In an interview with Fox News anchor Ed Henry Thursday on new control measures being decided on in the coming weeks, President Trump said that negotiations on the issue are “going very slowly.”
“No, we’re not moving on anything. We’re going very slowly in one way, because we want to make sure it’s right. We want to — we’re doing a very careful job,” Mr. Trump said.
If you’re nudged a few inches each time something happens, eventually you’ve been moved a mile. I’ve heard this for years, and always put stock in it. In 2019 it seems the trend may continue with more measures being taken by the current administration to impose some form of “common sense” gun control.
In the wake of two shootings in August, the Trump Administration began the process of working with warmed over gun control measures proffered in 2013 from senators Manchin and Toomey. The measures in question carry a stronger background check system, without calling for universal checks, but even this has been walked-back since it’s announcement. Attorney General Barr, and Senator Murphy are said to be in on the architecture of the new proposals expected to roll out after the United Nations General Assembly next week.
In the Fox News interview, Mr. Trump also slammed Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who has called for a ban on assault weapons and a mandatory buyback for any assault weapons currently possessed by gun owners.
Beto (honestly, what is a beto?) said in the previous debate, “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” referring to his support for mandatory buybacks of war weapons {sic}.
“Part of the problem that we have is because of Beto O’Rourke’s statement about taking away guns,” Mr. Trump said. “A lot of Republicans and some Democrats now are afraid to do anything, to go down that slippery slope. A lot of people think this is just a way of taking away guns and that’s not good, because we’re not going to allow that.”
He went on to say “I am, if it’s not going to hurt a good, solid, great American citizen from keeping his weapon because they want that and they are entitled to that. We have a Second Amendment. I don’t want to have crazy people have guns. I don’t want to have bad people have guns, but we’re going to do nothing to hurt the Second Amendment, and what we want to do is see if we can come up with a compromise, and that’s what we’re working on.”
Here we stand, waiting with baited breath, for our current republican lead government to decide on yet another “nudge.” Until the root cause of the recent rash of shootings, stabbings, and other cruel acts of the mentally unstable are confronted, any act to diminish the rights of law abiding citizens is yet another inch we’ve been moved toward tighter restrictions on our Second Amendment right.
Is there a right answer? Is there a test? Is there an amount of freedom we’re willing to give up in order to ensure the wrong people don’t end up with a weapon capable of doing harm on a scale larger than hand to hand combat? Is it all or nothing? Keep it civil in the comments, but please feel free to discuss!
If you’re a fan of Starline, I’ve got some exciting updates to share with you! An all-new website, updates to brass offerings, and new cartridges added to the Starline brass lineup! Check it out:
A new, user friendly website, several new offerings, and a few new additions to the Midsouth Shooters inventory of brass, Gavin is here to break down what’s new at Starline. Check out the full article here at ultimatereloader.com, and be sure to watch the video below!
At about $100, this may be the best inexpensive rifle on the market. It is certainly worth the money. READ MORE
The Rossi .22 rifle is a great buy and a good rifle at any price.
Hayward Williams
Like many of you I fired my first shots with a .22 rifle. It was some time before my grandfather allowed me to graduate from a single shot .22 to a self loading rifle. The .22 self loader is a great all around plinking, small game hunting, and training rifle. In many rural areas the .22 rifle is the first line of defense against predators both bipedal and quadraped. The Rossi RS22 is a among the most affordable. Despite a retail of less than one hundred and forty dollars the rifle not only performs well it is more attractive than the price tag would indicate. The Springfield and Stevens rifles I grew up with were the product of my grandfathers generosity and were well worn and older than I. I did not feel disadvantaged and took game and helped feed the family.
The red dot front sight offers excellent visibility.
The Rossi RS22 has options that were not available for any price in those days. As an example the rifle features an all weather synthetic stock. The target crowned 18 inch barrel is free floated for accuracy. The receiver is well machined and bears a close resemblance to the Marlin 60. The front sight features a bold fiber optic insert protected by a generous size hood. The hood doesn’t crowd the sight picture. Since these rifles get beat up in the field when used hard a hood is a good choice. The rear sight is a bonus in such an affordable rifle. The sight is fully adjustable for windage and elevation. The rear sight features dual green fiber optic inserts to contrast the red front insert. This is an instant sight picture if you are in a hurry, but precise if you need accuracy. A lot of .22 rifle shooting and small game hunting occurs around 25 yards. The rifle is properly regulated for this range. You do not need a tool to adjust the sights. If you prefer to mount a red dot sight or a rimfire type rifle scope the iron sights are easily removed.
