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      Gun reformers feel history is on their side despite bleak outlook in Congress

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      Gun reformers feel history is on their side despite bleak outlook in CongressThe few Republican supporters of gun restrictions have faced backlash from the party faithful When Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law this summer, he and congressional Democrats celebrated the enactment of the first significant gun control policy in decades in the US.The US president also acknowledged that the law, a bipartisan compromise brokered after the Uvalde tragedy that left 19 children and two adults dead, did not go nearly far enough to address the devastation caused by gun violence.“I know there’s much more work to do, and I’m never going to give up,” Biden said in June.Although Democrats and activists agree that much more needs to be done to combat gun violence, legislative progress on this lightning-rod issue could soon become even more difficult. With crucial midterm elections looming, the prospect of meaningful progress on gun reform now looks unlikely – despite widespread domestic revulsion at continuing gun violence and bafflement overseas at the US gun problem.If Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections this November, as they are favored to do, proposed gun regulations will probably be dead on arrival in Congress. Despite those obstacles, anti–gun violence activists and their allies on Capitol Hill insist they are not giving up on their goal to see more desperately needed change in the months and years to come.The Democratic senator Chris Murphy, who played a leading role in negotiations over the BSCA, said on Tuesday that he considers the law to be proof of potential bipartisan cooperation on gun regulations.The compromise secured by Murphy and the Republican senator John Cornyn expanded background checks for firearm buyers under the age of 21, and it enacted new gun restrictions for those previously convicted on domestic violence charges. The legislation also provided financial incentives for states to enact “red-flag laws”, which help keep guns away from those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, and it provided funding for more mental health services to children and families.Speaking at an event in Washington organized by the Common Ground Committee, Murphy credited the anti–gun violence movement and an engaged citizenry in forcing Congress to finally act nearly a decade after the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in his home state of Connecticut.“The reason that we found common ground this summer is because the American public had had enough of inaction,” Murphy said at George Washington University. “While Sandy Hook shook this country to the core, it’s really been the cumulative impact of mass shooting after mass shooting, as well as suicides and homicides continuing to spiral upward, that brought the public to a point this summer where they just weren’t willing to accept Congress retreating to their corners.”But while the passage of the BSCA offered some hope for supporters of stricter gun laws, the negotiation process also displayed the sharp partisan divides on this polarizing issue. Just 14 House Republicans supported the bill, while 193 opposed it. After playing a leading role in the negotiations over the bill, Cornyn was booed and heckled at a Republican convention in his home state of Texas.Former Republican congressman Will Hurd, who joined Murphy at Tuesday’s event, acknowledged the political pressure that members of his party face from some voters when they back new gun restrictions. Nodding to the widespread public support that policies like universal background checks and a higher age limit for gun purchases enjoy, Hurd encouraged his former colleagues to take proactive steps to prevent future tragedies.“This is something that people want to see happen and so don’t be afraid of some of these issues that might have had a different political constituency in the 90s,” Hurd told reporters after the event. He added, “It always requires political courage to do something that’s difficult and that is not embraced by everybody.”As of now, House Republicans have shown little interest in taking up new gun regulations if they regain control of the chamber in November. Even if Democrats retain control of the Senate, Republicans would be able to block any gun control bill in the House if they have the majority.But Hurd, who previously represented the Uvalde community in the House, said political pressure could change the calculus for Republican lawmakers if a similar tragedy occurs again.“If a terrible action like this happens in the future and there’s not going to be a response, I think you’re going to see a public backlash,” Hurd said.That grim possibility is a near certainty in the US, as Tuesday’s event vividly demonstrated. One audience member who posed a question to Murphy and Hurd said that he was a survivor of the Highland Park shooting, which left seven people dead. The attack unfolded just days after Biden signed the BSCA into law.In the face of such tragedy, anti–gun violence activists have doubled down on their commitment to push for more reform, regardless of who controls Congress after November.Murphy echoed that commitment, even as he conceded that Congress was unlikely to pass another gun control bill this year. Praising the anti–gun violence community as “one of the great social change movements in the history of this nation,” Murphy said he and his allies were just getting started.“All of those great social change movements that you read about in the history books, they failed a whole bunch of times before they ever changed the world,” Murphy said. “My hope is based upon the history books, which tell you – when your cause is right and you choose not to give up, in this country, in a democracy – you eventually prevail.”TopicsUS gun controlGun crimeUS politicsfeaturesReuse this content More

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      New York enacts new gun restrictions in response to supreme court decision

