Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is reportedly about to splash out tens of millions of dollars on a dedicated campaign to push Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) out of the running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
The &#8220;onslaught&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/24/mike-bloomberg-prepares-media-blitz-against-bernie-sanders.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&amp;par=sharebar">as CNBC is calling it</a>, will include &#8220;digital ads,&#8221; &#8220;op-eds,&#8221; and &#8220;surrogate TV appearances,&#8221; as well as a robust opposition research effort &#8212; something that Sanders has never been subjected to before.
&#8220;Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign plans to unleash its cash-flush media operation against Bernie Sanders in the wake of the Vermont senator’s resounding victory in the Nevada caucuses,&#8221; the business-focused outlet reported on Monday. &#8220;Senior aides to Bloomberg’s campaign have been discussing how they are going to use some of their resources against Sanders, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be named because these decisions were made in private.&#8221;
Cost is no object for Bloomberg, who has already pledged $500 million of his own money to his presidential campaign &#8212; a campaign that is now a crusade to dethrone Sanders, deny him the majority of available delegates ahead of the Democratic National Convention, robbing Sanders of winning the nomination outright and, likely, sending the nomination process to a second vote. The effort is expensive for Bloomberg, but barely cuts into his estimated $60 billion net worth.
Bloomberg, though, has yet to appear on a single primary ballot &#8212; and won&#8217;t appear on one until at least March 3, Super Tuesday. Nationally, he&#8217;s polling behind Sanders, 22% to 15%, but ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden, who was once thought of as the presumptive nominee.
The effor launched Monday with an ad targeting likely voters in South Carolina with information about Sanders&#8217; ties to the National Rifle Association, an issue Sanders probably did not expect to resurface so soon, but one well within Bloomberg&#8217;s wheelhouse.
&#8220;The ad, posted to Bloomberg&#8217;s Twitter account, argues that Sanders was elected to Congress with the help of the NRA and has multiple times taken pro-gun stances in Congress,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bloomberg-launches-broadside-against-sanders-on-gun-control">Fox News said Monday</a>. &#8220;The ad cites a 1990 letter by NRA chief Wayne LaPierre telling Vermont NRA members that Sanders is a better choice for Vermont than former Republican Rep. Peter Smith, who backed an assault-weapons ban.&#8221;
The ad accuses Sanders of taking money from gun-crazy millionaires and billionaires: &#8220;With that letter, and thousands of dollars in advertising, the NRA helped elect Bernie Sanders to Congress. Sanders voted with the NRA and opposed federal background checks by trying to block the Brady Bill 5 times.&#8221;
Fox News reports that &#8220;[c]ontrary to Bloomberg&#8217;s narrative, however, Sanders in 2012 received a D-minus rating from the NRA, according to records archived by Bloomberg&#8217;s own Everytown group. Sanders has also been a harsh critic of the NRA and the gun lobby in recent years,&#8221; neutralizing Bloomberg&#8217;s point somewhat.
Sanders won in Nevada, per CNBC, on the backs of an anti-billionaire message, targeting Bloomberg directly. But Democrats are begging Bloomberg to get further involved in the nomination process, fearing Sanders will run away with the nomination without a serious challenge, and hoping that the anti-billionaire message will be neutralized, nationally, by Bloomberg&#8217;s perceived status as a &#8220;moderate&#8221; (and that there is plenty of opposition research available against Sanders).

Presidential Candidate Mike Bloomberg Holds Campaign Rally In Nashville

REPORT: Michael Bloomberg Preparing Multi-Million Dollar ‘Onslaught’ Against Bernie Sanders

2020 Election

Bernie Sanders

Michael Bloomberg

National Rifle Association (NRA)

Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) suggested on Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the National Rifle Association (NRA) were responsible for attempted assassinations on two police officers in New York City over the weekend.
&#8220;Twice in 12 hours, a single gunman terrorized the New York Police Department, firing upon and wounding uniformed officers stationed in the Bronx in separate attacks that officials have condemned as assassination attempts,&#8221; The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/09/bronx-nypd-police-shootings/">reported</a>. &#8220;One officer was shot in the neck and chin Saturday night when the suspected gunman fired several rounds into a marked police van and then fled, authorities said. At 7 a.m. Sunday morning, police say, the same man walked into the Bronx precinct headquarters and opened fire again, striking a lieutenant in the arm and surrendering after his 9mm handgun ran out of bullets.&#8221;
Columnist David Webb called out Ocasio-Cortez for not responding to the attacks, writing, &#8220;I checked both @AOC and ⁦ @RepAOC and so far no comment about the #NYPD officers shot in her district.&#8221;
Ocasio-Cortez responded by writing, &#8220;This is not my district, but our thoughts are with all officers &amp; people impacted by this shooting &amp; the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Perhaps you would get less mixed up if McConnell stood up to the NRA &amp; passed common-sense gun safety measures to reduce shootings.&#8221;
Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s suggestion that the alleged attempted targeted assassinations could have been stopped by restricting Americans’ Second Amendment rights with legislation is laughably false because the alleged attacker had a history of violent crime and thus would have been banned from owning or possessing a firearm, meaning no law would have stopped him.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Sunday at a news conference that the man had a “lengthy violent criminal history,” including serving over a decade in prison for attempted murder.
Former NFL player and current Republican congressional candidate Burgess Owens slammed Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s response, writing, &#8220;Maybe this isn&#8217;t the perfect timing to remind us how clueless you are when it comes to gun laws. Maybe you&#8217;re not aware of how strict NY gun laws are, or maybe you&#8217;re just trying your best to capitalize on a tragedy and use it for talking points. Disgusting.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Maybe this isn&#39;t the perfect timing to remind us how clueless you are when it comes to gun laws. Maybe you&#39;re not aware of how strict NY gun laws are, or maybe you&#39;re just trying your best to capitalize on a tragedy and use it for talking points. Disgusting.
&mdash; Burgess Owens (@BurgessOwens) <a href="https://twitter.com/BurgessOwens/status/1226622921965064192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Republican congressional candidate Catalina Lauf took a shot at Ocasio-Cortez, saying that her tweet was &#8220;a veiled radical gun control propaganda message.&#8221;
&#8220;Absolutely sick,&#8221; Lauf continued. &#8220;This was a planned attempt to harm them – not an example of &#8216;gun violence.&#8217; It is the person and their hateful bavior NOT the weapon.&#8221;
In the first part of her tweet, Lauf had mistakenly thought that Ocasio-Cortez deleted her tweet.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
And no surprise <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a> now deleted tweet offering sympathy to the NYC officers was a veiled radical gun control propaganda message. Absolutely sick. This was a planned attempt to harm them — not an example of “gun violence.” It is the person and their hateful bavior NOT the weapon.
&mdash; Catalina Lauf IL-14 Congressional Candidate (@CatalinaLauf) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatalinaLauf/status/1226634100410388482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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EV Freedom Act

Ocasio-Cortez Seems To Suggest McConnell Responsible For Attempted Assassinations In NYC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Mitch McConnell

New York City

Police

The National Rifle Association (NRA) fired back at Democrat presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg on Sunday after Bloomberg aired a wildly misleading ad during the Super Bowl attacking the Second Amendment.
The NRA&#8217;s ad came in response to a misleading $10 million ad that Bloomberg ran during the Super Bowl that made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-mike-bloombergs-anti-gun-super-bowl-ad-makes-wildly-misleading-claims-on-child-gun-deaths">wildly falsely claims</a> about the number of children killed by firearms every year.
The digital advertisement features the following quotes:
<ul>
<li>A man named Rehn: “Mike Bloomberg suggests that disarming minority males like myself will keep us alive. But I have news for you: Mike Bloomberg is a white billionaire who has no place in telling me how I can defend myself or my loved one. And Mike, as an African American male that you want to disarm, I promise you will never take away my Second Amendment. I am not afraid of Michael Bloomberg.&#8221;</li>
<li>A woman named Ashley: &#8220;As the mother of a three-year-old little boy, my family means everything to me. As a woman, I believe that the best way to protect my family is with a firearm. And Michael Bloomberg will never take that right away from me. I&#8217;m the gun lobby and I am not afraid of Michael Bloomberg. Mike, come and take it.&#8221;</li>
<li>A woman named Mikaela: &#8220;It&#8217;s very important to me to keep my home secure and that is why there is a gun on the left side of my bed and the right side. Mr. Bloomberg, your home is protected by armed guards at all times. Why can&#8217;t I exercise my Second Amendment rights to protect mine? I am not afraid of Michael Bloomberg.&#8221;</li>
<li>A woman named Olivia: &#8220;As a woman, it&#8217;s important that I&#8217;m able to defend myself. As a mother, I would like to pass that on to my daughter so that she knows she never has to be defenseless. Mike Bloomberg, think about the women in your life, are you okay with the fact that your policies could leave them defenseless? Michael Bloomberg will never take that right away my right to defend myself. I am not afraid of Michael Bloomberg.&#8221;</li>
<li>A man named Deon: &#8220;I&#8217;m a proud father and if anyone messes with my daughter, they gonna learn today. Mike thinks it&#8217;s stupid for us to own guns in our own home. Mike, what part of shall not be infringed don&#8217;t you understand? Michael Bloomberg will never take away my right to defend my family. I am not afraid of Michael Bloomberg.&#8221;</li>
<li>A man named Joe: &#8220;As a former SWAT officer, I have been in many scary situations before. But Mike Bloomberg, I&#8217;m not afraid.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NRA members don&#39;t like hypocritical NYC billionaires. You want to know how real Americans feel, Bloomberg? Watch this!
Your $10M <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperBowl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperBowl</a> ad won&#39;t beat the American spirit. You want to take our guns, go ahead and try. We will fight for our freedom. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperBowlLIV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperBowlLIV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GAOS2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GAOS2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/Bq8bNUqpCn">pic.twitter.com/Bq8bNUqpCn</a>
&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1224143195073929217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Fox News&#8217; Gregg Re <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bloomberg-10-million-dollar-super-bowl-ad-gun-violence">reported</a> on Saturday that Bloomberg&#8217;s Super Bowl ad was wildly inaccurate:
<blockquote>However, a recent report from the Bloomberg-founded group Everytown for Gun Safety came up with that same number – but only when it included teenagers ages 18 and 19 in the calculation. Bloomberg’s advertisement makes no mention of older teenagers and suggests that the statistic is referring to younger children only. Washington Free Beacon reporter Stephen Gutowski <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenGutowski/status/1223662192848973824" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">found</a> that once adults were removed from the calculation, the number dropped by nearly half.
Additionally, court documents from a Texas state appellate court reviewed by Fox News show that the victim referenced in the advertisement, George Kemp, was 20 years old at the time of his death.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When you look at the same data but remove the adults you get 1,499 gun deaths per year among children between 2013 and 2017. That&#39;s about 51% of the number shown in Bloomberg&#39;s Super Bowl ad. <a href="https://t.co/P6xyHp1QVt">https://t.co/P6xyHp1QVt</a>
&mdash; Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenGutowski/status/1223662192848973824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Reason Magazine <a href="https://reason.com/2020/02/02/michael-bloombergs-claim-about-children-killed-by-gun-violence-is-off-by-73/">reported</a>: &#8220;According to to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FactCheck.org notes, the average number of firearm-related deaths involving Americans 17 or younger from 2013 through 2017 (the period used by Everytown for Gun Safety) was about 1,500, roughly half the number cited by Bloomberg. Furthermore, nearly two-fifths of those deaths were suicides, meaning the number of minors killed each year by &#8216;gun violence,&#8217; as that term is usually understood, is about 73 percent smaller than the figure cited in Bloomberg&#8217;s ad.&#8221;
This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.