While the rear sight offers fast acquisition it also offers real precision when properly lined up.
The Rossi RS22 is a standard blowback action like so many millions of others. The action is proven. The bolt features an extended cocking lever, an excellent option. The bolt locks open on the last shot. It requires only a push to the rear to release the bolt. The rifle features a ten round detachable box magazine. The magazine catch is positive in operation. While I began with tubular feed rifles and still use them, the detachable magazine is neat, reliable, and makes for a cleaner package. Remember the free floating barrel? The safety is positive in operation, located in the plastic trigger guard. The impressed checkering in the stock feels good in the hand. Checking trigger compression on the Lyman Electronic trigger gauge the trigger broke at a clean 6.25 pounds. This is a reasonable weight for a standard rimfire rifle. It is possible to do good work with this trigger and it is at a good weight for training young people.
The Rossi action isn’t an original, but is based on proven principles.
I really like this rifle. A good .22 is perhaps the most underrated of all rifles. The .22 kills game out of proportion to its size. The cartridge is affordable, accurate, and with the proper bullet, well suited to many chores. If there is such a thing as a one gun man- and I have known a few who owned but one rifle- the rifle is usually a .22 and the owner knows how to use it. .22 Long Rifle high velocity ammunition these days is much better than the loads I used as a pre teen hunting rabbit and squirrel- and ridding uncle Jimmy’s barn of destructive starlings. As an example the CCI Mini Mag HP breaks 1250 fps in the Rossi. But the CCI Velocitor was even faster at a hot 1340 fps. Function was excellent with each load. The CCI Stinger with its light 32 grain bullet was just over 1500 fps. This is serious smash for a rimfire.
These are sighting in shots at 25 yards.The author held on the ear at 40 yards and fired twice. With a bit of sight adjustment he will be right on.
I have fired a tad over 1,200 cartridges in the Rossi, not a big deal for the time and small expensive involved. There have been no failures to feed, chamber, fire or eject. This is unusual in my experience. A few years ago if you fired a thousand rounds of .22 LR, four or five or more would be misfires and fail to ignite. Rimfire quality is much better these days. The rifle is more than accurate enough for most chores. At 25 yards two inch five shot groups are easy to come by. After the initial familiarization with the rifle I took a solid firing position and carefully fired ten rounds at a long 50 yards. The rifle put all ten into right at 4 inches. With quality optics the rifle should be a solid two inch gun at 40 yards. The Rossi Rs22 is among the best buys in modern .22s and a solid performer well worth its modest price.
Note: the Rossi RS22 is very similar to its stablemate the Mossberg Plinkster, which is also made in Brazil. 25 yard magazines intended for the Plinkster will fit the Rossi. This makes the rifle even more fun.
How long does a barrel last? About 5 seconds. KEEP READING
Well, it’s hotter than this, but it’s flame cutting over time and distance, and hotter for longer is the issue.
Glen Zediker
As is by now common enough in this column I write, ideas for topics very often come from questions that are emailed to me. As always, I figure that if someone has a question they want answered, then others might also like to know the answer. This question was about barrel life and, specifically, this fellow had been reading some materials on the interweb posted by some misinformed folks on the topic of bullet bearing area and its influence on barrel life: “Is it true that using 110 gr. vs. a 150 gr. .308 bullet will extend barrel life because of its reduced bore contact?”
NO. Not because of that.
However! The answer is also YES, but here’s why…
Wear in a barrel is virtually all due to throat erosion. The throat is the area in a barrel that extends from the case neck area in the chamber to maybe 4 inches farther forward. Erosion is the result of flame-cutting, which is hot gas from propellant consumption eating into the surface of the barrel steel. Same as a torch. There is very little wear caused from passage of the bullet through the bore, from the “sides” of the bullet, from friction or abrasion. The eroding flame cutting is at or near the base of the bullet.