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      New York enacts new gun restrictions in response to supreme court decisionAfter court overturned 1911 New York law, state lawmakers produced act to create ‘gun-free zones’ and strengthen gun control measures After a federal judge said New York could implement gun restrictions passed after the US supreme court struck down a century-old law, the state attorney general saluted “a victory in our efforts to protect New Yorkers”.Texas judge overturns state ban on young adults carrying gunsRead more“Responsible gun control measures save lives and any attempts by the gun lobby to tear down New York’s sensible gun control laws will be met with fierce defense of the law,” Letitia James said on Wednesday night.In June, in the aftermath of mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, the conservative-dominated US supreme court overturned a New York law passed in 1911.The law said anyone wanting to carry a handgun in public had to prove “proper cause”.Justice Clarence Thomas said the 111-year-old law was a violation of the second amendment right to bear arms and also the 14th amendment, which made second-amendment rights applicable to the states.“Apart from a few late-19th-century outlier jurisdictions,” Thomas wrote, “American governments simply have not broadly prohibited the public carry of commonly used firearms for personal defense.”In dissent, Stephen Breyer, a liberal, wrote: “In 2020, 45,222 Americans were killed by firearms. Since the start of this year there have been 277 reported mass shootings – an average of more than one per day.”The same source, the Gun Violence Archive, now puts that total at 450.Breyer wrote: “Gun violence has now surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Many states have tried to address some of the dangers of gun violence … the court today severely burdens states’ efforts to do so.”Joe Biden said: “I call on Americans across the country to make their voices heard on gun safety. Lives are on the line.”Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said: “The supreme court is setting us backwards … This decision is not just reckless, it’s reprehensible.”Hochul called the legislature back into session. It produced the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, or CCIA.As defined by James, the CCIA “strengthens requirements for concealed carry permits, prohibits guns in sensitive locations, allows private businesses to ban guns on their premises, enhances safe storage requirements, requires social media review ahead of certain gun purchases, and requires background checks on all ammunition purchases to protect New Yorkers”.The law was challenged by the Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation. On Wednesday, the GOA said the CCIA “would essentially make all of NY a gun-free zone and infringes upon the rights of its citizens”.Judge Glenn Suddaby, of the US district court in the northern district of New York, said the two gun groups lacked standing to bring the case.But Suddaby also indicated support, describing “a strong sense of the safety that a licensed concealed handgun regularly provides, or would provide, to the many law-abiding responsible citizens in the state too powerless to physically defend themselves in public without a handgun”.An appeal is likely. The CCIA went into effect on Thursday.On Wednesday the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, said: “The US supreme court’s … decision was the shot heard round the world that took dead aim at the safety of all New Yorkers.“New York City will defend itself against this decision, and, beginning tomorrow, new eligibility requirements for concealed carry permit applicants and restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons in ‘sensitive locations’, like Times Square, take effect.”The new law has prompted a change in what New York City authorities officially consider to be Times Square. As the New York Times reported, the new boundaries extend far beyond the traffic-choked and neon-blitzed Midtown hub known to tourists worldwide but largely avoided by locals.Under CCIA, the Times Square “gun free zone” will run “from Ninth to Sixth Avenues and from 53rd to 40th Streets and consists of about three dozen blocks”, the paper said.One New Yorker interviewed by the Times dismissed the idea that the Port Authority Bus Terminal, on Eighth Avenue, could be considered part of Times Square, even in order to make it a gun-free zone.“Nah,” Robert Govan, 62, told the city’s paper of record. “No way. Not going to happen.”TopicsNew YorkUS gun controlUS politicsUS supreme courtUS constitution and civil libertiesLaw (US)newsReuse this content More

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      Biden ‘determined to ban assault weapons’ as he lays out crime prevention plans – live

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      Joe Biden says he is “determined” to achieve an assault weapons ban in the US.The push to reenact such a ban forms a centerpiece of the Safer America Plan that the president is laying out in an address Tuesday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.He is reminding the crowd that in 1994, as chair of the Senate judiciary committee, he helped engineer the original assault weapons ban that later lapsed:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country. Determined.
      I did it once before. And I’ll do it again. For many of you at home, I want to be clear. It’s not about taking away anybody’s guns. In fact, we should be treating responsible gun owners as examples, how every gun owner should be.
      Over 48,000 people died from gunshot wounds in 2021 in the United States of America. Over 26,000 by suicide.”Biden also attacked the National Rifle Association, touring the success of the bipartisan gun control law he signed into law this year..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We beat the NRA. We took them on and we beat ‘em straight up.
      You have no idea how intimidating they are to elected officials. The NRA was against it, which means a vast majority. The vast majority of Republicans in Congress couldn’t even stand up and vote for it.
      Law enforcement supported it. Faith leaders, teachers supported it. Victims of gun violence and their families supported it. Young people in this country, like the students of this great university, supported it.
      And the NRA, the vast majority of congressional Republicans, voted against it, saving lives and keeping America safe. But guess what? We took on NRA we’re gonna take them on again. And we won and we will win again. We’re not stopping here. I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country.The US politics blog is closing now and will resume tomorrow. It’s been a busy day in news from Washington, DC, and beyond of a political nature, finishing with US president Joe Biden’s speech in Pennsylvania on gun safety and law enforcement.Here’s how the day went:
      Joe Biden said he is “determined” to achieve an assault weapons ban in the US. The push to reenact such a ban formed a centerpiece of the Safer America Plan that the president laid out in an address this afternoon in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
      The US president made a case for how funding the police – a deliberate rebuffing of the progressive cause of defunding the police (switching funds from policing to a spectrum of social services) – provides “peace of mind” to the American public.