Mike Bloomberg NRA

WATCH: NRA Torches Bloomberg After He Runs Misleading Super Bowl Ad

Gun Control

Super Bowl

Thousands of law-abiding gun owners are expected to descend on Richmond, Virginia, on Monday to begin pushing back on far-left Democrats&#8217; attempts to ram through an extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda that seeks to ban numerous firearms and other lawfully owned firearm accessories.
The gun owners are attending the National Rifle Association’s legislative action day at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond because that is when the first hearings on the issue start in the Virginia State Senate.
The NRA announced on Sunday that Magpul sent the NRA &#8220;1,000 30 Round PMAGs to hand out tomorrow in Richmond to NRA members who show up to fight Northam’s extreme gun ban!&#8221;
The NRA added, &#8220;We’ll see everyone TOMORROW at the General Assembly Building in Senate Sub-Committee Room #1 on the 5th Floor at 8am!&#8221;
Following his scandal involving a blackface and KKK photo that he was featured in, Virginia Democrat Governor Ralph Northam has aggressively pushed for radical gun control policies in the state, including confiscating legally-owned firearms from law-abiding citizens.
&#8220;I ask all Virginians to refrain from promoting fear and intimidation,&#8221; Northam said in response to the backlash that has swelled across the state to his anti-freedom agenda.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
EMERGENCY AIRLIFT: <a href="https://twitter.com/Magpul_HQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Magpul_HQ</a> sent us 1,000 30 Round PMAGs to hand out tomorrow in Richmond to NRA members who show up to fight Northam’s extreme gun ban!
We’ll see everyone TOMORROW at the General Assembly Building in Senate Sub-Committee Room #1 on the 5th Floor at 8am! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/valeg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#valeg</a> <a href="https://t.co/wovch0bTuU">pic.twitter.com/wovch0bTuU</a>
&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1216550061221588992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The grassroots resistance to Virginia Democrats’ extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda has exploded as nearly 90% of the counties in the state have declared themselves to be sanctuary cities in response to the Democrats’ anti-freedom agenda,&#8221; The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/resistance-to-virginia-democrats-extreme-anti-second-amendment-agenda-surges-to-new-heights">reported</a> in November. &#8220;More than 100 cities, towns, and counties have passed resolutions in preparation for Democrats taking over the state who had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-democrats-filing-proposals-to-begin-confiscation-of-lawfully-owned-firearms-second-amendment-reporter-says">indicated</a> a desire to confiscate semi-automatic firearms from law-abiding citizens.&#8221;
The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/gun-control-group-attracts-far-fewer-richmond-2a-sanctuary-movement/">reported</a> last week that the far-left group Moms Demand Action, a subsidiary of Michael Bloomberg&#8217;s Everytown for Gun Safety, drew 200 activists to a recent event which was &#8220;dwarfed by the tens of thousands who have attended Second Amendment sanctuary meetings all over the state.&#8221;
&#8220;We believe it’s best when lawmakers talk directly to voters. We know that NRA members are active and engaged in grassroots activism. The more people out there and sharing the message, that’s a win,&#8221; Catherine Mortensen, NRA spokesperson, told The Daily Wire in statement. &#8220;The 13th is the first meeting of the Senate Courts of Justice committee. That’s the first committee of jurisdiction on all the Northam gun control. We want to make sure that our members and supporters are in Richmond at that committee hearing on that day so that their voices are heard. It’s critical that our members are there early in the session to make the biggest impact in order to stop these gun bills from moving forward.&#8221;
The Virginia Democrats&#8217; attempt to confiscate legally-owned firearms from law abiding citizens is a move that &#8220;resembles what communist China has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/communist-china-private-ownership-of-guns-in-u-s-serious-problem-must-change">called on the U.S. to do</a> in recent days,&#8221; as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uprising-hundreds-of-first-time-pro-gun-activists-flood-nra-town-hall-in-virginia">pointed out</a> last month. The Chinese government is guilty of numerous civil rights abuses, including having locked up <a href="https://apnews.com/62097e9dd2844aab8d64a2be2ebaa972">millions</a> in concentration camps, allegedly forcefully <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-forcefully-harvests-organs-detainees-tribunal-concludes-n1018646">harvesting</a> the organs of detainees, and instituted a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/technology/ecuador-surveillance-cameras-police-government.html">massive surveillance state</a> through which it is further clamping down on the freedoms of its citizens.

Governor Ralph Northam addresses a joint session of the  Virginia General Assembly, which went solidly blue in 2019, on January 08 in Richmond, VA.

Gun Owners Descend Upon Virginia’s Capital To Push Back On Democrats’ Extreme Gun Control Agenda. NRA Handing Out Free 30 Round Magazines.

Ralph Northam

Virginia

Hundreds of pro-gun political activists showed up to an NRA town hall in Roanoke, Virginia, on Friday night as the backlash continues to grow over the plans by Virginia Democrats to enact their far-left agenda aimed at decimating Second Amendment rights.
Sources told The Daily Wire that up to 400 people attended the event, many of whom were women and first time political activists.
The event comes as Virginia Democrats attempt to confiscate legally-owned firearms from law abiding citizens in a move that resembles what communist China has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/communist-china-private-ownership-of-guns-in-u-s-serious-problem-must-change">called on the U.S. to do</a> in recent days. China has <a href="https://apnews.com/62097e9dd2844aab8d64a2be2ebaa972">millions</a> of people locked up in concentration camps, is engaged in forcefully <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-forcefully-harvests-organs-detainees-tribunal-concludes-n1018646">harvesting</a> the organs of detainees, and has instituted a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/technology/ecuador-surveillance-cameras-police-government.html">massive surveillance state</a> that it is using to clamp down on the freedoms of its citizens.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/resistance-to-virginia-democrats-extreme-anti-second-amendment-agenda-surges-to-new-heights">reported</a> last month:
<blockquote>The grassroots resistance to Virginia Democrats’ extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda has exploded as nearly 90% of the counties in the state have declared themselves to be sanctuary cities in response to the Democrats’ anti-freedom agenda.
More than 100 cities, towns, and counties have passed resolutions in preparation for Democrats taking over the state who had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-democrats-filing-proposals-to-begin-confiscation-of-lawfully-owned-firearms-second-amendment-reporter-says">indicated</a> a desire to confiscate semi-automatic firearms from law-abiding citizens.</blockquote>
The rapidly growing resistance to Democrats&#8217; attempts to confiscate firearms is expected to reach new levels in a little over a week as thousands of pro-gun Virginians are planning to attend the NRA&#8217;s legislative action day in Richmond on January 13.
The event is being held on the 13th at the Virginia State Capitol because that is when the first hearings on the issue start in the Virginia State Senate.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Last night, hundreds of NRA members joined shoulder to shoulder in Roanoke, Virginia to discuss how they will stand and fight against the Northam/Bloomberg gun confiscation plan.
We sat down with a few of these patriots and here was the message they had for Richmond. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/valeg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#valeg</a> <a href="https://t.co/GMrufukada">pic.twitter.com/GMrufukada</a>
&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1213494858389831683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Catherine Mortensen, NRA spokesperson, told The Daily Wire, &#8220;We believe it&#8217;s best when lawmakers talk directly to voters. We know that NRA members are active and engaged in grassroots activism. The more people out there and sharing the message, that&#8217;s a win.&#8221;
&#8220;The 13th is the first meeting of the Senate Courts of Justice committee. That&#8217;s the first committee of jurisdiction on all the Northam gun control,&#8221; Mortensen continued. &#8220;We want to make sure that our members and supporters are in Richmond at that committee hearing on that day so that their voices are heard. It&#8217;s critical that our members are there early in the session to make the biggest impact in order to stop these gun bills from moving forward.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to get our members directly to their lawmakers. We want our members and supporters having those face-to-face meetings with their lawmakers,&#8221; Mortensen added. &#8220;We know that law-abiding gun owners are active and engaged. And they may be members of several different groups. This gives them additional opportunities to engage in grassroots activism, and that is all positive. If numerous groups are out there and sharing the message, that&#8217;s a win.&#8221;
&#8220;The NRA is focused on encouraging our members and supporters to be active and engaged with their legislators from the first day of the session to the last,&#8221; Mortensen concluded. &#8220;The NRA will have a strong presence at the Capitol throughout the legislative session, but we know it&#8217;s the voice and the presence of our members that carry the most weight with lawmakers.&#8221;

NRA Town Hall In Virginia

UPRISING: Hundreds Of ‘First Time’ Pro-Gun Activists Flood NRA Town Hall In Virginia

Guns

Second Amendment

A slew of pro-Second Amendment billboards have started to pop up around Virginia raising awareness of the radical anti-gun agenda that Democrats in the state are prepared to impose on law-abiding citizens with the backing of billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
A source sent The Daily Wire a photograph of one of the billboards on Thursday night, which was paid for by the National Rifle Association (NRA) Institute For Legislative Action, and states:
<blockquote>
THE NORTHAM / BLOOMBERG GUN CONFISCATION PLAN STARTS JAN. 8
2 WEEKS
</blockquote>
The billboards come in response to Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam&#8217;s announcement in November that he was &#8220;working&#8221; on confiscating guns from law-abiding gun owners. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-controlled-virginia-working-on-confiscating-guns-from-law-abiding-citizens-governor-says">reported</a>:
<blockquote>During a Cabinet meeting on in early November, Northam “mentioned universal background checks, banning the sale of [semi-automatic firearms] and high-capacity magazines, restoring the law that limits purchases to one gun a month, and a red flag law that would empower a court to temporarily remove a gun from a person deemed to be a risk to himself or others,” The Washington Post reported.
“We will at least start with those,” Northam said.
When asked about confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens, Northam responded “that’s something I’m working [on] with our secretary of public safety,” adding that he will work with anti-gun activists on the issue.</blockquote>
The reaction to the announcement by Northam, who has managed to politically survive <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gov-northams-medical-school-yearbook-page-shows-men-in-blackface-kkk-robe/2019/02/01/517a43ee-265f-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html">his KKK/blackface scandal</a>, has been intense; 90% of the state has responded by declaring itself a &#8220;sanctuary&#8221; from the Democrats&#8217; anti-gun rights agenda.
The news comes as a new <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/24/virginia-governor-northam-increases-corrections-budget-in-anticipation-of-jailing-gun-owners/">report</a> published at The Daily Caller noted that Democrats in the state have reportedly asked for hundreds of thousands of extra dollars in a new budget in preparation for jailing law-abiding gun owners:
<blockquote>The $250,000 is appropriated to the Corrections Special Reserve Fund in order to provide for the “increase in the operating cost of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment” of Northam’s gun control measures. Among the enumerated laws that this allocation is meant to fund is <a href="https://www.nraila.org/articles/20191125/bloomberg-bought-virginia-legislators-introduce-confiscatory-gun-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms</a>, the <a href="https://www.nraila.org/articles/20191206/background-checks-for-family-members-bloomberg-bought-virginia-legislature-seeks-to-ban-private-firearms-transfers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">criminalization of private firearms transfers</a>, and gun confiscation orders issued without due process.</blockquote>
Bloomberg — who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-megadonor-michael-bloomberg-repeatedly-defends-chinas-communist-party-gets-slammed-by-critics">openly sympathizes with the Communist Party of China</a>, which has millions locked up in concentration camps and has established a massive surveillance state that it uses to spy on its citizens in a crackdown on their freedoms — is the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/06/mike-bloombergs-gun-control-outspends-nra-helps-democrats-win-virginia.html">founder</a> of the far-left group Everytown for Gun Safety. Bloomberg&#8217;s gun control organization outspent the NRA in Virginia during the 2018 elections and was a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/politics/bloomberg-everytown-for-gun-safety-virginia-elections/index.html">major factor</a> in helping Democrats take over the entire state.
&#8220;The grassroots resistance to Virginia Democrats’ extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda has exploded as nearly 90% of the counties in the state have declared themselves to be sanctuary cities in response to the Democrats’ anti-freedom agenda,&#8221; The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/resistance-to-virginia-democrats-extreme-anti-second-amendment-agenda-surges-to-new-heights">reported</a> last week. &#8220;More than 100 cities, towns, and counties have passed resolutions in preparation for Democrats taking over the state who had indicated a desire to confiscate semi-automatic firearms from law-abiding citizens.&#8221;