When the propellant is consumed and creates the flame, the burn is most intense closer to the cartridge case neck. There are a few influences respecting more or less effect from this flame cutting. Primarily, it’s bullet weight. Time is now the main factor in the effect of the flame cutting. Slower acceleration means a longer time for the more intense flame to do its damage.
The slower the bullet starts, and the slower it moves, the more flame cuts in a smaller area for a longer time.
Bullet bearing area, therefore, has an influence on erosion, but that’s because it relates to acceleration — greater area, more drag, slower to move.
The amount of propellant, and the propellant nature, do also influence rate of erosion. Some assume that since there’s more propellant behind a lighter bullet that would create more erosion, and that’s true, but that is also not as great a factor as bullet weight. Other things equal, clearly, more propellant is going to cut steel more than less propellant. A “lighter” load will have a decidedly good effect on barrel life.
It’s heavier bullets that have the most influence on shortening barrel life.
Heavier bullets, without a doubt, are a greater influence than any other single factor. “We” (NRA High Power Rifle shooters) always supposed that it was the number of rapid-fire strings we ran that ate up barrels the most, but that was until we started using heavier bullets and found out in short order that our barrels weren’t lasting as long. That was moving from a 70gr. to an 80gr. bullet.
The “nature” of propellant is a loose reference to the individual flame temperatures associated with different ones. There have been some claims of greater barrel life from various propellants, but, generally, a double-base will produce higher flame temperature.
Even barrel twist rate plays a role, and, again, it’s related to resistance to movement — slower start in acceleration. Same goes for coated bullets: they have less resistance and move farther sooner, reducing the flame effect just a little. And, folks, it’s always “just a little.” It adds up though.
There are bullet design factors that influence erosion. A steady diet of flat-base bullets will extend barrel life. There’s been a belief for years and years that boat-tail bullets increase the rate of erosion because of the way the angled area deflects-directs the flame. And that is true! However, it’s not a reason not to use boat-tails, just a statement. We use boat-tails because they fly better on down the pike, and, ultimately that’s a welcome trade for a few less rounds. An odd and uncommon, but available, design, the “rebated boat-tail” sort of splits the difference and will, indeed, shoot better longer (they also tend to shoot better after a barrel throat is near the end of its life).
The effects or influences of barrel throat erosion are numerous, but the one that hurts accuracy the most is the steel surface damage. It gets rough, and that abrades the bullet jacket. The throat area also gets longer, and that’s why it’s referred to as “pushing” the throat.
The roughness can’t much be done about. There are abrasive treatments out there and I’ve had good luck with them. Abrasive coated bullets run through after each few hundred rounds can help to smooth the roughness, but then these also contribute their share to accelerated wear. I guess then it’s not so much a long life issue, but a quality of life issue. I do use these on my competition rifles.
Use the Hornady LNL O.A.L. gage to record and then track barrel throat wear. This isn’t technically a “throat erosion gage,” which do exist, but I’ve found it an easy and reliable way to keep up with an advancing throat. As the seating depth gets longer, it’s indicating how far the throat is advancing. Get one HERE
Keeping in mind that the throat lengthens as erosion continues, using something like the Hornady LNL tool shown often in these pages can let bullet seating depth that touches the lands serve as a pretty good gage to determine the progress of erosion. On my race guns, I’ll pull the barrel when it’s +0.150 greater than it was new. Some say that’s excessively soon, and a commonly given figure from others in my circle is +0.250. One reason I pull sooner is that I notice a fall-off in accuracy sooner than that since I’m bound by a box magazine length for my overall cartridge length for magazine-fed rounds with shorter bullets, and I’m already starting with a fairly long throat (“Wylde” chamber cut). And another is because gas port erosion is having some effect on the bullet also by that number of rounds. Which now leads into the “big” question.
So, then, how long does a barrel last? Get out a calculator and multiply how many rounds you get before pulling a barrel by how long each bullet is in the barrel and barrels don’t really last very long at all! At full burn, maybe 4-6 seconds, some less, or a little more.