      The Biden administration announced it is sending more monkeypox vaccines to certain states and cities in an effort to combat further spread of the disease.
      Victor Madrigal-Borloz, United Nations independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, warned that LGBTQ+ equality in the US ‘not yet within reach’ because of states that have passed legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights.
      The DoJ tightened rules around some staff attending election events when attorney general Merrick Garland issued a memo saying that political appointees at the US Department of Justice will be barred from attending election campaign events or fundraisers.
      And the public still awaits the DoJ’s legal response to Donald Trump’s request for a “special master” to oversee its review of classified documents seized by the FBI in a raid on his Florida home. The deadline for the latest filing in federal court in West Palm Beach is today.
      We’ll be closing this US politics blog shortly. By now you will probably have heard or read that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died. The Guardian has launched a separate live blog to cover details and reaction, which you can follow here. And here is the current main news story. There will be a lot more coverage on this huge event from the Guardian.Joe Biden closed his remarks with a vociferous attack on Republicans who defended the January 6 insurrection incited by Donald Trump at the US Capitol, and called the deadly riot that claimed several lives, including police officers, “sickening”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}What I find even more incredible is the defense. Cops attacked, assaulted. Speared with flag poles. Sprayed with mace. Stomped on. Dragged. Brutalized. Police lost their lives as a result of that day.
      Let me say this to my Maga Republican friends in Congress. Don’t tell me you support law enforcement if you won’t condemn what happened on January 6. Don’t tell me. For God’s sake, whose side are you on?
      You can’t be pro law enforcement and pro insurrection. You can’t be a party of law and order and call the people who attacked the police on January 6 patriots. You can’t do it.Biden also condemned Republicans who have called for the FBI to be defunded after the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida that resulted in the seizure of classified documents the former president was hoarding:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It’s sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI, threatening the lives of law enforcement agents and their families for simply carrying out the law and doing their job.
      I want to set it out as clear as I can. There is no place in this country, no place, for endangering the lives of law enforcement. No place, no, never, period.Biden recalls a long list of mass shootings in the US.“More children in America die from guns than active duty police and active duty military in the United States,” he says. “We have to act for those families of Buffalo, Uvalde, Newtown, El Paso, Parkland, Charleston, Las Vegas, Orlando … I’ve been to every one of those. Sat down with those parents. I spent four hours last time with every single one of the parents and families who have lost someone, and seen the looks in their faces.”“Think about it. Think about the devastation that’s occurred. We have to act for all those kids gunned down on our streets every single day that never make the news. There’s a mass shooting every single day in this country.”Joe Biden says he is “determined” to achieve an assault weapons ban in the US.The push to reenact such a ban forms a centerpiece of the Safer America Plan that the president is laying out in an address Tuesday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.He is reminding the crowd that in 1994, as chair of the Senate judiciary committee, he helped engineer the original assault weapons ban that later lapsed:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country. Determined.
      I did it once before. And I’ll do it again. For many of you at home, I want to be clear. It’s not about taking away anybody’s guns. In fact, we should be treating responsible gun owners as examples, how every gun owner should be.
      Over 48,000 people died from gunshot wounds in 2021 in the United States of America. Over 26,000 by suicide.”Biden also attacked the National Rifle Association, touring the success of the bipartisan gun control law he signed into law this year..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We beat the NRA. We took them on and we beat ‘em straight up.
      You have no idea how intimidating they are to elected officials. The NRA was against it, which means a vast majority. The vast majority of Republicans in Congress couldn’t even stand up and vote for it.
      Law enforcement supported it. Faith leaders, teachers supported it. Victims of gun violence and their families supported it. Young people in this country, like the students of this great university, supported it.
      And the NRA, the vast majority of congressional Republicans, voted against it, saving lives and keeping America safe. But guess what? We took on NRA we’re gonna take them on again. And we won and we will win again. We’re not stopping here. I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country.Joe Biden is laying into Republicans who refused to back the American Rescue Plan in congress last year, which he says provided $350bn to states to help make their communities safer..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Guess what? Every single Republican member of Congress, every single one voted against us support law enforcement. They talk about how much they love it. They voted against the funding. Flat out. Flat out. Every Republican in the House. Every Republican in the Senate. Every single one.
      And know we expect so much of our law enforcement officers, so we need to support them. That’s why my crime plan to help communities recruit, hire and train nationwide more than 100,000 additional officers for community policingJoe Biden is talking up his crime prevention plans during a speech in Pennsylvania, and says funding the police is the pathway to providing American families with peace of mind.During an address at which he is also expected to call for an assault weapons ban, the president is laying out his Safer America Plan. A series of deadly mass shootings have destroyed Americans’ sense of security, he says:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Peace of mind [is] knowing your kids can go to school, or the playground, or movies, at a high school game, and come home safely. Not have to think about it for too long. So many families haven’t had that peace of mind.