NRA Gun Billboard

Billboards Pop Up Around Virginia Amid Second Amendment Uprising: Bloomberg Gun Confiscation Starts In 2 Weeks

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) was recorded lashing out at both her constituents and the National Rifle Association (NRA) on Tuesday evening during a town hall aimed at curbing gun violence.
&#8220;This is why the NRA has got to go,&#8221; <a href="https://pluralist.com/haley-stevens-town-hall-gun-control/">Stevens shouted</a> as pro-second Amendment advocates made their voices heard. &#8220;The NRA has got to go!&#8221; she screamed a second time.
An estimated 200 people attended the hour-long event, which was held at the Multi-Lakes Conservation Association in suburban Detroit. Interestingly, the venue is home to pistol, shotgun, and rifle ranges and many attendees showed up open-carrying their own firearms.
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📢<a href="https://twitter.com/RepHaleyStevens?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepHaleyStevens</a> shouts: The NRA has got to go📢 <a href="https://t.co/Vpnun5vwN5">pic.twitter.com/Vpnun5vwN5</a>
&mdash; Michigan Rising Action (@MIRisingAction) <a href="https://twitter.com/MIRisingAction/status/1179392984518942720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The town hall was organized as a question-and-answer style format and was intended to cover a variety of gun-related topics spanning from protecting victims of domestic abuse to firearm storage, reported <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/01/haley-stevens-holds-gun-violence-town-hall-at-gun-club/3834884002/">The Detroit News</a>. In addition to Stevens, Michigan&#8217;s House Democratic Leader Christine Greig and Democratic State Rep. Robert Wittenberg were also in attendance.
During the contentious town hall, many of the attendees booed and shouted &#8220;NRA,&#8221; showing their support for the gun rights organization, and some held signs that said &#8220;Vote out Haley Stevens — a liar.&#8221;
The event was hosted by the left-wing activist group Fems for Dems, a grassroots organization focused on electing progressive lawmakers in the state of Michigan.
&#8220;Representative Haley Stevens revealed her true intentions during her unhinged outburst directed at her own constituents,&#8221; Tori Sachs, the executive director of Michigan Rising Action told The Daily Wire. &#8220;[She] may have run as a moderate who would support &#8216;common sense&#8217; gun reform, but it&#8217;s now clear she&#8217;s joined the gun-grabbing radical left trying to completely dismantle the NRA and take away 2nd Amendment rights from law-abiding citizens.&#8221;
&#8220;It makes sense that Haley Stevens would be widely out of touch with her constituents after living in liberal cities like Chicago and Washington D.C., only moving home to Michigan recently so she could run for office,&#8221; Sachs added.
Stevens was elected to the 11th Congressional District in 2018, when Michigan experienced a swing to the left following President Donald Trump&#8217;s surprise victory in the Great Lakes State in 2016. The seat was previously held by former Rep. Dave Trott (R-MI), who opted not to seek re-election after serving for two terms. While Trump won the congressional district in 2016, Stevens was able to flip the consistently red district blue.
Some of Stevens&#8217; Democratic colleagues in the state have been distancing themselves from the anti-NRA outburst as the video continues to circulate online.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to find a way to restore some sense of community, that we can disagree,&#8221; Rep. Debbie Dingell said on a <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/video/611315">local Detroit news show</a> while discussing Stevens&#8217; outburst. &#8220;We all have different life experiences, we have different perspectives, we&#8217;ve had different experiences. Instead of screaming at each other all the time, how do we listen to each other?&#8221;
&#8220;I made some stupid comments about the NRA when I was young, too, because I was afraid of them, and didn&#8217;t understand everything,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;But if we could find a way to listen to each other more and to take some of the drama out.&#8221;

Haley Stevens

WATCH: Democratic Lawmaker Screams At Constituents Over NRA Support

Michigan

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution last week declaring the nation&#8217;s most influential pro-Second Amendment advocate, the National Rifle Association (NRA), a &#8220;domestic terrorist organization&#8221; and urged the federal government to do the same. On Monday, the NRA filed a lawsuit against the far-left city for violating the organization&#8217;s free speech rights for political purposes.
In a <a href="https://sfgov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&amp;amp;ID=7568748&amp;amp;GUID=DF64490F-D8BC-4BF7-A43D-287F02BECCCA">resolution</a> passed Tuesday, the board of supervisors &#8220;declared the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization.&#8221; The City and County of San Francisco &#8220;should take every reasonable step to assess the financial and contractual relationships our vendors and contractors have with this domestic terrorist organization,&#8221; the resolution states, and they &#8220;should take every reasonable step to limit those entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business with this domestic terrorist organization.&#8221; The resolution also states that the municipalities will &#8220;encourage all other jurisdictions, including other cities, states, and the federal government, to adopt similar positions.&#8221;
&#8220;The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence, and the National Rifle Association spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence, and the leadership of National Rifle Association promotes extremist positions, in defiance of the views of a majority of its membership and the public, and undermine the general welfare, and the National Rifle Association through its advocacy has armed those individuals who would and have committed acts of terrorism,&#8221; the resolution charges. &#8220;All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association&#8217;s influence.&#8221;
The NRA immediately fired back, blasting the &#8220;ludicrous stunt&#8221; and calling out the city&#8217;s leaders for failing to protect its residents by allowing rampant crime and homelessness. &#8220;This ludicrous stunt by the Board of Supervisors is an effort to distract from the real problems facing San Francisco, such as rampant homelessness, drug abuse and skyrocketing petty crime, to name a few,&#8221; the NRA said in a statement reported by <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/ktvu-local-news/san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-designates-nra-domestic-terrorist-organization">KTVU</a>. &#8220;The NRA will continue working to protect the constitutional rights of all freedom-loving Americans.&#8221;
On Monday, the NRA took its response further, filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California accusing San Francisco officials of violating the organization&#8217;s First Amendment rights and blacklisting those associated with the group, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nra-sues-san-francisco-terrorist-declaration-65498939">ABC News</a> reports.
&#8220;This action is an assault on all advocacy organizations across the country,&#8221; said NRA lawyer William A. Brewer III in a statement. &#8220;There can be no place in our society for this manner of behavior by government officials. Fortunately, the NRA, like all U.S. citizens, is protected by the First Amendment.&#8221;
ABC notes that the NRA &#8220;has been battling a number of challenges to its operations in recent months, including an investigation by the attorney general in New York, where its charter was formed, and the attorney general in Washington, D.C., where authorities are questioning whether its operations are in violation of its non-profit status.&#8221; The group has also faced national boycotts targeting companies associated with the group organized by gun control activists.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51440/hammer-san-francisco-has-beclowned-itself-labeling-josh-hammer">HAMMER: San Francisco Has Beclowned Itself By Labeling The NRA A ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization’</a>

NRA members are seen checking out weapons and accessories

NRA Sues San Francisco For Labeling It ‘Terrorist Organization’

First Amendment

On Sunday, the two top Democratic congressional leaders issued an open letter to President Trump that makes an open attempt at appealing to his ego, pleading with him to seize this &#8220;historic opportunity&#8221; and take &#8220;urgent, personal action&#8221; on gun control in defiance of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
In a joint letter sent to Trump Sunday and published by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/us/politics/schumer-pelosi-trump-gun-control-letter.html">The New York Times</a>, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Trump that he is &#8220;uniquely poised&#8221; to answer the call of the American people, who are &#8220;crying out for their elected representatives to stop the epidemic of murder and mayhem that is shattering families and communities across the country.&#8221;
Quoting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stating recently that he would be &#8220;happy&#8221; to put gun control legislation on the floor &#8220;if the president took a position on a bill,&#8221; Pelosi and Schumer told Trump that he has a &#8220;historic opportunity to save lives,&#8221; particularly by supporting the House-passed universal background check bill, which many Republicans and the NRA have strongly criticized.
As an example of why the background check bill is so crucial, Pelosi and Schumer cite the claim that the Odessa, Texas shooter obtained his gun through a private sale, a claim that has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51445/breaking-report-refutes-cnns-claim-odessa-attacker-ryan-saavedra">refuted</a> by the Wall Street Journal, which reported that law enforcement officials suspect that a man &#8220;in the business of manufacturing or selling guns without a license&#8221; illegally sold the shooter the gun.
&#8220;We implore you to seize this moment when your leadership and influence over Republicans in Congress on the issue of guns is so critical,&#8221; the Democrats&#8217; letter reads. &#8220;Please do not squander it by acceding to NRA-backed proposals or other weak ideas that will do nothing to stop the continuing, horrific spread of gun violence and may, in some cases, actually make our communities less safe. We believe you have a unique opportunity to save American lives by giving political cover to your fellow Republicans to finally pass meaningful gun safety legislation. The time for you to act is now, before more lives are lost.&#8221;
Below is the full text of the letter:
<blockquote>Dear Mr. President:
We are writing this letter because your urgent, personal intervention is needed to stem the endless massacres of our fellow Americans by gunfire. In the month of August, 51 Americans were killed in mass shootings alone, and many others were killed in the daily tragedy of gun violence in our communities. We have a responsibility to make our schools, shopping centers, houses of worship and other public places safer. The American people are crying out for their elected representatives to stop the epidemic of murder and mayhem that is shattering families and communities across the country. You are uniquely poised to answer their call.
On September 3rd, Majority Leader McConnell made the following statement: &#8220;We&#8217;re in a discussion about what to do on the gun issue in the wake of these horrendous shootings. I said several weeks ago that if the president took a position on a bill, so that we knew we would actually be making a law, and just having serial votes, I&#8217;d be happy to put it on the floor. The administration is in the process of studying what they&#8217;re prepared to support, if anything, and I expect to get an answer to that next week.&#8221;
Leader McConnell&#8217;s statement demonstrates that Republicans in Congress are now prepared to follow you on the issue of gun safety. This is a significant change because in the past, their fealty to the National Rifle Association prevented Republicans from supporting gun safety measures advanced by President Obama and every other president who has attempted to confront this issue.
Just last month, you expressed support for stronger background checks which the NRA has long opposed. You now have a historic opportunity to save lives simply by indicating your support for H.R. 8, the House-passed universal bipartisan background check legislation currently being blocked by Leader McConnell and the Republican majority in the Senate. This bill would close the gaping loophole in the law that allows private gun sellers to evade exisiting background check requirements. While closing this loophole will not stop every shooting, it will undoubtedly save many lives by helping to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. In fact, this is the very loophole that reportedly allowed the gunman in the Odessa, Texas shootings to buy the assault rifle he used to murder seven people and to injure more than 20 others on August 31st.
We implore you to seize this moment when your leadership and influence over Republicans in Congress on the issue of guns is so critical. Please do not squander it by acceding to NRA-backed proposals or other weak ideas that will do nothing to stop the continuing, horrific spread of gun violence and may, in some cases, actually make our communities less safe. We believe you have a unique opportunity to save American lives by giving political cover to your fellow Republicans to finally pass meaningful gun safety legislation. The time for you to act is now, before more lives are lost.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
Charles E. Schumer</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51445/breaking-report-refutes-cnns-claim-odessa-attacker-ryan-saavedra">Report Refutes CNN’s Claim That Odessa Attacker Bought Weapon In Private Sale</a>