Another misgiven “fact” I see running rampant is associated with comparing stainless steel to chromemoly steel barrels for longevity. Stainless steel barrels will, yes, shoot their best for more rounds, but, chromemoly will shoot better for an overall longer time. Lemmeesplain: the difference is in the nature of the flame cutting effect on these two steels. Stainless tends to form cracks, looking like a dried up lakebed, while chromemoly tends to just get rough, like sandpaper. The cracks provide a little smoother surface for the bullet to run on (until they turn into something tantamount to a cheese grater). The thing is that when stainless stops shooting well it stops just like that. So, stainless will go another 10 to 15 percent more x-ring rounds, but chromemoly is liable to stay in the 10-ring at least that much longer than stainless steel.
Stainless steel barrels keep their “gilt-edge” accuracy for about 15% more rounds, but hit the wall head-on and in a big way when they reach their limit. Chromemoly steel tends to open up groups sooner, but also maintains “decent” accuracy for a longer time, by my experience — the groups open more slowly.
Do barrel coatings have an effect? Some. A little. I’ve yet to see one that made a significant difference, or at least commensurate with its extra expense. Chrome-lined barrels do, yes, tend to last longer (harder surface), but they also tend not to shoot as well, ever. Steel hardness factors, but most match barrels are made from pretty much the same stuff.
The preceding is a specially-adapted excerpt from Glen’s book Top-Grade Ammo. AvailableHERE at Midsouth Shooters Supply. Visit ZedikerPublishing.com for more information on the book itself, and also free article downloads.
The question of what to keep in your everyday carry, or EDC, is a hotly debated one. A simple web search shows that opinions run the gamut. Some claim a minimalist approach is best: a watch, wallet, and sidearm is all you need. Others carry a small backpack with everything from paracord to a rocket stove, and a few even get into hidden tools such as belts and bracelets with concealed blades, handcuff keys, and small saws.
With such a wide variety in both opinions and product availability, how do you know what to carry? What’s necessary and what’s fluff? The answer is much simpler than you might think. The bottom line is that no one can decide for you how much or how little you need to carry — and you shouldn’t decide it either until you understand what you actually need on a daily basis. You might be carrying far too much.
What’s Your Personal Situation?
Before you run off and buy the latest and greatest in must-have survival tools for your rapidly expanding EDC, stop and ask yourself a few questions.
How far from home do you work?
If you work two blocks from home, chances are you aren’t going to need that huge bag with three days of food. If, however, you’re one of the unfortunate souls who’s experienced what it’s like to be stuck on a freeway with no exit for six hours because of a massive accident, you might think that having some food handy on your daily drive is a big deal.
Do you commute via public transport or your own personal vehicle?
Many of us prefer not to draw attention to ourselves. We’d rather fade into the crowd, and we want to be able to move quickly when necessary. Lugging around a big bag that looks like you maxed a credit card at a sporting goods store while you’re sitting on the train might not make you a target, but it definitely makes you slightly less mobile and more interesting to those around you.
If you’re driving yourself to work, you have a bit more flexibility. Perhaps you can compromise and keep a few extra things in your car, but not carry them on your person.
What potential situations could occur?
This is the biggest question to ask yourself. Certainly, anything could happen, but let’s be realistic with our preparedness. Think about a possible pickle you could find yourself in and start asking what you’d need in order to deal with it.
A lot of this has to do with you personally. Do you have a severe allergy or other medical condition that mandates you carry supplies? Do you have a specific level of training that allows you — or requires you — to carry certain things?
What are you capable of or willing to do?
One uncomfortable truth about carrying a firearm every day is that there may come a time when you need to use it — and not everyone is truly comfortable with that, or even ready to deal with the ramifications and consequences that can arise from doing so.
The same applies to those who carry an EDC bag with all kinds of medical supplies in it. Do you have the training to use them? More importantly, are you able and willing to use them if needed? Not everyone is, and that’s something you’ll need to decide for yourself.
Is It Possible to Be Overprepared?
Some would say no; in their opinion, you should be prepared for literally anything. But let’s stop and game that out a moment. Can you truly be prepared for any situation that could possibly arise? Can you, in a practical sense, really haul around anything you might need for whatever comes?
You might carry a small air compressor, a few basic tools, or a can of Fix-a-Flat in your truck, for instance, but obviously you’re not going to have one of every single part your car has. You’re not going to do major repairs on the side of the road, so why have all of that with you?
You’re far better off doing some self-analysis, figuring out what you’re most likely to encounter, and carrying the basics to help deal with that. Prepare intelligently, maximize your available space, and minimize the EDC overkill.