      They watch the news and they see kids being gunned down in schools and on the streets. Almost every single night you turn the news on that’s what you see. They see their neighbors lose their loved ones to drugs like fentanyl, which is a flat killer.
      They see hate and anger and violence. Just walking the streets of America and they just want to feel safe again. They want to feel a sense of security. That’s what my crime plan is all about.Turning to funding law enforcement funding, which some Republicans accuse Democrats of wanting to scrap, Biden was clear:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}When it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not defund the police. It’s to fund to the police. We expect them to do everything. We expect them to be protect us, to be psychologist to be sociologists. I mean, we expect you to do everything. We ask so much of you.The Biden administration has announced it is sending more monkeypox vaccines to certain states and cities in an effort to combat further spread of the disease.The White House national monkeypox response team said at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon that the aim was to “protect individuals most at risk of contracting the virus.”Additional vaccines and support will be sent to states and cities holding events that convene large groups of LGBTQI+ individuals, specifically gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, officials said.They also announced a pilot to “surge” vaccine availability and other prevention resources to communities of color in light of recent CDC data showing the disproportionate reach of the virus among Black and Latino gay, bisexual, and other men.New Orleans, Louisiana; Atlanta, Georgia; and Oakland, California are among the first cities benefiting from the additional vaccines. The White House released a monkeypox fact sheet to accompany the briefing. Three Arizona Republicans, including secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem and congressman Paul Gosar, must pay $75,000 in attorney fees for filing a defamation suit against a former Democratic lawmaker “primarily for purposes of harassment”, a judge has ruled.The Associated Press reports that the Republicans filed the lawsuit last year against former state representative Charlene Fernandez after she and other Democrats called for an investigation of their roles in the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol. The judge, Levi Gunderson, dismissed the lawsuit in April, saying Fernandez’s request was protected by the first amendment’s rights to free speech and to petition the government.On Tuesday, Gunderson ruled that the lawsuit appeared to have been “written for an audience other than the assigned trial court judge” as it made irrelevant references to open borders and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.The lawsuit “was brought for an improper purpose, having been filed against a political opponent primarily for purposes of harassment,” he added.Fernandez and 41 other Democratic lawmakers signed a letter in January 2021 urging the justice department to investigate Finchem, Gosar and then state representative Anthony Kern, allies of Donald Trump who were in or around the US Capitol at the time of the riot. All deny wrongdoing.States that have passed legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights have come under attack from an independent United Nations expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.Speaking at a UN briefing on discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities in New York on Tuesday, Victor Madrigal-Borloz said he looked at a cross-section of key indicators from housing to health care access:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Equality is not yet within reach, and in many cases not within sight of LGBT communities and populations in the US. All outcomes in the sectors I mentioned are inferior, and in many cases significantly inferior, for the LGBT population.
      I am extremely concerned about a series, and I would say a concerted series, of actions at state level, both legislative and administrative, that tend to base on prejudice and stigma, to attack and to rollback the rights of LGBT persons.00:47Numerous US states have passed, or have been contemplating restrictive anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent months, none more so than Florida. Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a “don’t say gay” bill that outlaws most classroom discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation topics, as well as a law banning transgender athletes.Political appointees at the US Department of Justice (DoJ) will be barred from attending campaign events or fundraisers, according to new guidance issued by attorney general Merrick Garland today, ahead of November’s midterm elections, Reuters reports..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}I know you agree it is critical that we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards to avoid even the appearance of political influence as we carry out the department’s mission. It is in that spirit that I have added these new restrictions on political activities by non-career employees,” Garland wrote in a memo.While it is common for the justice department to remind its staff to tread carefully about political activities ahead of election seasons, Garland’s memo contains among the most restrictive policies in recent times.Federal employees in general are subject to the Hatch Act, a law which limits some of their political activities to ensure the government is free from partisan influence.Previously, political appointees at the department were permitted to attend partisan events in their personal capacity, as long as they sought prior approval.Under the new guidance, however, there will be no exceptions – including on the evening of election day itself.The change comes at a time when the justice department is under a national microscope over its extraordinary decision to search the Florida estate of former Republican president Donald Trump earlier this month.This was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into whether he illegally retained government records, including some marked as top secret.In addition to the pressure the department has faced over its investigation into Trump, some of its political appointees have also faced criticism for attending political functions.Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas in July called for an investigation after Rachael Rollins, an outspoken progressive prosecutor who serves as the US attorney for Massachusetts, attended a Democratic fundraiser that month that was also attended by first lady Jill Biden.Rollins in a tweet following news reports on her attendance said she had “approval to meet Dr. Biden & left early to speak at 2 community events”.A spokesperson for Rollins did not immediately respond to a request for comment on today. More