President Donald Trump Announces State Opioid Response Grants

Democrats Make Open Appeal To Trump’s Ego For ‘Personal Action’ On Guns

Charles Schumer

Donald Trump

Nancy Pelosi

Trump Administration

As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51366/cliff-san-francisco-board-supervisors-names-nra-hank-berrien">reported</a> yesterday, the comically leftist Board of Supervisors for the city of San Francisco took it upon itself to deem the nation&#8217;s oldest continually operating civil rights organization a &#8220;domestic terrorist organization.&#8221; That organization, of course, would be the <a href="https://home.nra.org">National Rifle Association</a> (NRA) — a group originally founded in 1871, following the nadir of the Civil War, to help promote rifle marksmanship. At the time the NRA was founded during Reconstruction, white supremacists in the South were still engaged in a systemic and conscientious effort to deprive blacks of their Second Amendment rights — rights which had only recently been secured for free blacks via the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 and overruled the infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision of 1857. As then-Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote in <a href="http://keepandbeararms.com/silveira/enbanc.asp">a 2003 dissent</a> from a denial to rehear a case en banc:
<blockquote>Disarmament was the tool of choice for subjugating both slaves and free blacks in the South. In Florida, patrols searched blacks’ homes for weapons, confiscated those found and punished their owners without judicial process. See Robert J. Cottrol &amp; Raymond T. Diamond, The Second Amendment: Toward an Afro-Americanist Reconsideration, 80 Geo. L.J. 309, 338 (1991). In the North, by contrast, blacks exercised their right to bear arms to defend against racial mob violence. Id. at 341-42.</blockquote>
Put another way, at the time the NRA was founded, its mission to promote rifle marksmanship was inextricably linked with its activism in helping promote the inalienable right to self-defense for the nation&#8217;s most vulnerable population — a population unconscionably subjected en masse to chattel slavery during the first seven-plus decades of the American republic, and whose abolition had just torn a beleaguered nation asunder and resulted in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51234/hammer-washington-post-contributor-compares-pleas-josh-hammer">deaths of over 600,000</a>.
Indeed, to this day, the NRA, in addition to its much-ballyhooed pro-Second Amendment lobbying presence in the nation&#8217;s capital and in state capitals across the country, <a href="https://firearmtraining.nra.org">helps train</a> and <a href="https://gunsafetyrules.nra.org">educate the public</a> in terms of gun safety, competency, and ownership responsibility. Anyone who has ever visited a firing range has likely seen advertised the presence of a &#8220;<a href="https://www.nrainstructors.org">NRA-certified instructor</a>.&#8221; In terms of national firearms training certifications, there is likely no more universally recognized or prestigious honor. The NRA remains the gold standard certifier for the noble business of assisting Americans in the exercise of one of their cherished, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment">textually enumerated</a> constitutional rights.
Alas, the radical Jacobins on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors do not care about any of these niceties. As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Hank Berrien reported, the Board&#8217;s farcical resolution concludes: &#8220;RESOLVED, That the City and County of San Francisco intends to declare the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization … the City and County of San Francisco should take every reasonable step to assess the financial and contractual relationships our vendors and contractors have with this domestic terrorist organization … the City and County of San Francisco should take every reasonable step to limit those entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business with this domestic terrorist organization … the City and County of San Francisco should encourage all other jurisdictions, including other cities, states, and the federal government, to adopt similar positions.&#8221;
It is nearly impossible to describe how reckless this stunt is. Planned Parenthood, the nation&#8217;s largest abortion mill, is systemically engaged all across the country in the shameless promotion and enactment of taxpayer-funded prenatal infanticide. If anything, that <a href="https://time.com/4081760/margaret-sanger-history-eugenics/">eugenicist</a>-inspired genocidal organizational history might theoretically lead a conservative city, such as Oklahoma City or Wichita, to declare in a resolution that Planned Parenthood is a &#8220;domestic terrorist organization.&#8221; But the careful reader will note that, to date, that has never happened. And it is shameful for the woke white liberal denizens of San Francisco to disingenuously defame a decorated, longstanding civil rights group — one founded in the aftermath of the Civil War to, in part, secure the newly enshrined constitutional rights of black freedmen — with such a label.
Our collective rhetoric comprising the national discourse is dangerously overheated in this country. As I <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/50303/hammer-our-national-discourse-dangerously-josh-hammer">lamented</a> last month, &#8220;Our markedly polarized polity — divided like never before between the monolithically anti-Trump bi-coastal clerisy and the deigned rubes and yokels of the American heartland — feels like it is at a breaking point.&#8221; Via such a disdainful, divisive, and utterly dishonest resolution, the uppity white leftists of San Francisco — the very embodiment of that &#8220;bi-coastal clerisy&#8221; that looks scornfully upon the gun-owning &#8220;yokels of the American heartland&#8221; — have done their small part to only further tear apart our nation&#8217;s social fabric. We conservatives, who are <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/17662/stop-alinskyization-american-right-josh-hammer">less cynical and morally superior to our leftist brethren</a>, have a general responsibility to refrain from engaging in such unscrupulous tit-for-tat crossfire. At the same time, conservatives can only be expected to unilaterally disarm so much. With each grievous blow leftists deal to our polity&#8217;s sense of unity and camaraderie, the closer we inch toward a <a href="https://amgreatness.com/2019/08/06/igniting-civil-war/">dark outcome that all parties should surely wish to avoid</a>.
At a bare minimum, in the year 2019, is it too much to ask that everyone refrain from labeling as &#8220;domestic terrorist organizations&#8221; those groups founded to secure for a free citizenry one of their constitutionally enumerated rights?

The TransAmerica Building, San Francisco

HAMMER: San Francisco Has Beclowned Itself By Labeling The NRA A ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization’

Leftism

San Francisco

Terrorism

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, eager to join far-leftists around the country who harbor a virulent hatred for the National Rifle Association, passed a resolution that calls the National Rifle Association a &#8220;domestic terrorist organization.&#8221; Not satisfied with that, the board also called on the federal government to name the NRA a terrorist organization, as <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/san-francisco-board-brands-nra-a-domestic-terrorist-organization">Fox News</a> reports.
The <a href="https://sfgov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&amp;amp;ID=7568748&amp;amp;GUID=DF64490F-D8BC-4BF7-A43D-287F02BECCCA">resolution</a> starts by citing the Declaration of Independence&#8217;s statement that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable rights before seguing to the Constitution stating that the United States was founded to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and promote the general welfare.
The resolution turns to the Department of Justice defining terrorist activity as &#8220;The use of any &#8230; explosive, firearm, or other weapon or dangerous device, with intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more individuals or to cause substantial damage to property.&#8221; The resolution states that the DOJ &#8220;includes any individual or member of an organization commits an act that the actor knows, or reasonably should know, affords material support, including communications, funds, weapons, or training to any individual has committed or plans to commit a terrorist act.&#8221;
Then, the attack on the NRA: &#8220;The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence, and the National Rifle Association spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence, and the leadership of National Rifle Association promotes extremist positions, in defiance of the views of a majority of its membership and the public, and undermine the general welfare, and the National Rifle Association through its advocacy has armed those individuals who would and have committed acts of terrorism.&#8221;
The resolution opines, &#8220;All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association&#8217;s influence.&#8221;
Then, the critical statement:
<blockquote>RESOLVED, That the City and County of San Francisco intends to declare the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization … the City and County of San Francisco should take every reasonable step to assess the financial and contractual relationships our vendors and contractors have with this domestic terrorist organization … the City and County of San Francisco should take every reasonable step to limit those entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business with this domestic terrorist organization … the City and County of San Francisco should encourage all other jurisdictions, including other cities, states, and the federal government, to adopt similar positions.</blockquote>
According to <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/ktvu-local-news/san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-designates-nra-domestic-terrorist-organization">KTVU</a>, the NRA fired back with a statement: &#8220;This ludicrous stunt by the Board of Supervisors is an effort to distract from the real problems facing San Francisco, such as rampant homelessness, drug abuse and skyrocketing petty crime, to name a few. The NRA will continue working to protect the constitutional rights of all freedom-loving Americans.&#8221;

Golden Gate Bridge.

OFF THE CLIFF: San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Names NRA A Terrorist Organization

Barack Obama

Presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) revealed on Wednesday she believes that instituting both a mandatory gun buyback program as well as criminally prosecuting American’s who refuse to hand those firearms over to the government are both “strong” ideas.
“On the assault weapons issue, you have talked openly about being in favor of an assault weapons ban. I’m interested if you are supportive of a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons,” CNN’s Poppy Harlow asked Gillibrand, noting that the proposal was also suggested by her primary challengers Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
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“Some have gone as far as to say not only should it be a mandatory buyback of assault rifles, but there should be criminal prosecution for those who don’t sell them back,” Harlow continued. “Is that something you support?”
“I think we should ban assault weapons as well as large magazines, and as part of passing that ban, do a buyback program across the country so that those who own them can be compensated for their money that they spent,” Gillibrand replied. “But I think both of those ideas are strong.”
The New York senator contended that an assault weapons ban would also require Americans to turn over certain firearms to the government so that so-called “assault weapons” would not be accessible to any people.
“You don’t want people to retain them because if you make them illegal, you don’t want to grandfather in all the assault weapons that are all across America,” Gillibrand said. “You would like people to sell them back to the government so that you can make sure that people who shouldn’t have access to these weapons couldn’t have them.”
“The point is, you don’t want people using assault weapons, and so the point is if you are arrested for using an assault weapon, you’re going to have an aggravated felony,” she continued. “I mean, the whole point is when you make it a crime to own an assault weapon, then if you are found using it, that would be the issue.”
Gillibrand quickly shifted her focus onto the National Rifle Association (NRA), criticizing the famed gun-rights organization for their opposition to banning firearm suppressors.
“It would just be part of your law enforcement in terms of what you have access to in the same way that you need to have a certain certification, a certain approval to have a suppresser on your weapon,” she said. “That’s why the NRA is desperate to make it easier to get suppressors where you don’t actually have to get a specific license or certification to have that suppressor.”
The Democratic presidential hopeful has been a frequent, yet relatively recent, critic of the NRA. While she often touts her F rating from the organization, the NRA notably rated Gillibrand an A up until the year she moved to the Senate from New York’s 20th Congressional District and flipped on her Second Amendment positions.
“[The NRA] just care[s] about gun sales, they care about money,” Gillibrand said. “They are funded by a lot of people including gun manufacturers and gun manufacturers care more about gun sales than the safety of families.”