Kit Perez is a deception/intelligence analyst, writer, and homesteader. Basics of Resistance: The Practical Freedomista Book 1, her book co-written with Claire Wolfe, is available on Amazon, with Book 2 due out in Fall 2019. She lives in the mountains of western Montana, where she raises dairy goats and serves on her local volunteer Fire/EMS department.
If President Trump endorses gun-control legislation, it will take 13 Senate Republican votes to pass the measure, assuming the entire 47-member caucus of Democrats and Independents backs it. READ MORE
Ted Cruz
SOURCE: The Hill, by Alexander Bolton
Conservatives such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) say any proposal that goes as far as the 2013 amendment sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) will face a backlash from the right, meaning 60 votes will be necessary to break a filibuster.
The Manchin-Toomey proposal, which is basis of current Senate negotiations, would expand back to include all sales over the Internet and at gun shows but exempt sales between family, friends and coworkers.
Here are the 13 Republicans crucial to passing gun-control legislation:
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Toomey is the lead Republican sponsor of Manchin-Toomey, which was first offered after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
His amendment was negotiated in 2013 in an attempt to win support from the National Rifle Association, which ended up opposing it.
Toomey was one of four Republicans to vote for the measure, along with Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Mark Kirk (Ill.). McCain and Kirk are no longer in the Senate.
Toomey has spoken to Trump several times since the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, last month gave new urgency to the issue of gun violence.
“It’s time to act. This is the time to do what we can to help make our communities as safe as we can. There is a bipartisan opportunity to expand background checks to cover all commercial sales. And while there have been many ideas that been floated, this is one that I think has the most resonance, the most saliency and the best chance of becoming law,” Toomey told reporters in his office last week.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) Graham is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over gun control, and is a close ally of Trump.
He voted against Manchin-Toomey in 2013 and 2015 and expressed some ambivalence earlier this past week when asked about expanding background checks.
Graham, however, also told reporters that Trump is interested in expanding background checks and will likely endorse whatever proposal the president puts forth.
He is weighing legislation sponsored by Toomey and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Conn.) to require that law enforcement officials are notified if someone who attempts to purchase a firearm fails a background check.
He also is working with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on so-called “red flag” legislation that would provide grants to states to empower law enforcement to confiscate firearms from individuals judged to be dangerous to themselves or others.
Graham faces re-election next year and will be cautious about endorsing any proposal that significantly expands background checks, an idea likely to spark controversy in conservative South Carolina.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) Collins in one of only two Republicans currently in the Senate who has backed Manchin-Toomey.
Even if Trump doesn’t back a gun-control measure, Collins might support it.
She faces re-election next year in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has come under fire from Democrats for confirming Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) Romney told reporters last week that all commercial gun sales should be subject to background checks and expressed willingness to support legislation along the lines of Manchin-Toomey.
“It certainly should be applied to commercial sales and finding a more comprehensive way to make sure that people are in the system that ought to be in the system,” Romney told reporters Monday.
Romney told The Hill last Thursday that he is talking with Manchin and Toomey about possible changes to their legislation to make it easier for people in rural areas to comply with background-check requirements when they buy or sell firearms from individuals who are not licensed gun dealers.
“They’re still working on some of the very detailed elements of it and I have spoken with them in some depth. I’m not looking for changes, I’m looking to see where they land. One of the areas of concern of course is how to make sure any kind of background-check technology would contemplate people in rural areas that live a long way from a licensed dealer that might have access to a background check terminal,” Romney said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Multiple Republican senators say McConnell is involved in the talks to put together a gun-violence package and has signaled interest in passing legislation as long as it has Trump’s support.
“He would like to get something done,” said a Republican senator involved in the talks.
McConnell told WHAS radio in Kentucky last month: “What we can’t do is fail to pass something.”
“The urgency of this is not lost on any of us,” he said.
A GOP poll last month showed that women voters in key suburban districts rate working to prevent gun violence as their top issue and that 72 percent of suburban women say gun laws should be more strict. McConnell in an interview with reporters in April identified suburban voters as the key to keeping Republican control of the Senate in 2020.
McConnell last month asked three chairmen, Graham, and Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) to explore various legislative proposals to respond to recent mass shootings.
