HOUSTON – Former President Trump traveled to Houston on Friday to offer support for the National Rifle Association and echo the group’s mission as it faces pushback from gun control advocates following a deadly school shooting in Texas this week.

Speaking from the George R. Brown Convention Center, Trump addressed NRA members and touted the work his administration did to preserve the Second Amendment during his tenure in the White House.

NRA’S LAPIERRE SAYS GUN CONTROL NOT THE ANSWER TO TEXAS MASSACRE

Trump’s remarks at the 2022 NRA convention came days after a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead.

“The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens and that is why one of the core missions of the NRA is to train, prepare and equip responsible American men and women with the knowledge and tools they need to defend themselves,” Trump said, highlighting efforts from the NRA to enhance gun safety measures.

“The NRA has 125,000 certified instructors,” he added. “These are highly trained, very, very capable people. They train an incredible 1,000,000 Americans to be safer. Gun owners ready to act when the situation calls… incredible job.”

Trump said his administration worked to stop the siege on the Second Amendment and told those in attendance at the convention that “those on the left” will soon come for guns of all types.

BETO O’ROURKE, GUN-CONTROL ADVOCATES PROTEST OUTSIDE OF NRA CONVENTION: ‘SHAME ON YOU’

“Let’s not pretend that those on the left are just talking about limiting one class of gun or one category of ammunition,” Trump said. “They’re not doing that.

“We all know they want total gun confiscation, we know that this would be a first step,” he added. “Once they get the first step, they’ll take the second step, the third, the fourth, and then you’ll have a whole different look at the Second Amendment, which is, by the way, totally under siege. But we stopped it for four years. We stopped it.”

Trump also told the NRA members that “schools should be the single-hardest target in our country” and noted the need to mend the issues surrounding “broken families” and mental health. He also suggested that some teachers should be able to “conceal carry.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Speaking at the convention on Friday, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre pushed back against calls for legislative gun control measures after the shooting in Uvalde.

“If we as a nation were capable of legislating evil out of the hearts and minds of criminals who commit these heinous acts, we would have done it a long time ago,” LaPierre said.

Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. On Twitter: @RealKyleMorris.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-existence-of-evil-is-why-law-abiding-americans-need-second-amendment

The post Trump says ‘existence of evil’ is why law-abiding Americans need Second Amendment first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In his statement issued by the White House, President Biden condemned gun violence, writing that “America once again mourns for another community devastated by gun violence.”

“I want to thank the first responders in Sacramento, and all those across the United States, who act every day to save lives. We know these lives were not the only lives impacted by gun violence last night. And we equally mourn for those victims and families who do not make national headlines,” reads the statement.

“But we must do more than mourn; we must act . That is why my Administration has taken historic executive action to implement my comprehensive gun crime reduction strategy — from standing up gun trafficking strike forces to helping cities across the country expand community violence interventions and hire more police officers for community policing,” he wrote.

The president reiterated his call on Congress to act. “Ban ghost guns. Require background checks for all gun sales. Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability. Pass my budget proposal, which would give cities more of the funding they need to fund the police and fund the crime prevention and intervention strategies that can make our cities safer. These are just a few of the steps Congress urgently needs to take to save lives,” the presidential statement reads.

According to Sacramento police, a brawl preceded the shooting perpetrated by several aggressors. There has been no information on the suspects or their motives.

source: THE SACRAMENTO BEE, TVP WORLD

Source: https://tvpworld.com/59432336/us-president-calls-for-stronger-gun-laws-following-sacramento-mass-shooting

The post US president calls for stronger gun laws following Sacramento mass shooting first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Biden spoke from the Rose Garden Thursday morning, announcing new gun control measures that target ghost guns, red flag laws, pistol-stabilizing braces, and other issues.

He said he wants Congress to do more than offer “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of gun violence.

“They’ve offered plenty of thoughts and prayers, members of Congress,” Biden said, “But they’ve passed not a single new federal law to reduce gun violence. Enough prayers, time for some action.”