2020 Presidential Candidates Speak At Iowa State Fair Soapbox

WATCH: Gillibrand Is Open To Criminally Prosecuting Gun Owners Who Don’t Hand Over Their ‘Assault Weapons’ To The Government

Kirsten Gillibrand

On Tuesday night, CBS&#8217; &#8220;The Late Show with Stephen Colbert&#8221; mocked National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman Dana Loesch in a controversial sketch which ends with the sound of a gun shooting off multiple times and the activist yelling.
While it&#8217;s unclear from watching the sketch if Loesch is &#8220;shot&#8221; herself, the description of the video from the show&#8217;s YouTube channel certainly suggests she is: &#8220;As the nation&#8217;s prominent advocate for gun rights, you&#8217;d think the NRA would be better at defending itself,&#8221; the caption reads.
Introducing the NRA&#8217;s &#8220;newest charity initiative,&#8221; the actress playing Loesch says the organization is now &#8220;arming stray cats that live on the mean streets.&#8221; The cat has a gun strapped to its back.
&#8220;Now run along, you&#8217;re safe now,&#8221; says the actress. When the cat is put down, gun shots immediately ring out and the fake Loesch screams, &#8220;Oh, God! Oh my God!&#8221;
Loesch has been a prime target for anti-gun extremists. The activist, who is routinely threatened online, was booed and maligned during a CNN town hall event in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, for example.
&#8220;After the broadcast ended, one of my detail had to stop a woman who rushed the stage to tackle me from behind. That is when [Jake] Tapper asked me if I had an escort out. I am positive that CNN&#8217;s cameras, still operational, observed this and would like for them to release the footage,&#8221; Loesch recalled last month. The spokeswoman made the remark after it was amazingly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44857/cnn-brags-about-winning-award-much-maligned-hank-berrien">announced</a> that CNN won the Walter Cronkite Award for the mob-like event.
As <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2018/02/21/insanity-cnn-town-hall-student-questions-loeschs-motherhood">reported</a> by NewsBusters, Loesch was also maligned with shouts of &#8220;murderer&#8221; at the event and had her fitness as a mother questioned by Stoneman Douglas student activist Emma Gonzalez.
&#8220;Alright. Dana Loesch, I want to know that we will support your two children in the way that we will not &#8212; you will not,&#8221; said Gonzalez.
The high schooler went on to ask about gun modifications, such as bump stocks &#8212; which have now been <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/bump-stocks-ban/index.html">outlawed</a> by the Trump administration.
As Loesch was answering Gonzalez&#8217;s question, at least three hecklers interrupted, screaming &#8220;Murderer!&#8221; and &#8220;You&#8217;re a murderer!&#8221;
Moreover, when the political commentator left the CNN stage, attendees chanted &#8220;Shame on you!&#8221; and yelled &#8220;Burn her!&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Here is some footage where people were yelling to burn me at CNN&#8217;s award-winning townhall where they &#8220;advanced the conversation on gun control.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EYWWj8KcxN">pic.twitter.com/EYWWj8KcxN</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1108059318203678720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
In 2017, Loesch revealed that she and her family had to flee her home after receiving credible rape and death threats from gun control zealots. In a series of tweets, Loesch <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/22291/second-amendment-champion-dana-loesch-reveals-hank-berrien">explained</a>:
<blockquote>
Spent my weekend preparing to move due to repeated threats from gun control advocates. 
One guy hunted down my private cell phone number, called when police were here, threatened to shoot me in my front yard.
Another guy created a string of social media accounts, posted photos of my house, threatened to rape me to death.
Another gun control advocate, after threatening to hunt me down and assault me, dragged my kids into it.
I&#8217;m grateful that my kids&#8217; school worked with law enforcement and private security to ensure campus safety, and work with me. 
</blockquote>
Colbert has increasingly spouted hyperpartisan rhetoric since the election of President Donald Trump. The comedian was called out for &#8220;<a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/5/2/15515066/stephen-colbert-trump-putin-homophobia-late-show">homophobia</a>&#8221; by Vox and other left-wing media outlets after he attempted to mock the president.
&#8220;In a string of insults against President Donald Trump last night, comedian Stephen Colbert lined up what he surely thought was a great, hilarious diss. Instead, he blurted out some homophobia,&#8221; Vox <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/5/2/15515066/stephen-colbert-trump-putin-homophobia-late-show">reported</a> at the time. &#8220;Colbert was in the middle of a monologue launching various insults at Trump, including some fat shaming, &#8216;presidunce,&#8217; and &#8216;pricktator.&#8217; In the course of this, he said, &#8216;The only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin&#8217;s cock holster.'&#8221;
WATCH:
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WATCH: ‘Colbert’ Targets The NRA’s Dana Loesch In Controversial Gun Sketch

Dana Loesch

Stephen Colbert

The National Rifle Association is currently struggling with inner turmoil after former president and current Executive Vice President Wayne Lapierre sent a letter accusing Col. Oliver North (who was, until this morning, NRA president) of blackmailing him into resigning.
The battle is taking place at the worst possible moment for the organization &#8212; right in the middle of its annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. On Saturday morning, North was supposed to appear on a panel alongside Lapierre, but as The Washington Free Beacon&#8217;s Stephen Gutowski reported on Twitter, the former U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel didn&#8217;t show up, instead providing a letter offering his resignation.
&#8220;Breaking: Oliver North is NOT at the NRA members meeting,&#8221; Gutowski tweeted. &#8220;Wayne Lapierre is here, by the way, and came out to a standing ovation.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Wayne Lapierre is here, by the way, and came out to a standing ovation.
&#8212; Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenGutowski/status/1122139391697223685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
An empty spot remained on stage where North should have been.
Richard Childress, former NASCAR driver and CEO of Richard Childress Racing, read a letter from North saying he had been forced out of the organization over his allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual harassment (not from or against him), and excessive expenses.
North had spoken at the NRA&#8217;s annual meeting Friday morning, but was seen leaving the event for the airport, Gutowski reported.
Lapierre, in <a href="https://t.co/1lz3MEJQXT?amp=1">a letter</a> obtained by The Wall Street Journal, accused North of threatening to go public with his allegations if the executive vice president did not resign immediately.
&#8220;I believe the purpose of the letter was to humiliate me, discredit our Association, and raise appearances of impropriety that hurt our members and the Second Amendment,&#8221; Lapierre wrote. &#8220;The letter would contain a devastating account of our financial status, sexual harassment charges against a staff member, accusations of wardrobe expenses and excessive staff travel expenses.&#8221;
Importantly, Lapierre claimed: &#8220;Col. North explained that the letter would not be sent &#8211; if I were to promptly resign as your Executive Vice President. And, if I supported Col. North&#8217;s continued tenure as President, he stated that he could &#8216;negotiate&#8217; an &#8216;excellent retirement&#8217; for me.&#8221;
The accusations were prompted by an NRA lawsuit against one of the organization&#8217;s vendors, Ackerman McQueen (AM). Lapierre alleged in his letter that AM joined North in blackmailing the executive vice president.
After a phone call with North, Lapierre wrote, &#8220;others informed me that I needed to withdraw the NRA lawsuit against AM or be smeared.&#8221;
Lapierre went on to write that the allegations against the organization that would be contained in a damaging letter were never made during his 40-year relationship with AM. &#8220;They are conveniently making them now &#8211; only as they face scrutiny in a Virginia court and the prospect of having to comply with our demand for books and records,&#8221; Lapierre wrote.
The New York Times then <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/business/nra-wayne-lapierre-oliver-north.html">reported</a> that North had &#8220;created a committee to review allegations of financial improprieties that threaten the NRA&#8217;s status as a nonprofit organization.&#8221;
In its lawsuit against AM, the Times reported, the NRA alleged the firm was overbilling the gun-rights organization and that North had a conflict of interest in the matter because he was also paid by AM. The lawsuit claimed AM refused to provide financial records as part of the NRA&#8217;s &#8220;review of contractors it was conducting amid the threats of aggressive regulatory action,&#8221; the Times reported.