Publicly, McConnell has kept his cards close to the vest, declining to tell reporters what policies he would support before Trump weighs in with his own recommendations.
“I’m going to wait and assess the proposal that actually could become law and at that point I’ll be happy to explain my vote one way or the other,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) Gardner, like Collins, faces a difficult reelection race in a state that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
He wasn’t in the Senate when the chamber first voted on Manchin-Toomey in 2013 but he voted against it in a lower-profile vote in December of 2015, which Democrats forced after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.
Gardner this past week declined to say whether he would consider voting for Manchin-Toomey and expressed interest in knowing what changes might be made to the legislation.
“Are they talking about changing it? I haven’t looked at the recent changes,” he said.
Gun-control has had a mixed record in Colorado. Two Democratic state senators were removed from their jobs in recall elections in 2013 after the Democratic-controlled statehouse passed several gun control measures.
Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) McSally is another top Democratic target up for re-election in 2020.
Her expected Democratic opponent is Mark Kelly, the former astronaut and prominent gun-control advocate whose wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) was seriously injured in a mass shooting in 2011.
Kelly, the co-founder along with Giffords of Americans for Responsible Solutions, has been at the forefront of the national debate over gun violence and is expected to make it a major issue in next year’s campaign.
McSally could insulate herself from political attacks if she supports legislation to expand background checks, which has garnered strong support in public polls, especially among suburban women.
McSally this past week declined to comment on whether she would support a variation of Manchin-Toomey or any other gun-control legislation.
“Sorry, I got to go vote,” she said as she raced past reporters to the Senate floor last week.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) Alexander is a moderate Republican and close ally of McConnell.
He is retiring at the end of next year and would be free to vote for legislation to expand background checks or address gun violence in other ways without fear of reprisal from the National Rifle Association.
McConnell has tasked Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, with exploring strategies under his jurisdiction to combat gun violence.
GOP senators say Alexander will focus on legislation to address mental health issues and their contribution to gun violence. Any chance of passing such a bill will rely on attaching it to some expansion of background checks that can win Democratic support.
“Our nation cannot ignore these mass shootings,” Alexander declared in a press release last month. “I am ready to do more, especially on background checks, to identify those who shouldn’t have guns.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) Tillis faces a competitive election next year in which suburban voters will be crucial to victory.
Tillis hasn’t ruled out voting for a variation of Manchin-Toomey but, like McConnell, says he will wait for a recommendation from Trump before announcing his position.
Tillis says whatever legislation comes to the floor must have “proper due process for law-abiding citizens.
“Hopefully we can find a way to work to the middle and not necessarily pursue a path that just gets us into a political debate with no outcome,” he recently told reporters.
“I’ve spoken to Sen. Toomey,” he added. “I’m open to anything, again, that we can get bipartisan consensus on and also make sure we’re not overreaching and really beginning to threaten the rights of law-abiding citizens, of which the majority of people who own guns are,” he said.
Tillis said Trump’s support for gun-violence legislation, however, is “critical.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) McConnell has tapped Cornyn along with the chairmen of the Judiciary, Health and Commerce Committees to explore proposals to include in a gun-violence package.
Cornyn was the lead sponsor of the last significant gun-control measure to be enacted into law, the Fix NICS Act of 2017. That bill implemented penalties for federal agencies failing to report relevant information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Trump signed the bill into law last year.
Two recent mass shootings took place in Cornyn’s home state, in El Paso and Odessa, giving him a special stake in the Senate debate.
Cornyn is also up for re-election next year in a state that is trending more Democratic and where suburban voters, who tend to favor stricter gun control, will be crucial to victory.
A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll last year showed that 54 percent of Texas voters strongly support mental and criminal background checks for all gun sales.
Asked about Manchin-Toomey, Cornyn said: “I’m not adverse to that — to considering, to voting on it but there are a lot of other things I think would be in the mix.”
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) Portman represents Dayton, Ohio, where ten people were killed by a gunman on Aug. 4 and has a long track record of working on bipartisan deals.
Portman voted against Manchin-Toomey in 2013 and is keeping abreast of discussions on how to modify that proposal to pick up more GOP support.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Rubio’s home state was the site of one of the nation’s most high-profile mass shootings last year, when a gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida.
