel like. doesn’t matter which party they are from they don’t listen to us. my reps here in fla only respond with form letters, virtually identical on similar topics. no effort to actually respond to the issue written about.

Boz

Representative govt.? LOL

JPM

With such an overwhelming predominance of feminism that has infected this nation I am surprise all those feminists didn’t scream and protest over the title of this bill. Singling out women for special treatment and the necessary inference that they are weaker than men and needing special treatment seems to be something any feminist worth her salt would be throwing a full blown hissy fit about, but apparently, since it will benefit women, then it’s okay for them to overlook the hypocrisy.

Grigori

Thank You! I have long noted the glaring hypocrisy of the feminists. On one hand, they tell us that their balls are just as big, just as hairy, and just as sweaty, as ours are. They can do anything a man can and do it better. Then, in the next breath, they tell us they need special laws and special protections because “we are women, and men will run all over us if we don’t have special status”. So which is it? You can’t have it both ways.

The other Jim

Lieutenant Colonel Senator Joni Ernst appears to be developing a little bit of the Milley’s (referring to General Milley the sneak, liar, incompetent, racist hater of Caucasians, abandoner/murderer of American’s he left behind, gifter to the enemy of $83,000,000,000 in taxpayer paid for superior military weapons, transporter of unvetted Afghanistan Terrorists into America to plot murder and destruction against the people in the near future, etc).

Happy Everafter

This is a bit of a rant, but, why not? David points out an important point that the so-called Republicans, so-called conservative, having taken a so-called oath, have caved to the socialist techno-idiocracy. When I write to my senators, I too get ‘doctrinaire’ responses (if any) from both the Democrat one and the Republican one. Pretty sure their flunky-hacks are managing their bosses public perception via email. Say a lot without committing to anything. And look how these socialist bills are written – “Violence Against Women Act.” How can anyone publicly oppose this bill? How would they look in the… Read more »

Carbuilder

Another provision besides due process before any confiscation is there MUST be harsh penalties for any individual making false accusations leading to red flag confiscations hearings.

Arny

Women have equal rights under the law. It’s a complete BS bill to confiscate firearms. How about starting another private program that doesn’t infringe on others right to help with your lack of being able to protect yourselves. One that won’t cost taxpayers (lawsuits). I’d be curious to see which women(men) felt the need for this BS bill. Better yet maybe take some discretion when picking your partners. I’m tired of paying for others irresponsible choices. I pay for my own. How about pushing a federal bill to help seniors. Once retired no more taxation. Why should seniors be taxed… Read more »

Mack

As I indicated below, SCOTUS declared parts of VAWA unconstitutional.

Full citation:

United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 120 S.Ct. 1740 (2000)

Last edited 2 years ago by Mack
Wild Bill

Good cite!

Roland T. Gunner

“Violence Against Women” act? I am sick of all the special and protected classes.

Hazcat

Lord this is a useless article! Title “Republicans cave … ” yet no where is it stated that the act has passed, no vote totals or rosters, no next steps as in it has to go to the Senate.

Why did you write this drivel? It is nothing but an empty rant. How about some actual information.

Russn8r

my Democrat Senator, Sherrod Brown, ignored me”

Really? Ignored YOU? OutRAGEOUS!

Bob

If you were to call brown or portman the people in the Toledo office would tell you that neither idiots would tell you anything. The answer would be “He hasn’t made up his mind yet.”
Most people who hate reps and senators generally like their own. I’ve despised both of these idiots ever they started running for office.

Bob

I am currently happy I left Ohio and am now a Florida resident.