Oliver North Absent From NRA Members Meeting Following Accusations Of Blackmail

Wayne LaPierre

Speaking at the National Rifle Association Leadership Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana, Vice President Mike Pence declared that the Trump administration is not backing down from its strong support of the Second Amendment and law-abiding citizens. 
&#8220;You know, the president and I stand with the NRA because, like all of you, we stand for freedom. And the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a freedom that is at the heart of the American story,&#8221; Pence said. &#8220;Our Founders won our independence with the power of their ideas and with the powder in their muskets. Our pioneers won the West with their daring, their courage, and their Springfields, Winchesters, and Colts.&#8221;
The vice president praised the gun rights organization and its five million members &#8220;because the National Rifle Association stands for freedom.&#8221;
Pence challenged the notion that increased gun ownership leads to higher crime rates in communities and promised that the Trump administration will protect law-abiding gun owners.
&#8220;Nowhere is this ongoing struggle for freedom more visible every day than in the struggle to defend the Second Amendment. Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens don&#8217;t threaten our families, they protect our families. And we know that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens make our communities more safe, not less safe,&#8221; he said. 
Pence continued, &#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll make you a promise: Under this president and this vice president, no one is taking your guns. Under this president and this administration, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.&#8221;
The vice president also discussed the Trump administration&#8217;s support for law enforcement, as well as their signature policy of enforcing the border. 
Video and transcript below:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YXraPH3zNWc" width="853"></iframe></div>
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>
Well, hello, NRA! Thank you, Chris, for that great introduction. Chris and I have been friends for a lot of years. I have great respect for him. But he knows the introduction I prefer is a little bit shorter: I&#8217;m a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.
And as Vice President of the United States, it&#8217;s my great honor to be back home again in Indiana with so many freedom-loving Americans at the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association. Welcome to the Hoosier State.
It really is great to be here with so many friends. Chris, and Ollie North, and Wayne LaPierre, and, really, with some outstanding leaders that we respect greatly and admire every day, like Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky, and so many distinguished members of the United States Congress, including the House Minority Whip, the courageous Steve Scalise.
And speaking of friends of mine, it&#8217;s especially great to be here with another friend, a great champion of freedom who I can tell you personally gets up every day and fights to keep the promises that he made to all the American people. I can&#8217;t wait to join you to welcome the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump back to the Hoosier State.
You know, the President and I stand with the NRA because, like all of you, we stand for freedom. And the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a freedom that is at the heart of the American story.
Our Founders won our independence with the power of their ideas and with the powder in their muskets. Our pioneers won the West with their daring, their courage, and their Springfields, Winchesters, and Colts.
Our forebears have fought our nation&#8217;s wars and defended our way of life with the skills they learned on the rifle range, in a deer stand, at the knee of a father, a mother, or a grandparent back home.
And in our own day, there are no greater champions of America&#8217;s tradition of responsible gun ownership than all of you and the 5 million proud men and women of the NRA. Thank you for your stand.
And I&#8217;m here today to tell you: We&#8217;re with you. President Trump and I are with the NRA today, and tomorrow and always, because the National Rifle Association stands for freedom.
Nowhere is this ongoing struggle for freedom more visible every day than in the struggle to defend the Second Amendment. Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens don&#8217;t threaten our families, they protect our families. And we know that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens make our communities more safe, not less safe.
You know, at this podium, nearly two decades ago, Charlton Heston said those famous words, and I quote, &#8220;I&#8217;ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.&#8221;
Well, I&#8217;ll make you a promise: Under this President and this Vice President, no one is taking your guns. Under this President and this administration, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
And the truth is, from the first day of this administration, President Trump has been fighting for freedom, and you all know that. And, really, I couldn&#8217;t be more proud to be Vice President to a President who fights every day not just for freedom but for those who defend it.
I mean, think about it: This President stood with those who defend our freedom when he signed the largest increase in our national defense since the days of Ronald Reagan.
Thanks to the President&#8217;s leadership, we&#8217;re once again giving our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard the resources and the support they need to accomplish their mission and come home safe.
And this President has stood with those who defend our freedom her at home, who protect and serve on the Thin Blue Line. And under President Trump&#8217;s leadership, we&#8217;re giving all the men and women of law enforcement at every level the resources and the respect that they deserve every single day as they protect our families.
I know there&#8217;s a lot of law enforcement members who are here today, who have taken time to be at this convention. Why don&#8217;t you all just show them how much we appreciate the men and women who serve on the Thin Blue Line and protect our families every day? (Applause.) God bless you all.
And this President has stood for freedom in the American economy as well. President Trump has already cut more federal red tape in the last two years than any President in American history. We&#8217;ve unleased American energy. And President Trump signed the largest tax cuts and tax reform in American history. (Applause.) And the results are in: Businesses large and small have created 5.5 million new jobs. More Americans are working than ever before. And it was just reported this morning: The American economy grew by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019.
And beyond our security and our prosperity, this President has also strengthened the very foundation of our freedom. At this point, President Trump has already appointed to our federal courts more principled conservatives in the last two years than any President in American history. And they are all conservatives who will uphold the God-given liberties enshrined in our Constitution &#8212; like the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms. It&#8217;s an incredible group.
But despite the fact that this President has faced unprecedented opposition, obstruction, and resistance, I believe that when this President&#8217;s story is written, when he finishes his term in office, six years from now I believe history will record: No other President in all the modern era has done so much for so many in so little time. President Donald Trump has delivered.
So, under the President&#8217;s leadership here at home and around the world, America is winning again. But to keep on winning, I came here today to say that we need you to stay in the fight. Because the truth is, we live in a time when freedom is under assault. And it&#8217;s not just the freedom that the NRA so nobly defends, but the freedom to live, to work, and to worship God are all being threatened by the radical Left every day. It&#8217;s true.
And the same people who threaten your right to self-defense want to stifle our economy by raising taxes and increasing regulation. The same people who want to take away your unalienable rights routinely denigrate the faith of millions of Americans and advocate late-term abortion and even infanticide.
But I&#8217;ll make you a promise: Under this President and this administration, we will stand without apology for the sanctity of human life.
But our freedom is under assault every day in other ways. The same blue states and cities that are trying to bankrupt the NRA have become sanctuaries for illegal immigrants, including dangerous gang members and human traffickers. And the same people who want to restrict the right to keep and bear arms of law-abiding citizens believe the Boston Marathon bomber should be given the right to vote on death row.
I got news for you, Bernie: Not on our watch!
Violent convicted felons, murderers, and terrorists should never be given the right to vote in prison &#8212; not now, not ever.
You know, I heard the other day that another Vice President actually said that &#8220;we&#8217;re in a battle for the soul of our nation.&#8221; And, for once, I agree with him &#8212; but not for the reason he thinks. We are in a battle. We&#8217;re in a battle for the soul of America, but it&#8217;s a battle between liberty and tyranny. As the President has said before, it&#8217;s a battle between independence and government control. And, ultimately, it&#8217;s a battle between freedom and socialism.
You know, under the guise of the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, the same Democrats who want to take away your freedom openly advocate a failed economic system that has robbed the liberty and impoverished millions of people around the world.
But let&#8217;s be clear: It was freedom, not socialism, that gave us the most prosperous economy in the history of the world.
It was freedom, not socialism, that ended slavery, won two world wars, and stands today as a beacon of hope for all the world.
It was freedom, not socialism, that&#8217;s moving us beyond the prejudices of the past to create a more perfect union and extend the blessings of liberty to every American, regardless of race or creed or color.
And it was freedom, not socialism, that gave us the highest quality of life, the cleanest environment, and improved the health and wellbeing of millions around the world.
You know, what Medicare for All really means is quality healthcare for none. And the only thing green about the so-called Green New Deal is how much green it&#8217;s going to cost all of us if they ever sign it into law.
You know, Margaret Thatcher probably said it best: &#8220;The trouble with socialism is [you] eventually run out of other people&#8217;s money.&#8221;
So I say, from my heart, to all of you freedom-loving Americans gathered here: The moment America becomes a socialist country is the moment America ceases to be America. And as President Trump said in his State of the Union Address, so we must say with one voice: &#8220;America will never be a socialist country.&#8221;
So, men and women of the NRA, the stakes have never been higher, but the choice has never been clearer.
It won&#8217;t be enough just to win the next election; we&#8217;ve got to win the next generation. And this is our challenge. It won&#8217;t be easy. But it never has been.
Thomas Paine explained, during the American founding, that the battle for freedom is always arduous. As he said, quote, &#8220;The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.&#8221; And then Thomas Paine added, &#8220;What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly&#8221; and that &#8220;Heaven knows how to put a [proper] price upon its good[s]; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.&#8221;
It&#8217;s really about freedom that we gather here today, and preserving the freedom that&#8217;s at the heart of America. But as you&#8217;ll hear in just a few minutes, President Donald Trump and I are ready for the fight. (Applause.) We are ready to stand with all of you and fight to defend and expand freedom for every American.
But we can&#8217;t do it alone &#8212; so keep doing your part. Talk to your neighbors and friends and tell them what we&#8217;ve been able to accomplish over the last two years. And tell them about the challenges that we face, and tell them what the opposition offers. I mean, tell them this President and this administration have been fighting for all the liberties you hold dear. Tell them we&#8217;re setting things right in Washington, D.C. Tell them we&#8217;re draining the swamp &#8212;because we are. And tell them the forgotten men and women of America are forgotten no more, because it&#8217;s the God&#8217;s honest truth. (Applause.) Go tell them.
So thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. Thank you for coming here to the Hoosier State and giving me a chance to be home.
You know, it&#8217;s amazing for me to think about the journey that my wife and I have been on. Five years ago, when I was governor of the state of Indiana, I stood at this podium in that role. And I have to tell you, for this small-town boy from southern Indiana, the grandson of an Irish immigrant, it&#8217;s hard to describe how humbling it is to have the privilege. So I want to &#8212; I want to thank you for the honor of serving as your Vice President. And I want to thank you for your support.
And because of your support of this President, his Vice President, and this administration, I&#8217;m proud to report America is standing strong again. America is prospering again.
The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States is secure again. And freedom is winning all across America.
And I know we&#8217;re going to keep on winning. I know we&#8217;re going to keep on winning because I have faith &#8212; faith in this President I serve alongside every day. I mean, I got to tell you, somebody said to me the other day, &#8220;Tell the President to keep on going, keep on fighting.&#8221; And I said to them, &#8220;That&#8217;s not something you got to tell him.&#8221;
You know, as we say here in the Hoosier State, all the reverse is stripped out of that pickup truck. It is straight ahead, straight forward. He&#8217;s bringing the energy, the leadership, and the fight for the American people. And I promise you we&#8217;re going to do it every day in the next two years.
But I got faith in my friend. I got faith in conservative leaders that you&#8217;ve helped elect all across this country, who have been standing with us for the principles and the ideals that we hold dear.
And lastly, I&#8217;ve got faith in all of you. As I travel across this country, I see Americans every day who are standing with us, encouraging us. I meet them at grocery stores. I meet them on rope lines at airports. I meet them at rallies and in diners. And they&#8217;re folks just like you and me who always knew that we could be strong again; who knew that we could be prosperous again; who knew that we could be standing tall again. And they&#8217;re standing with us every step of the way.
And so, for their sake, I just want to encourage all of you: Be confident as we go into the days that lie ahead in the next year and a half. Because I have faith that if we hold the banner of freedom high, if we put into practice those words inscribed on the Liberty Bell to &#8220;proclaim liberty throughout all the land [and] unto all the inhabitants thereof,&#8221; those same Americans will rally to our cause again and we&#8217;ll keep on winning a great victory for the American people.
And remember, as you leave Indiana and go to your homes, and all of you that are looking on from afar, remember that when we fight for freedom, we do not fight alone because where the spirit of the Lord is, there&#8217;s freedom. And that means freedom always wins.
So thank you for the honor. Thank you for the honor of addressing you today. Thank you for the stand that you&#8217;ve made and the stand that each one of you take. We&#8217;re proud to stand with you.
And I truly do believe that with your continued support, with President Donald Trump in the White House for four more years with freedom-loving leaders serving at every level all across this nation, and with God&#8217;s help, we&#8217;ll finish what we&#8217;ve started. We will make America safe again. We will make America more prosperous than ever before. And as I know you&#8217;ll hear in just a few minutes, we will make America great again.
Thank you very much. God bless you all. And God bless America.
</blockquote>