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      Biden to host ‘United We Stand’ summit to address hate-fueled US gun violence

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      Biden to host ‘United We Stand’ summit to address hate-fueled US gun violenceGathering in September at the White House intends to bring together Democrats and Republicans to seek solutions Joe Biden will host a White House summit next month aimed at combating hate-fueled violence.The White House announced on Friday that Biden will host the United We Stand Summit on 15 September, seeking to highlight the “corrosive effects” of violence on public safety and democracy.Advocates pushed Biden to hold the event after 10 Black people were killed at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May, aiming as well to address hate-driven violence in cities including El Paso, Texas, Pittsburgh and Oak Creek, Wisconsin.“As President Biden said in Buffalo after the horrific mass shooting earlier this year, in the battle for the soul of our nation, ‘We must all enlist in this great cause of America,’” the press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in a statement.“The United We Stand Summit will present an important opportunity for Americans of all races, religions, regions, political affiliations, and walks of life to take up that cause together.”Biden will deliver a keynote speech at the gathering, which the White House says will include civil rights groups, faith leaders, business executives, law enforcement, gun violence prevention advocates, former members of violent hate groups, the victims of extremist violence and cultural figures.The White House emphasized that it intends to bring together Democrats and Republicans, as well as leaders on the federal, state and local levels.Biden has frequently cited a 2017 white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, for bringing him out of political retirement to challenge Donald Trump in 2020. He promised in that campaign to work to bridge political and social divides and to promote national unity.Sindy Benavides, chief executive of League of United Latin American Citizens, said the genesis of the summit came after the Buffalo massacre, as her organization, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Action Network and other groups wanted to press the Biden administration to more directly tackle extremist threats.“As civil rights organizations, social justice organizations, we fight every day against this, and we wanted to make sure to acknowledge that government needs to have a leading role in addressing rightwing extremism,” she said.The White House did not outline the line-up of speakers or participants. It also would not preview any policy announcements. Officials noted Biden last year signed the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act and released the first National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.Benavides said the summit would help the country address hate-inspired violence but also said she hoped for “long-term solutions” to emerge.“What’s important to us is addressing mental health, gun control reform, addressing misinformation, disinformation and malinformation,” she said.“We want policy makers to focus on common sense solutions so we don’t see this type of violence in our communities. And we want to see the implementation of policies that reduce violence.”TopicsUS gun controlJoe BidenUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      House-passed assault weapons ban appears to be doomed in the Senate

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      House-passed assault weapons ban appears to be doomed in the SenateBill would require support from at least 10 Senate Republicans, and it isn’t certain that all 50 Democratic senators are onboard The assault weapons ban in America passed by the House appears set to be doomed in the Senate amid implacable Republican opposition to gun reform, even in the wake of a series of mass shootings in the US.The legislation in the House, which would ban assault weapons for the first time since 2004, is interpreted as a sign that Democrats plan more aggressive gun violence prevention after a series of mass shootings using the military-derived weapons, including in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.It was passed 217-213, with two Republicans voting in favor and five Democrats opposing. The legislation would criminalize the knowing sale, manufacture, transfer, possession or importation of many types of semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines.“Our nation has watched in unspeakable horror as assault weapons have been used in massacre after massacre in communities across the country,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said on Friday before the vote. “We know that an assault weapons ban can work because it has worked before.”The Democrat-controlled House judiciary committee estimated last week that the five major gun manufacturers have collected more than $1bn from the sale of assault rifles in the past decade.New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney said that gun manufacturers use “dangerous selling tactics to sell assault weapons to the public”, including “marketing to children, preying on young men’s insecurities and even appealing to violent white supremacists.”.Cogressman Brad Schneider, who represents Highland Park in Illinois where a mass shooter recently disrupted a Fourth of July parade with a hail of gunfire, killing seven, said at the hearing that “the shooter was able to fire off his bullets so fast that they couldn’t even identify where they were coming from”.But in the 50-50 evenly-split Senate, the bill is unlikely to pass despite a political breakthrough last month in bringing the bill forward. In that chamber, it would require support from at least 10 Republicans. Nor is it certain that all 50 Democrat senators are on board.Congressional Republicans argue that the legislation is unconstitutional and would result in the confiscation of firearms. “Today, they’re coming for your guns,” said rightwing Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, a senior member of the judiciary committee. “They want to take all guns from all people.”The last time the legislature passed an assault weapons ban was in 1994. A 2019 study in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery showed the number of mass shooting deaths declined while the law, which expired in 2004, was in effect.Since then, the number of assault-style weapons in private hands has proliferated to 19.8m, according to a November 2020 statement by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, with mass-shooting growing in frequency alongside.The legislation has not yet been scheduled in the senate for before or after the August recess. On Friday, Joe Biden said he welcomed the House vote, saying a majority of Americans “agree with this common sense action”.“There can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of our families, our children, our homes, our communities and our nation”, he added in a statement issued by the White House.TopicsUS SenateUS gun controlHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsDemocratsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      US House votes to ban assault weapons as Republicans criticize ‘gun grab’

