Free Beacon: Democrats' Gun Bill Would Force AG’s Office To Team Up With Gun-Control Ally

You can read the full story here.  The news of what the Democrats gun control bills would do just keeps getting worse.  We already knew that HR1446 was bad, basically delaying the sale of a firearm indefinitely if the FBI does not return an all-clear within 10 days.  The seller would have to petition the government to release the firearm to the buyer if the background check result had not been returned within that time.  Now we learn from Stephen Gutowski at the Washington Free Beacon that the bill could "steer taxpayer dollars to a leading gun-control ally to consult on a federal study of the background check system."

Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn's (D., S.C.) H.R. 1446 would require the attorney general to work with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms to report how the bill affects victims of domestic violence and empower the group to suggest other reforms. The center is a partner of the gun-control advocacy group Giffords Law Center, according to its website. The Giffords PAC spent more than $11 million backing Democratic candidates in the 2020 election. 

The connection between the report and a prominent gun-control organization could hinder the appeal of the legislation. If Republicans or moderate Democrats are turned off by the provision, it will make the job of passing it through a closely divided House even more difficult. A similar bill passed in 2019 but saw seven Democrats join Republicans in opposition; H.R. 1446 would likely not survive such defections in 2021 following GOP gains in the House.

Debate will take place in the House today with a vote likely tomorrow. Contact your representative now and urge him/her to oppose this bill.

ABC News: With New Clout, VA Democrats to Push Gun Control

You can find the full story here.  The VSSA Legislative team has already seen some of the expected bills prefiled.  Expect bills requiring in-person training to qualify for a concealed handgun permit (currently online courses qualify), a bill banning bump stocks, and the usual "universal background checks bills, to name a few. 

Del. John Bell, another northern Virginia Democrat and an Air Force veteran, said he plans to introduce several gun-related bills after campaigning heavily on the issue. One would require in-person training to obtain a concealed handgun permit. Currently, training can be done online or by video.

Another proposal already filed would ban bump stocks, the device used by a gunman who opened fire in Las Vegas, killing 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Gun ban advocates are going to attempt to pick off some of the "moderate" GOP members in each chamber to try and pass something. Gun owners are going to need to be ready to contact their legislators to keep bad bills from reaching the Governor's desk.

Another Democrat Back Tracks on Prior Support for Second Amendment Rights

This time it's former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, whom the NRA endorsed for re-election in 2010 when he was up against former Representative John Kasich.  But according to the Dayton Daily News, now that he is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman, Strickland has tacked back toward the gun ban crowd:

There was nothing subtle about the TV commercial in 2010: As Gov. Ted Strickland held a hunting rifle, an announcer said as a member of the U.S. House in 1994, Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich “voted to take away our gun rights — a major reason the National Rifle Association gave Strickland an A-plus rating.

Fast forward to today and the same Ted Strickland, who is in a contested U.S. Senate Democratic primary race next spring against Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, has become an advocate of the type of gun restrictions he once opposed.

Voters don’t always reward such flip-flops. Many thought Democratic gubernatorial candidate Anthony J. Celebrezze hurt himself in 1990 when he jettisoned his lifelong opposition to abortion rights and lost the election to Republican George V. Voinovich.

And even as Strickland’s aides insist he became an advocate of new gun restrictions in the wake of the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults in 2012 at a Connecticut elementary school, analysts suggest the former governor realizes that opposition to gun restrictions could hurt him among Democratic primary voters who tend to back tougher gun laws.

It's not really good news that another Democrat that was a supporter of our right to keep and bear arms has done an about face.  When only one party believes in our rights, it doesn't bode well for our long term freedom.  Apparently, even in pro-rights Ohio, all Democrats believe it is smarter to run on gun control than against it.