WATCH: Mike Pence Affirms Trump Administration’s Pro-Gun Stance At NRA Event

Conservatism

Indiana

Mike Pence

On Tuesday, Democratic president candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell took aim at the NRA, taunting them that they wouldn&#8217;t debate him. But NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch had a swift and blistering response, quoting from Val Kilmer&#8217;s immortal performance as Doc Holliday in the film &#8220;Tombstone&#8221; and firing back, &#8220;I&#8217;m your huckleberry.&#8221;
Swalwell was responding to Loesch pointing out that Swalwell had &#8220;dodged legitimate questions about his gun confiscation-and-jail policy for quite some time.&#8221; Prior to that salvo, she had stated, &#8220;You said you would jail law-abiding gun owners if they didn&#8217;t turn in their lawfully owned firearms. How do you plan to confiscate guns?&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Very &#8220;How do fellow kids?&#8221; Congressman, but instead answer my question. You said you would jail law-abiding gun owners if they didn&#8217;t turn in their lawfully owned firearms. How do you plan to confiscate guns? <a href="https://t.co/9uQ9UBn4Vi">https://t.co/9uQ9UBn4Vi</a> <a href="https://t.co/T6Y506TAJO">https://t.co/T6Y506TAJO</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1118202912348438535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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BTW &#8212; <a href="https://twitter.com/ericswalwell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ericswalwell</a> has dodged legitimate questions about his gun confiscation-and-jail policy for quite some time:<a href="https://t.co/lx8r1UJzJn">https://t.co/lx8r1UJzJn</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1118205301478633473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Swalwell responded, &#8220;Ms. Loesch &#8212; I see you&#8217;ve spent another day blowing up my Twitter. Thank you for following! But here&#8217;s the deal, you&#8217;re an <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA">@nra</a> mouthpiece. I don&#8217;t aim down, so I don&#8217;t debate mouthpieces. But send me your president, <a href="https://twitter.com/OliverLNorth">@OliverLNorth</a>. I&#8217;ll debate him anywhere.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Ms. Loesch &#8212; I see you&#8217;ve spent another day blowing up my Twitter. Thank you for following! But here&#8217;s the deal, you&#8217;re an <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nra</a> mouthpiece. I don&#8217;t aim down, so I don&#8217;t debate mouthpieces. But send me your president, <a href="https://twitter.com/OliverLNorth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OliverLNorth</a>. I&#8217;ll debate him anywhere. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EnoughIsEnough?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EnoughIsEnough</a> <a href="https://t.co/hu6eVkMIuL">https://t.co/hu6eVkMIuL</a>
&#8212; Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/ericswalwell/status/1119200871118667776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Loesch launched the torpedo: &#8220;I&#8217;m your Huckleberry. Unless you&#8217;re afraid to lose.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I&#8217;m your Huckleberry. 
Unless you&#8217;re afraid to lose. 
<a href="https://t.co/0yMLiCBQQp">https://t.co/0yMLiCBQQp</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1119266459253866496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Swalwell, apparently afraid to take on Loesch, sidestepped, &#8220;Here&#8217;s a prediction: the <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA">@nra</a> is afraid to have its president debate me. They talk so tough on Twitter, but when challenged to a debate to defend their advocacy for unrestricted weaponry it&#8217;s just crickets from <a href="https://twitter.com/OliverLNorth">@OliverLNorth</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoFear?src=hash">#NoFear</a>.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Here&#8217;s a prediction: the <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nra</a> is afraid to have its president debate me. They talk so tough on Twitter, but when challenged to a debate to defend their advocacy for unrestricted weaponry it&#8217;s just crickets from <a href="https://twitter.com/OliverLNorth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OliverLNorth</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoFear?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoFear</a> <a href="https://t.co/mxtPpeKnXM">https://t.co/mxtPpeKnXM</a>
&#8212; Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/ericswalwell/status/1119263909901414400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
If any Republican male rep just told an accomplished woman in a leadership position at a top organization to essentially &#8216;sit down, shut up&#8217; and &#8216;I need to speak to a man in charge here&#8217; he would be forced to resign in less than a day.<a href="https://twitter.com/ericswalwell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ericswalwell</a> owes <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DLoesch</a> an apology.
&#8212; Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) <a href="https://twitter.com/chadfelixg/status/1119266430808203264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Eric Swalwell Was a Big Tough Anti-Gun Guy Until Dana Loesch Accepted His Debate Challenge <a href="https://t.co/eHOM4LqTod">https://t.co/eHOM4LqTod</a> <a href="https://t.co/jujZtJ3Zlg">pic.twitter.com/jujZtJ3Zlg</a>
&#8212; Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBrandonMorse/status/1119293818312859648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
As <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/16/dana-loesch-eric-swalwell-gun-control/">The Daily Caller</a> detailed back in November, Swalwell and Loesch went at it on Twitter, but in the end, just as happened this week, Swalwell was left denuded:
Loesch started:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
High ranking Democrat Eric Swalwell calls for confiscation of semi-automatic rifles using $15billion of taxpayer dollars to do it and proposes criminally prosecuting those who don&#8217;t participate: <a href="https://t.co/tBzZXztkIU">https://t.co/tBzZXztkIU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2A?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2A</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1063522073845399552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Swalwell answered, &#8220;She&#8217;s not lying. We should ban assault weapons by buying them back or restricting them to ranges/clubs. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EnoughIsEnough?src=hash">#EnoughIsEnough</a>.&#8221;
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She&#8217;s not lying. We should ban assault weapons by buying them back or restricting them to ranges/clubs. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EnoughIsEnough?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EnoughIsEnough</a> <a href="https://t.co/XbRpOvXlF3">https://t.co/XbRpOvXlF3</a>
&#8212; Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1063535667249012736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Loesch asked, &#8220;Would you limit the ban and confiscation to semi-auto rifles or would you extend the ban to semi-auto handguns also, seeing as they&#8217;re illegally used many times over more in crimes such as homicide?&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Would you limit the ban and confiscation to semi-auto rifles or would you extend the ban to semi-auto handguns also, seeing as they&#8217;re illegally used many times over more in crimes such as homicide? <a href="https://t.co/Snc8xhXhVp">https://t.co/Snc8xhXhVp</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1063537445902434304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Swalwell answered, &#8220;Fair question. Rifles. They&#8217;re more powerful and cause more carnage when used with a pistol-grip. See <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottPelley">@ScottPelley</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes">@60Minutes</a> piece. To reduce semi-auto pistol deaths I&#8217;d have universal background checks and mandatory reporting on mental health.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Fair question. Rifles. They&#8217;re more powerful and cause more carnage when used with a pistol-grip. See <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottPelley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottPelley</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@60Minutes</a> piece. To reduce semi-auto pistol deaths I&#8217;d have universal background checks and mandatory reporting on mental health.
&#8212; Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1063538331475046401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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When he was asked whether he planned to expand his proposal to all semi-auto rifles now, Swalwell replied, &#8220;No different. I interpreted her question to mean semi-auto rifles covered under what&#8217;s considered an assault weapon. cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch">@DLoesch</a>&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
No different. I interpreted her question to mean semi-auto rifles covered under what&#8217;s considered an assault weapon. cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DLoesch</a>
&#8212; Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1063544041147514880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Then Loesch asked a question of Swalwell which he did not answer: &#8220;Can you explain to me the difference between assault weapons and semi-automatic rifles? Is .223 ok but 30.06 not? Why?&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Can you explain to me the difference between assault weapons and semi-automatic rifles? Is .223 ok but 30.06 not? Why? <a href="https://t.co/Ew8mYiQewv">https://t.co/Ew8mYiQewv</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1063546675560677377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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When Swalwell wouldn&#8217;t answer, Loesch added on Twitter:
<blockquote>
This simply reinforces my suspicion that Swalwell uses &#8220;assault weapon&#8221; interchangeably with &#8220;semi-auto rifle.&#8221; He wants to legislate based on a rifle&#8217;s appearance and not the actual mechanics or caliber of the rifle. He and others know enough to stop short of saying &#8220;semi-auto rifles&#8221; so they use the vague and non-technical &#8220;assault weapon&#8221; descriptor as though they only mean some rifles and not all of them.
Two problems with this. First, the majority of gun homicide is due to illegally possessed handguns. This is supported by FBI UCRs. Second, the argument is inconsistent. Example: you want to ban a .223/5.56 but not a .308 or 30.06? Have you actually compared these rifles? See photo for reference. You&#8217;re arguing for an unknowledgeable ban of things based strictly on cosmetic appearances. The argument also completely excludes a multitude of contributing variables from consideration, like the recidivism rate, the percentage of homicide driven by prohibited possessors, a cultural rot eroding respect for life, etc etc. Instead, people who claim to care so much for life and solutions, as you will see in the comments, would rather yell &#8220;WHORE!&#8221; and &#8220;TERRORIST!&#8221; at law-abiding gun owners than engage in any real good faith discussion on the issue, which is why we get nowhere.
</blockquote>

Eric Swalwell Taunts NRA That They Won’t Debate Him. Dana Loesch Nails Him: ‘I’m Your Huckleberry’

Eric Swalwell

On Thursday, 2020 presidential contender Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), sensing she is being left behind in the race and eager to burnish her leftist credentials, blamed the NRA for endangering schoolchildren, tweeting, &#8220;Our children shouldn&#8217;t go to school worried they will have to run for their lives from an active shooter. We need leaders who will stand up to the NRA and fight to keep our kids safe from gun violence.&#8221;
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Our children shouldn&#8217;t go to school worried they will have to run for their lives from an active shooter.
We need leaders who will stand up to the NRA and fight to keep our kids safe from gun violence.
&#8212; Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1116395739305926657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch blasted Harris for her tweet, writing, &#8220;This is abhorrent. Millions of NRA members are also parents &#8212; myself included. You know what keeps kids safe? Prosecuting repeat offenders who have felony gun charges and drive crime. Yet while AG your state was at the bottom of this list. You have zero consistency on safety.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
This is abhorrent. Millions of NRA members are also parents &#8212; myself included.
You know what keeps kids safe? Prosecuting repeat offenders who have felony gun charges and drive crime. Yet while AG your state was at the bottom of this list. You have zero consistency on safety. <a href="https://t.co/pcHcXTWaQF">https://t.co/pcHcXTWaQF</a>
&#8212; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1116399007134359553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Last November, Harris tweeted, &#8220;No matter what community you live in, from Parkland to Chicago to South Los Angeles, no one is immune from the gun violence epidemic. There have been too many tragedies. We need Congress to act.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
No matter what community you live in, from Parkland to Chicago to South Los Angeles, no one is immune from the gun violence epidemic. There have been too many tragedies. We need Congress to act.
&#8212; Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1064327399238746113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Harris ignored the fact that the massacre in Parkland, Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred in a gun-free zone.
After the February 2018 massacre, Harris attacked the NRA, tweeting, &#8220;I am not going to be silenced by attacks from the NRA or anyone else &#8212; and neither will my Senate colleagues or the students from Stoneman Douglas. It&#8217;s time to stand up to the gun lobby and keep our communities safe. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverAgain?src=hash">#NeverAgain</a>.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I am not going to be silenced by attacks from the NRA or anyone else &#8212; and neither will my Senate colleagues or the students from Stoneman Douglas. It&#8217;s time to stand up to the gun lobby and keep our communities safe. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverAgain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NeverAgain</a>
&#8212; Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/966704989975478274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In December 2012, the NRA introduced its School Shield Task Force after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. As <a href="https://ijr.com/nra-school-shield-program/">Independent Journal Review</a> reported in 2018:
<blockquote>
In April 2013, the NRA published a <a href="https://www.nraschoolshield.org">report</a> with the findings of the task force&#8217;s initial investigation, along with eight recommendations on best practices for school security. Those recommendations included implementing a model training program that would teach school resources officers how to respond in crisis situations, a proposal to change state laws where necessary so that a &#8220;selected school staff member&#8221; would be allowed to carry firearms in schools, the creation of a pilot program on &#8220;threat assessment and mental health,&#8221; and tougher requirements for schools on safety measures, among others.
</blockquote>
Speaking at a Des Moines, Iowa Townhall in January, 2019, Harris pontificated about guns, and of course, found a way to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1901/28/se.01.html">attack the NRA</a>, calling the organization a &#8220;paper tiger&#8221;:
<blockquote>
You know, here&#8217;s the thing. We have got to have smart gun safety laws in this country. And we&#8217;ve got to stop buying this false choice. You can be in favor of the Second Amendment and also understand that there is no reason in a civil society that we have assault weapons around communities that can kill babies and police officers. Something like universal background checks. It makes perfect sense that you might want to know before someone can buy a weapon that can kill another human being, you might want to know, have they been convicted of a felony where they committed violence? That&#8217;s just reasonable. 
You might want to know, before they can buy that gun, if a court has found them to be a danger to themselves or others. You just might want to know. That&#8217;s reasonable. But here&#8217;s the thing. And I&#8217;m just going to be very, very blunt about this. You know, for years I&#8217;ve asked folks in D.C., you know, is the NRA real or is it a paper tiger? Like, what&#8217;s the deal there?
</blockquote>