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      US House votes to ban assault weapons as Republicans criticize ‘gun grab’Restrictions that expired 10 years after 1994 vote revived as bill passes 217-213, but effort likely to fail in US Senate The House has passed legislation to revive a ban on semi-automatic guns, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of mass shootings ripping through communities nationwide.Once banned in the US, the high-powered firearms are now widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings. But Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sales of the weapons to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban.Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban had “saved lives”.California governor signs gun control law modeled after Texas anti-abortion measureRead moreThe House legislation is shunned by Republicans, who dismissed it as an election-year strategy by Democrats. Almost all Republicans voted against the bill, which passed 217-213. It will probably stall in the 50-50 Senate.The bill comes at a time of intensifying concerns about gun violence and shootings – the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York; massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas; and the Fourth of July shooting of revelers in Highland Park, Illinois.Voters seem to be taking such election-year votes seriously as Congress splits along party lines and lawmakers are forced to go on the record with their views. A recent vote to protect same-sex marriages from potential supreme court legal challenges won a surprising amount of bipartisan support.Joe Biden, who was instrumental in helping secure the first semi-automatic weapons ban as a senator in 1994, encouraged passage, promising to sign the bill if it reached his desk. In a statement before the vote, his administration said: “We know an assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban will save lives.”02:03The Biden administration said for 10 years while the ban was in place, mass shootings declined. “When the ban expired in 2004, mass shootings tripled,” the statement said.Republicans stood firmly against limits on ownership of the high-powered firearms during an at times emotional debate ahead of voting.“It’s a gun-grab, pure and simple,” said Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania.Said Andrew Clyde of Georgia: “An armed America is a safe and free America.”Democrats argued that the ban on the weapons makes sense, portraying Republicans as extreme and out of step with Americans.Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said the weapons ban was not about taking away Americans’ second amendment rights but ensuring that children also had the right “to not get shot in school”.National gun violence prevention organizations are describing the House’s actions as a promising step toward getting future restrictions passed at the federal level.“Just a few years ago this would have been unthinkable,” said Trevon Bosley, a board member of March for Our Lives. The organization was born after a young gunman shot and killed 17 students and staff of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “This bill won’t save lives yet, but it does send a powerful message to the millions of young people who are growing up fighting for our lives: change is possible.”The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell or manufacture a long list of semi-automatic weapons. Jerry Nadler, chair of the judiciary committee, said it exempts those already in possession.Since the previous ban expired nearly two decades ago, Democrats had been reluctant to revisit the issue and confront the gun lobby. But voter opinions appear to be shifting and Democrats dared to act before the fall election. The outcome will also make candidates’ stance on gun legislation clear ahead of the midterm elections.Congress passed a modest gun violence prevention package just last month in the aftermath of the tragic shooting of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde. That bipartisan bill was the first of its kind after years of failed efforts to confront the gun lobby, including after a similar 2012 mass tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.That law provides for expanded background checks on young adults buying firearms, allowing authorities to access certain juvenile records. It also closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by denying gun purchases for those convicted of domestic abuse outside of marriages.The new law also frees up federal funding to the states, including for “red flag” laws that enable authorities to remove guns from those who would harm themselves or others.But even that modest effort at halting gun violence came at time of grave uncertainty in the US over restrictions on firearms as the more conservative supreme court is tackling gun rights and other issues.Biden signed the measure two days after the supreme court’s ruling striking down a New York law that restricted people’s ability to carry concealed weapons.Abené Clayton contributed reportingTopicsUS gun controlHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Gun executives tell Congress: don’t blame us for deadly shootings

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      Gun executives tell Congress: don’t blame us for deadly shootingsCEOs face aggressive questioning from lawmakers at hearing about their companies’ responsibility for recent attacks Executives from large American gun companies appeared before a House committee on Wednesday, facing aggressive questioning from lawmakers about their organizations’ responsibility for recent devastating mass shootings in the US.The hearing marked the first time in nearly two decades that the CEOs of leading gun manufacturers testified before Congress and comes after a wave of deadly attacks including at a Fourth of July parade in Illinois, a school in Texas and the racist massacre of Black shoppers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.The witnesses included Christopher Killoy, president and CEO of Sturm, Ruger & Company, and Marty Daniel, CEO of Daniel Defense. Mark Smith, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands, had been invited to appear but refused to do so.