Because substantial changes to gun laws have always met fierce Republican resistance in Congress, Biden said he asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to prioritize gun violence and help him with concrete actions the president could take without Congress.

President Joe Biden speaks during an event on the American Rescue Plan in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 12, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Biden first spoke of regulating ghost guns, which are homemade firearms that often lack serial numbers authorities would use to trace them. They’ve increasingly turned up at crime scenes, and federal agents have found them in undercover purchases from gang members and other criminals.

There’s no federal requirement for ghost gun buyers to undergo a background check, but Biden’s actions would change that.

Biden said he’ll also tighten regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces. The president said the brace makes the pistol more lethal and “a hell of a lot more accurate.” He wants to designate pistols with the brace as short-barreled rifles, which would require owners to have a federal license.

The braces came under scrutiny last month after a gunman allegedly used a braced pistol to kill 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.

RELATED: Boulder King Soopers shooting: 21-year-old man to be charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder

That shooting, along with shootings at three Atlanta-area spas that left eight dead plunged the U.S. back into a gun debate that has dominated American politics for years.

Part of Biden’s action asks Congress to pass an appropriate national red flag law that would allow family members or law enforcement to petition for a court order temporarily barring people in crisis from accessing firearms if they present a danger to themselves or others.

And he hopes Congress will incentivize states to pass similar laws. Biden praised the House for passing bills that would close loopholes in America’s gun legislation.

The gun show loophole allows buyers to purchase a gun from a gun show, where background checks aren’t required. The Charleston loophole allows guns to be purchased if the FBI hasn’t completed a background check within three business days. And the boyfriend loophole allows physically abusive ex-boyfriends and stalkers with previous convictions to maintain access to firearms.

Democrats control both chambers of Congress, but the slim Senate advantage likely wouldn’t be enough to pass the bills that would end the loopholes.

Republicans are expected to oppose many, if not all, of Biden’s measures. The party has positioned itself as defender of the Second Amendment and tried to paint the opposition as gun confiscators. Before he went into his plans, Biden dismissed the notion that his measures were a threat to the Second Amendment — calling it a “phony argument.”

While enhanced background checks are generally popular with the American public — even with some conservatives — Congress has so far not been able to find compromise on gun control as a whole, thus the president’s reliance on executive action.

“Universal background checks are supported by the vast majority of American people — and I might add the majority of responsible gun owners,” Biden said. “Let me be clear: This is not a partisan issue among the American people. This is a view by the American people as an American issue. And I’m willing to work with anyone to get these done.”

But of all the ideas Biden presented, the removal of gun manufacturers’ immunity to lawsuits sits closes to his heart, he said.

“If I get one thing on my list, the Lord came down and said ‘Joe, you get one of these,’ give me that one,” Biden said. “Because I tell you what: There would be a come to the Lord moment these folks would have real quickly.”

RELATED: House passes bill to expand background checks for gun sales

Thursday’s news conference also served as an introduction of David Chipman, Biden’s nominee to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Chipman is a former federal agent and adviser to the gun-control group Giffords. He spent 25 years with ATF where he worked to stop a trafficking ring that sent illegal guns from Virginia to New York.

Gun-control advocates have long stressed how crucial the director of the ATF is in enforcing gun laws. John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, lauded Chipman as an “invaluable point person” in the fight against illegal gun trafficking.

Feinblatt also applauded Biden for his upcoming gun control measures.

“Each of these executive actions will start to address the epidemic of gun violence that has raged throughout the pandemic, and begin to make good on President Biden’s promise to be the strongest gun safety president in history,” Feinblatt said.

This story was reported from Atlanta. The Associated Press contributed.

Source: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/enough-prayers-time-for-some-action-biden-introduces-executive-orders-on-gun-control

The post ‘Enough prayers, time for some action’: Biden introduces executive orders on gun control first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Biden on Thursday announced a set of executive actions and legislative proposals on gun control, saying that gun violence is “a public health crisis” and the administration’s actions do not contravene Second Amendment rights.