Rubio and fellow Florida senator Rick Scott (R) have come under pressure from the parents of students killed in Parkland to support gun-control legislation.
Rubio hasn’t ruled out voting for a version of Manchin-Toomey but he says legislation to empower police to confiscate firearms from individuals deemed to be dangerous would be a more effective way to prevent future tragedies.
“I just think it would be more effective. If we knew who the people were that were a threat and were able to get to them before they took action, that would be far more effective in preventing the tragedies that have brought us to this point. And I also think it’s a bill that can pass,” he said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) Murkowksi along with Collins is a prominent moderate who has shown she’s not afraid to buck leadership on big votes, such as her vote against the 2017 effort to repeal ObamaCare.
She also demonstrated her independence last year by opposing the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Murkowski, however, is keeping her distance from the Senate negotiations on expanded background checks and waiting for the dust to settle.
“I know there have been talks going on, that’s as much as I know,” she told The Hill.
Murkowski also declined last week to comment about whether she would support a revamped version of Manchin-Toomey.
Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke are not pals, and Ted calls it how he sees it. Check out the links in this post and see what Beto says, and what Beto means, for yourself. READ MORE
SOURCE: National Review, by Mairead McArdle
Texas senator Ted Cruz took aim at fact-checking website PolitiFact last Friday, criticizing the site for having previously claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke does not plan to “take our guns” after O’Rourke explicitly suggested otherwise at last Thursday night’s Democratic debate.
“When we see that being used against children . . . hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” O’Rourke said from the debate stage when asked if he was proposing that the government confiscate legally owned assault-style weapons. “We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.”
@BetoORourke Hell yeah, we’re going to take your AR-15. If it’s a weapon that was designed to kill people on the battlefield, we’re going to buy it back.
@tedcruz Just a reminder, when I said it, PolitiFact (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the DNC) rated “Beto wants to take our guns” as FALSE. Maybe they should buy one of his new t-shirts..
In March, PolitiFact fact-checked a line from a Cruz campaign song that accused O’Rourke of wanting to “open borders and . . . take our guns,” awarding it a “false” rating.
“We saw no language authorizing or directing officials to take existing guns,” PolitiFact said of a failed House measure backed by O’Rourke, which would ban the future sale of AR-15s.
“My intent is for AR-15s not to be sold to the public,” O’Rourke told the fact-checking outlet.
See what PolitiFact has to say and judge for yourself.
Robert “Beto” O’Rourke explained he plans to use fines to “compel” American gun owners to comply with his AR-15 ban, during an exchange with reporters last weekend. READ MORE
SOURCE: Breitbart News, AWR Hawkins
O’Rourke made his claim in a video posted by Fox4 DFW’s Teresa Riley.
He was asked how he plans to make Americans comply with his AR-15 ban and he said, “I begin by saying we expect our fellow Americans to follow the law. If they do not there would be a fine imposed to compel them to follow the law.”
Teresa Riley @TeresaRFox4 Question: what happens if people don’t sell their guns back to the govt….answer:
O’Rourke went to talk about the example of Australia, citing how that country put in place a similar ban. He claimed Australia witnessed, “a near 50 percent reduction in gun violence deaths” as a result. But O’Rourke did not mention that rifles are not a statistically significant contributor to overall gun deaths in the U.S.
In fact, FBI crime stats for 2017 show there were 403 rifle-related deaths for the year, and those deaths were from all kinds of rifles combined — breech action, pump action, bolt action, lever action, semiautomatic, etc. Crossing the street resulted in over 5,800 deaths in 2017.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports there are 16 million-plus privately owned AR-15s in the U.S.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange HERE.
The latest (early this week) reports indicate that President Trump will not support H.R. 8. READ MORE
SOURCE: Brietbart, AWR Hawkins
President Donald Trump is reportedly not planning to include House Democrats’ universal background check bill as part of legislation he supports in response to mass shootings.
The Democrat gun control bill is H.R. 8.
Politico reports that a source familiar with the White House “conversation on guns” indicated that Trump is not going to rally behind H.R. 8.
On September 9, 2019, Breitbart News reported that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) asked Trump to support H.R. 8, thereby giving “political cover” to allow other Republicans to support it.