“Mr Smith promised he would testify, but then he went back on his word, perhaps because he did not want to take responsibility for the death and destruction his company has caused,” said Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House oversight committee.02:03Maloney announced that she would soon subpoena documents from Smith & Wesson’s CEO and other top executives to discover more about the gun industry’s business practices. According to a committee investigation, Smith & Wesson brought in more than $125m last year from the sale of assault weapons, which have been used in many mass shootings. In total, five gun manufacturers collected more than $1bn from the sale of assault rifles over the last decade, the investigation found.“The time for dodging accountability is over,” Maloney said.At the start of the hearing, the committee played a video of testimonials from families who had been affected by recent mass shootings, including the massacre at Robb elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the white supremacist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.Tracey Maciulewicz, who lost her fiance Andre Mackniel in the Buffalo shooting, tearfully pleaded with the gun companies to enact change in the face of so many families’ devastation.“What are you going to do to make sure that your products don’t get into the hands of a white supremacist mass shooter ever again, who will take a child’s father away?” Maciulewicz asked in the video.Rather than outlining corporate changes to prevent future tragedies like Buffalo, the gun company executives deflected responsibility for mass shootings, instead blaming individual bad actors and policy failures to prevent violent crime.“These acts are committed by murderers,” said Daniel, whose company sold the assault weapon used in the Uvalde shooting. “The murderers are responsible.”Killoy, the CEO of the largest manufacturer of rifles in the US, similarly argued it was wrong to blame the “inanimate object” of a firearm for deaths caused by gun violence.“We firmly believe that it is wrong to deprive citizens of their constitutional right to purchase a lawful firearm they desire because of the criminal acts of wicked people,” Killoy said. “A firearm, any firearm, can be used for good or for evil. The difference is in the intent of the individual possessing it, which we respectfully submit, should be the focus of any investigation into the root causes of criminal violence involving firearms.”Republicans on the committee echoed the executives’ argument, accusing Democrats of demonizing gun manufacturers while promoting “soft on crime” policies.“It’s absolutely disgusting to me and unthinkable, the height of irresponsibility and lack of accountability,” said Jody Hice, a Republican of Georgia. “My colleagues seem to forget that the American people have a right to own guns.”At one point, two committee members got into a heated exchange, as the Republican Clay Higgins accused Democrats of leaving average Americans more vulnerable to gun violence by pushing restrictions to firearm access.Higgins argued that law-abiding Americans would be more likely to get injured in a shooting if they were not armed as well, saying, “My colleagues in the Democratic party, when those gun fights happen, that blood will be on your hands.”The Democrat Gerry Connolly fiercely rejected that charge, telling Higgins, “We will not be threatened with violence and bloodshed because we want reasonable gun control.”The committee hearing came as House Democrats attempt to pass additional gun-control legislation, including a ban on assault weapons. A House committee advanced the assault weapons ban last week, but it remains unclear whether the full chamber will approve the proposal.Several House Democrats have indicated they do not support the ban, and the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, can afford to lose only four votes if every Republican opposes the bill. The House Democratic caucus chair, Hakeem Jeffries, expressed confidence that the ban would ultimately pass, although it does not appear the bill will come up for a vote this week.“I expect that, if the assault weapons ban hits the floor, that it will pass, and I personally and strongly support it,” Jeffries said Wednesday.Joe Biden has already signed one gun-control bill last month, in the wake of the tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo. But many Democrats argued that the compromise bill, which expanded background checks for the youngest firearm buyers and provided more funding for mental health resources, did not go far enough to address gun violence.In addition to the assault weapons ban, House Democrats are considering a bill to strip gun manufacturers of civil liability protections. At the Wednesday hearing, Maloney indicated she would soon introduce more bills to regulate firearm manufacturers, saying lawmakers have a responsibility to the many families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.“Since it’s clear that the gun industry won’t protect Americans, Congress must act,” Maloney said in her closing statement. “This is a fight we must and will win.”TopicsUS gun controlUS politicsHouse of RepresentativesUS CongressTexas school shootingBuffalo shootingnewsReuse this content More

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      US Federal Reserve announces three-quarter-point interest rate increase to cool inflation – as it happened

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      Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, has spoken about the 0.75% rise in interest rates announced this afternoon. He said the move was essential because “inflation is much too high.”Powell said: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}My colleagues and I are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down. And we’re moving expeditiously to do so.
      We have both the tools we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses.As my colleague Dominic Rushe explains here, the US central bank is aggressively raising rates at levels unseen since the mid-1990s as it struggles to tamp down soaring prices, which rose by an annual rate of 9.1% in June, the fastest inflation rate since 1981.When mortgage rates, car loans and credit cards are more expensive, the theory goes, people are less inclined to spend, and inflation comes down.Powell added:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The economy and the country have been through a lot over the past two and a half years and have proved resilient.
      It is essential that we bring inflation down to our 2% goal, if we are to have a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all.That’s a wrap on the US politics blog for today, thanks for your company. Please join us again tomorrow.Here’s what we followed:
      The Federal Reserve announced a 0.75% rise in interest rates, the fourth this year, pushing up the cost of mortgages, credit cards and car loans. Fed chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference the rise was “essential” to curb runaway inflation.