The administration aims to “confront not just the gun crisis but what is actually a public health crisis,” Biden said in his remarks in the Rose Garden. He was joined by Vice President Harris.

“Nothing I’m about to recommend in any way impinges on the Second Amendment,” Biden said. “These are phony arguments suggesting that these are Second Amendment rights at stake from what we’re talking about.”

Continuing, Biden said: “But no amendment to the Constitution is absolute … From the very beginning, you couldn’t own any weapon you wanted to own. From the very beginning the Second Amendment existed, certain people weren’t allowed to have weapons. So the idea is just bizarre to suggest that some of the things we’re recommending are contrary to the Constitution.”

BIDEN TO TARGET ‘GHOST GUNS,’ STABILIZING BRACES IN NEW GUN CONTROL ACTIONS

In attendance were several high-profile gun control activists, including Brady United president Kris Brown, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and Fred Guttenberg.

An administration official detailed the actions to reporters on Wednesday. Among them, Biden is asking the Justice Department (DOJ) to propose within a month a rule to stop “ghost guns,” which are “kits” people can buy legally to assemble a functioning firearm that does not have a serial number.

Biden is also asking the DOJ to propose within 60 days a rule on braces used for handguns, which make them more accurate; to propose action on “community violence intervention”; to publish suggestions for “red flag” legislation; and is asking his administration to issue a report on gun trafficking.

Biden also formally announced David Chipman as the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

A senior administration official Wednesday said that Chipman will respect the Second Amendment while he enforces gun laws.

President Joe Biden speaks about the economy in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“I’ve seen with my own two eyes what a bullet can do to the human body … and I’ve fought my entire career to fight this violence and to pass reasonable gun safety measures,” Harris said as she introduced Biden.

“What are we waiting for? Cause we aren’t waiting for a tragedy… We’ve had more tragedy than we can bear,” she said. “The solutions exist… people on both sides of the aisle want action, real people … so all that is left is the will and the courage to act.”

The Biden administration is also expected to throw its weight behind gun control proposals in Congress.

“Enough prayers, time for some action,” Biden said of Congress. “I believe the Senate should immediately pass three House-passed bills to close loopholes that allow gun purchases, purchasers, to bypass the background checks.”

BIDEN ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT: ‘NO AMENDMENT IS ABSOLUTE’

He also pushed for two gun control laws that would go even further than that.

“We should also ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country,” Biden said. He said “there’s no reason” a person would need a weapon that can hold “100 rounds.”

“We should also eliminate gun manufacturers from the immunity they receive from the Congress,” Biden said, referring to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a law that prevents gunmakers from being sued for crimes committed with guns they sell legally.

“This is the only outfit that is exempt from being sued,” he continued. “If I get one thing on my list… give me that one because I tell you what there would be a come to the Lord moment these folks would have real quickly.”

Vice President Harris meets virtually with community leaders on the COVID-19 public education efforts in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 1, 2021. (Leigh Vogel/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Some of Biden’s claims during the press conference are regularly disputed by Republicans, including that gun manufacturers can’t be sued and that background checks aren’t required at gun shows.

Indeed, the PLCAA only protects against suits for “harm solely caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products.” This does not count, for example, if a gun is defective or if a gun was knowingly given to a person who is banned from possessing one.

BIDEN TO NOMINATE GUN CONTROL BACKER DAVID CHIPMAN TO HEAD ATF: WH OFFICIAL

Further, the “gun show loophole,” as it is known, is not actually about gun shows. All federally licensed commercial dealers, at gun shows or not, must conduct background checks. But federal law permits some non-commercial sellers who don’t need to be licensed to sell guns without conducting background checks. These sales sometimes happen at gun shows.

Republicans, meanwhile, have expressed their suspicion of Biden’s agenda which goes even further than what he announced Thursday.

“By appointing the anti-gun Merrick Garland as attorney general and nominating David Chipman — formerly a senior staffer at the leading gun control lobby —  to head ATF, Biden has made clear his sights are set on restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners while ignoring criminals and foregoing substantive measures that will actually keep Americans safe,” the National Rifle Association (NRA) said in a statement.