Schumer said, “President Trump has an historic opportunity to save lives by indicating his support for the House-passed bill [H.R. 8]. Speaker Pelosi and I have repeatedly and personally asked him to do this.”
He added, “[President Trump] can lead his party to support something that the NRA has prevented Republicans from supporting for years. That is why Speaker Pelosi and I sent the letter to him today, urging him to give his party political cover to pass … [the] background check legislation.”
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) spoke in favor of Trump’s reported rejection of universal background checks, saying, “The things that [the Democrats] are proposing just aren’t realistic and they know that and so it’s designed more to talk to their political base and it’s a lot more about that than I think an actual solution.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range HERE
What the absolute heck is Wal-Mart doing? Once a proud symbol of American Capitalism, and the face of big-box retail, Wal-Mart continues to alienate it’s base of consumers with another knee-jerk reaction prodded by woke-troopers and social justice warriors.
by Midsouth Shooters
Wal-Mart has been steadily rolling back their support of the Second Amendment since 1993 when they stopped the sale of all handguns in every state except Alaska. Then, in 2015 it ended the sale of AR-15 style MSR rifles, and any toy or airgun resembling any “military-style rifle used in mass shootings,” per the published Wal-Mart policy. Last year, it raised the minimum age for gun purchases from 18 to 21, two weeks after 17 students and teachers were killed in a shooting at a high school in Parkland, FL.
Just this past week, Wal-Mart rolled out another set of policies after the recent shooting at a Wal-Mart Super Center in El Paso, TX. The shooting resulted in 22 deaths and 24 injuries. Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old from Allen TX, was arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with capital murder. Police believe he published a document, described by others as a white nationalist, anti-immigrant manifesto, on 8chan shortly before the attack, citing inspiration from that year’s Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand.
Wal-Mart CEO, Doug McMillon was quoted as saying:
“After selling through our current inventory commitments, we will discontinue sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber that, while commonly used in some hunting rifles, can also be used in large capacity clips on military-style weapons,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
Wal-Mart has also stated in it’s newly minted policy they will no longer sell handgun ammo. McMillon previously said Walmart was responsible for 2% of firearm sales in the US and 20% of ammunition sales. Walmart expects its share of ammunition sales to drop to between 6% and 9% as a result of the newly announced changes. The company will continue to sell the shotguns and rifles that it carries.
“In a complex situation lacking a simple solution, we are trying to take constructive steps to reduce the risk that events like these will happen again,” McMillon said in a memo to employees on Tuesday. “The status quo is unacceptable.”
Another rider on the new Wal-Mart policy affects customers who open-carry in their stores. If shoppers openly carry guns into Walmart stores going forward, store managers may ask the shopper to leave and safely secure their gun in their vehicle before returning to the store. “The policies will vary by location, however, and shoppers who are openly carrying guns may not always be asked to leave the store,” a Walmart spokesman said.
“We encourage our nation’s leaders to move forward and strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been determined to pose an imminent danger,” McMillon said. “We do not sell military-style rifles, and we believe the reauthorization of the Assault Weapons ban should be debated to determine its effectiveness.”
In the days since the new policies have taken effect, Kroger, and it’s holdings have also announced their plans to cease the sale of handgun ammunition.
It’s the belief of this writer the precedent set here is a slippery, if not inherently dangerous one. Capitalism is the lifeblood of any strong economy, and works hand-in-hand with a strong republic, but allowing a company to be swayed by social temperature is inherently dangerous, not only for the company, but the population at large.
In a quote from 2007, Jason Hornady of Hornady Ammunition said, “As long as a Hornady is at Hornady, we will never sell direct to Wal-Mart. They are no friend of the industry.”
Midsouth Shooters was founded on the tenants of honesty, family, and fairness, rooted in American and God. For a company, or organization, to be swayed by knee-jerk reactions sets a precedent of allowing the mob to dictate overreaching policies which put many in harms way. Effectively, Wal-Mart has been bullied into cow-towing to the social justice warriors, and woke-ninjas in the vocal minority.
Wal-Mart may not sell the ammo you need, and more companies beholden to the pressure of the vocal minority may follow suit. Midsouth will continue to sell the ammunition and reloading supplies you need, regardless. Our Second Amendment right is a sacred right, and for you to protect your family with the tools available, you need access to fairly priced ammunition and firearms.
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