NASTY: Kamala Harris Blames The NRA For Endangering Schoolchildren

Kamala Harris

On Wednesday, Mount Holyoke College announced that the newly-selected campus police chief Daniel Hect was placed on administrative leave after a backlash when students discovered he had liked conservative tweets on his Twitter account.
The whole ordeal started when Hect was appointed to lead the Mount Holyoke College and Smith College shared campus police departments. Then on February 6, Hect announced his new appointment at MHC and Smith on his personal Twitter account, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44950/college-students-oppose-hiring-new-safety-officer-ashe-schow">reported</a>.&#8203;
&#8220;I am excited to announce I have accepted the position of Chief of Police at Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges, two of the most prestigious all women&#8217;s institutions in the nation,&#8221; he tweeted.
Hect&#8217;s excitement was short lived because soon after, students investigated his Twitter account, finding a few conservative-leaning tweets that he &#8220;liked.&#8221; Two tweets were from the National Rifle Association, one wishing followers a Merry Christmas and one stating, &#8220;If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.&#8221; Other tweets were from President Trump discussing the border wall and the government shutdown.
The MHC student who shared screenshots of the tweet said it was &#8220;unacceptable for someone in charge of keeping any community safe, let alone a campus as diverse as MHC&#8217;s, to be publicly displaying his support for hateful regimes and organizations, as well as for individuals who demonize migrants from Mexico or other latin american nations.&#8221;
Following the controversy, Hect and the colleges&#8217; administrations hosted several events to try to ease the students&#8217; worries.
Mount Holyoke community members were able to ask him questions at a March 21 forum. According to the <a href="http://www.mountholyokenews.com/news/2019/3/28/campus-community-engages-with-newly-appointed-chief-of-police">student newspaper</a>, the event &#8220;hosted tension and tears.&#8221; During the event, Hect said he wanted the campus police to grow a better relationship with the community so students can get to know &#8220;the campus police as human beings.&#8221; Many of the students&#8217; questions reportedly focused on his social media and his political ideology.
Hect told the audience that &#8220;when [Trump] did something that I thought he did well, I wanted to like [the tweets] in hopes to lead to more good behavior,&#8221; adding that he does not support Donald Trump overall.&#8203;
Hect also apologized for liking the tweets that mentioned building a wall, calling it &#8220;a huge mistake.&#8221;
After the forum, Hect sent an email to the MHC community, claiming he was &#8220;appreciative&#8221; of the &#8220;level of participation.&#8221;
&#8220;It was clear to me during the event that I have work to do in order to better lead a campus police department charged with supporting and protecting this wonderfully diverse, intelligent and committed community of students, faculty and staff,&#8221; Hect wrote.
Hect also listed &#8220;immediate steps&#8221; he would take in the coming days to achieve his goal of making the campus police be &#8220;a positive influence on campus safety.&#8221; The steps included creating a Campus Safety Advisory Committee and attending an &#8220;immersive training program&#8221; to learn about &#8220;challenging biases and exploring beliefs.&#8221; His steps also included events such as meeting with a class for a &#8220;restorative justice circle,&#8221; and two &#8220;listening sessions&#8221; where community members could express their concerns about safety on campus. 
He concluded that he was &#8220;committed to developing relationships and trust with all members of our communities &#8212; students, faculty, staff and campus police.&#8221;
But before any of these events even had the chance to take place, MHC Pesident Sonya Stephens announced that Hect would be placed on &#8220;administrative leave&#8221; Wednesday night.
&#8220;Over the past few weeks, members of our community have expressed concerns about the ability of Chief Daniel Hect to develop the level of trust required to engage in community policing,&#8221; MHC President Sonya Stephens said in a campus-wide email.
Stephens added that Deputy Police Chief Ray LaBarre was appointed as the Acting Chief of Campus Police.
&#8220;We are working closely with Smith College on this issue, and I will continue to keep our campus community informed,&#8221; Stephens concluded. 
Hect has worked in police departments for over 30 years. He previously served as director of public safety and chief of police at two universities in Ohio: Xavier University and Denison University. He also served as a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force Security services, according to his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielhect">Linkedin</a> profile.&#8203;
An article from Xavier&#8217;s <a href="https://xaviernewswire.com/2018/01/17/police-chief-search-ends/">student paper</a> from January said that Hect &#8220;made a career out of connecting to his communities,&#8221; adding that &#8220;Hect believes that a job as a police officer isn&#8217;t confined to formalities, but efforts need to be made to engage with those you are sworn to protect.&#8221;

Campus Police Chief Put On Leave After Student Outrage For Liking NRA And Trump Tweets

Last month, the shared campus police department for Mount Holyoke and Smith College <a href="http://www.mountholyokenews.com/news/2019/2/21/hect-named-new-chief-of-police">announced that it had hired</a> Daniel Hect as the new police chief. Hect had previously served as director of public safety and chief of police for Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, and in the same position at Denison University, also in Ohio.
The Mount Holyoke News website quoted from an Xavier <a href="https://xaviernewswire.com/2018/01/17/police-chief-search-ends/">article from January 17, 2018</a> that described Hect as someone who &#8220;believes that a job as a police officer isn&#8217;t confined to formalities, but efforts need to be made to engage with those you are sworn to protect.&#8221; When Hect was deciding whether to accept the position at Xavier, the campus website reported, he met with students three times to discuss their feelings toward campus police.
On February 6, Hect announced on his personal Twitter account that he had accepted the position at Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges.
&#8220;I am excited to announce I have accepted the position of Chief of Police at Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges, two of the most prestigious all women&#8217;s institutions in the nation,&#8221; he tweeted.
His latest &#8220;liked&#8221; tweet was from the director of student housing at Denison, who tweeted a photo of herself and a friend at the campus gym saying they &#8220;missed&#8221; him.
Despite this documented connection to the communities he has served, some Mount Holyoke students find Hect objectionable &#8212; because he appears to lean to the Right and support President Donald Trump.
One student, who did not respond to a Daily Wire request for comment, posted photos of tweets Hect had liked as evidence that he was unfit for the position.
&#8220;Recently, Mount Holyoke College has hired a new chief of police named Daniel Hect. Despite multiple red flags found and raised by students during his hiring process, the administration still believes him to be an ideal choice for overseeing campus safety,&#8221; the student wrote. &#8220;Personally, I believe it&#8217;s unacceptable for someone in charge of keeping any community safe, let alone a campus as diverse as MHC&#8217;s, to be publicly displaying his support for hateful regimes and organizations, as well as for individuals who demonize migrants from Mexico or other latin american nations.&#8221;
The photos included a tweet from the National Rifle Association (NRA) wishing followers a Merry Christmas, many tweets from Trump talking about the border wall and supporters telling him to &#8220;stay the course&#8221; during the government shutdown, and another tweet from the NRA explaining, &#8220;If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.&#8221;
The student directed others to a campus meeting with Hect &#8220;for a forum with the man, the myth, the racist himself: Daniel Hect.&#8221;
Another student, who also refused to respond to a Daily Wire inquiry, shared the first student&#8217;s post and added that Hect&#8217;s Twitter likes &#8220;show his dangerous support of Trump, as well as anti-immigration (specifically latinx immigrants) and pro-gun sentiments&#8221; and declared that Hect &#8220;cannot keep this community safe.&#8221;
Hect appears to have been able to keep past campus communities safe despite his support for guns and border security (he is a police officer, after all).
Though there was some discussion about students writing an op-ed objecting to Hect, no such op-ed appears to have been written.
The Mount Holyoke and Smith police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

College Students Oppose Hiring Of New Safety Officer Because Of Conservative Tweets He Liked

Education

Twitter

The National Rifle Association, fed-up with politicians, both Democrats and independents, championing socialism, released a video in which the NRA points out that those who wish to redistribute financial resources economically also wish to redistribute American freedoms, including guns.
The video begins by stating, &#8220;When elitist politicians refuse to stand and clap as our President declares that America will never be a socialist country, here is what they&#8217;re really saying: that they believe in the redistribution of your freedoms, to them. That only they deserve to feel safe and secure. We don&#8217;t. Because in the eyes of America&#8217;s socialist leaders they, and they alone, are the protected class.&#8221;
The NRA then named some names, from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to California Sen. Kamala Harris to California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY):
<blockquote>
It&#8217;s why Nancy Pelosi can in the morning, say that a border wall is immoral and tell law-abiding Americans that you shouldn&#8217;t own guns. And then at night, sleep soundly in a home protected by walls and, of course, Secret Service agents with guns. Because for Nancy Pelosi, she is the protected class. And we are not.
It&#8217;s why Michael Bloomberg funds politicians and extremist organizations that do whatever they can to block school safety measures. That fight against the right of teachers to train and arm themselves so that they may defend children from a potential killer. And then use children as political pawns in the aftermath of a massacre, never admitting the reason our schools are still soft targets is the result of their political anti-gun, anti-NRA stance. Because for Michael Bloomberg, he and his children are the protected class, while we and our children, are not.
It&#8217;s why Kamala Harris has the audacity to compare ICE agents to the Ku Klux Klan. Its why she wants to ban your semi-automatic firearms. Yet she&#8217;s lived for decades in a state protected by ICE agents. Now she works in the United States Senate, government buildings protected by the very firearms she insists you don&#8217;t deserve. Because for Kamala Harris, she is the protected class. And we are not.
Socialist arrogance is why Gavin Newsom is disarming law-abiding Californians by any means necessary, while he opens the doors of his state to illegal aliens, giving drug dealers, rapists and murders sanctuary. Sanctuary everywhere in California except at his doorstep, where he is protected, again, by walls and guns. Because for Gavin Newsom, he is the protected class. And we are not.
It&#8217;s why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to disarm hard-working Americans, while giving those &#8220;unwilling to work&#8221; our money. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is Saul Alinsky in a pant suit, who calls the firearms that protect our families weapons of war. While she smiles and pushes the same socialist disarmament policies that have led to war in the streets of Venezuela. Because for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she is the protected class. And we are not.
</blockquote>
The video continues:
<blockquote>
These people are just the first drops of rain in the coming the socialist storm. A movement of elitists who want to force you to abandon your freedom for the false promise of free stuff. These are the people who want to disarm you. Guns in the hands of good people equals power. Power they want to take from you and harness for themselves. But here is my guarantee: they will fail. America will never be a socialist country.
</blockquote>
After claiming that the NRA will defend Americans from a government that might grab their firearms, the video concludes, &#8220;Join our fight against this socialist storm. Stand on the frontlines with us. And together, we will protect this country from the arrogant protected class that tries to tear it apart.&#8221;
Video below:
<div class="embed tweet"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="532" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9o9I5g4s3gE" width="945"></iframe></div>

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