“Further, the proposals Biden announced tonight could require law-abiding citizens to surrender lawful property and enable states to expand gun confiscation orders. The NRA will fight this nomination and ill-conceived executive actions,” the NRA also said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., added: “President Biden plans to announce his attempts to trample over our constitutional 2A rights by executive fiat. He is soft on crime, but infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens. I won’t stand for it. And neither will House Republicans. Follow the Constitution!”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said, “The answer is not to restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, the answer is to go after violent criminals and come down on them like a ton of bricks.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland also spoke at the event. He said that gun control is needed to prevent further “tragedy” from gun violence.

“We stand here today not at a moment of tragedy but in the midst of an enduring tragedy,” Garland said.

Brady United, one of the highest-profile gun control groups in the U.S., billed Biden and Harris as “the strongest gun safety ticket in history” at an event last fall.

“President Biden’s actions are historic and they will have an immediate impact. These are tangible and powerful policies that will save lives,” Brown said of the president’s executive actions in a statement Wednesday.

Fox News’ Brittany De Lea, Sally Persons and Kristina Biddle contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-guns-remarks-executive-actions

The post Biden announces slate of gun control actions, claims ‘public health crisis’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post President calls on Senate to pass gun control bills first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Ted Cruz slams Dems gun control proposal as ‘disarming victims’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post State Rep. Justin Holland (Texas) introduces Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act to protect gun rights first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Biden on Tuesday implored the Senate to pass new gun control measures in the wake of a mass shooting that left 10 dead in Boulder, Colorado, this week.

Biden said he didn’t “want to wait another minute, let alone an hour,” to act on gun violence.

He urged the House and Senate to ban “assault weapons,” as he said he did as a senator.

“I got that done as a senator. It brought down mass shootings, we can do it again,” Biden said. “We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday he hasn’t spoken without the White House about an assault weapons ban. Such a ban is not part of a pair of House bills on gun control that passed earlier this month.

Among other efforts, the Senate took up an assault weapons ban in 2013, after the shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, but it failed in a 40-60 vote.

Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., led a bipartisan effort to close commercial background check loopholes that year, but their effort fell six votes short of passage.

The president also called on the Senate to pass two House bills, one that closed loopholes on background checks, including the Charleston loophole, and one that expanded background checks to include gun sales on the internet and at gun shows.

“These are bills that received votes with both Republicans and Democrats in the House. This is not and should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue that will save lives, American lives. And we have to act. We should also ban assault weapons in the process,” Biden said.

BOULDER MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT IDENTIFIED

The House passed an expansion of gun background checks in March. The two bills expand federal gun background checks on all firearms sales and extend the background check review period from three days to a minimum of 10 business days. One bill would close the “Charleston loophole,” where a gun sale is allowed to proceed if the background check is not completed in three days.

According to police, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire at a grocery store on Monday, leaving nine civilians and one police officer dead.

Officials said they are still working to determine a motive in the shooting.

Monday’s midafternoon attack was the seventh mass killing this year in the U.S., following the March 16 shooting that left eight people dead at three Atlanta-area massage businesses, according to a database compiled by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

SCHUMER VOWS SENATE WILL TAKE ON GUN CONTROL MEASURES

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday the Senate will specifically move to expand gun background checks – an effort that has long evaded passage in the upper chamber.

“We cannot seem to finish grieving one tragedy before another takes place,” Schumer said of the back-to-back Atlanta and Boulder mass shootings. “It is a reminder that we must confront a devastating truth in the United States: an unrelenting epidemic of gun violence steals innocent lives with alarming regularity.”

Six days before the Boulder shooting, a gunman shot and killed eight, six of them Asian American, at various spas in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fox News’ Marisa Schultz and Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-senate-gun-control-measures-boulder-mass-shooting

The post Biden calls on Senate to pass gun control measures ‘immediately’ after Boulder shooting first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.