      The US has offered Russia a deal aimed at bringing home jailed Americans Brittney Griner, a professional basketball player, and security expert Paul Whelan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expected to speak with his counterpart in Moscow shortly, for the first time since before Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
      A bill pledging support for human trafficking victims passed the House, with 20 Republicans voting against. They included Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who is the subject of a justice department investigation involving sex with a 17-year-old girl.
      Gun manufacturers pocketed more than $1bn over a decade from the sales of AR-15 military-style weapons, as hundreds of Americans died in mass shootings. Carolyn Maloney, Democratic chair of the House oversight committee, told a hearing the gun industry was “profiting off the blood of innocent Americans.”
      Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 and returned to work in-person after a five-isolation to give an address in the White House Rose Garden. The president warned that the pandemic was resurgent and urged Americans to get vaccinated and boosted.
      House Democrats introduced a bill to establish term limits for supreme court justices, after an unprecedented term in which federal abortion rights were overturned and threats emerged from the right-wing panel to same-sex marriages and contraception.
      The justice department has centered its criminal inquiry over the January 6 insurrection to Donald Trump’s personal conduct as he fought to stay in office after his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden, per the Washington Post.
      A press conference explaining this afternoon’s 0.75% rise in interest rates has just wrapped up, after an hour, with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s final words attempting to offer comfort to Americans paying the price of soaring inflation:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We know that inflation is too high. We understand how painful it is, particularly for people who are living paycheck to paycheck, and spend most of that paycheck on necessities such as food and gas, and heating their homes and clothing and things like that.
      We do understand that that those people suffer the most. The middle class and better off people have some resources where they can absorb these things, but many people don’t have those resources.
      So you know, it is our job, it is our institutional role. We are assigned uniquely and unconditionally the obligation of providing price stability to the American people. And we’re going to use our tools to do that.The US has offered Russia a deal aimed at bringing home jailed Americans Brittney Griner, a professional basketball player, and security expert Paul Whelan, the Associated Press reports.Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he expected to speak with his counterpart in Moscow shortly, for the first time since before Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. https://t.co/BgwOCabNxs— The Associated Press (@AP) July 27, 2022
      His statement marked the first time the US government has publicly revealed any concrete action to secure the release of Griner, who was arrested on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February and testified Wednesday at her trial.Blinken did not offer details on the proposed deal, which the AP says was offered weeks ago.The elephant in the room, until a reporter asked about it during the question and answer session following Jerome Powell’s statement, was whether there was going to be a recession in the US, as some analysts have predicted but others, including Joe Biden, have attempted to discount.The Federal Reserve chair said he did not think a recession was inevitable:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Price stability is really the bedrock of the economy and nothing works in the economy without price stability. We can’t have a strong labor market without price stability for an extended period of time.
      We need a period of growth below potential in order to create some slack so that supply can catch up. We also think that there will be, in all likelihood, some softening in labor market conditions. Those are things we expect and are probably necessary if we are able to get inflation back down to 2%.
      We’re trying to do just the right amount. We’re not trying to have a recession, and we don’t think we have to.
      I do not think the US is currently in a recession. The reason is there are too many areas in the economy that are performing too well, the labor market in particular.Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell says he’s sympathetic to American families struggling with soaring prices at supermarket checkouts, gas stations and elsewhere:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Although prices for some commodities have turned down recently, the earlier surge in prices of crude oil and other commodities that resulted from Russia’s war on Ukraine has boosted prices for gasoline and food creating additional upward pressure on inflation.
      My colleagues and I are acutely aware that high inflation imposes significant hardship, especially on those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing and transportation.Powell pointed to a “robust” jobs market, with unemployment near a 50-year low, strong consumer demand and recent reductions in gas prices.But he said the Fed needed to maintain a tight rein on the economy in order to reduce inflation, and hinted that more rate rises – beyond the four already announced this year – will be likely in the coming months and into next year. He did, however, suggest the aggressive pace of the interest rate rises will decrease:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increase. While we assess how our cumulative policy adjustments are affecting the economy and inflation.Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, has spoken about the 0.75% rise in interest rates announced this afternoon. He said the move was essential because “inflation is much too high.”Powell said: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}My colleagues and I are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down. And we’re moving expeditiously to do so.
      We have both the tools we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses.As my colleague Dominic Rushe explains here, the US central bank is aggressively raising rates at levels unseen since the mid-1990s as it struggles to tamp down soaring prices, which rose by an annual rate of 9.1% in June, the fastest inflation rate since 1981.When mortgage rates, car loans and credit cards are more expensive, the theory goes, people are less inclined to spend, and inflation comes down.Powell added:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The economy and the country have been through a lot over the past two and a half years and have proved resilient.
      It is essential that we bring inflation down to our 2% goal, if we are to have a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all.The Federal Reserve’s just-announced decision to increase interest rates by three-quarters of one percent, the fourth rise this year, was not entirely unexpected, as my colleague Dominic Rushe explains:With the US economy teetering on the edge of a recession and inflation running at a four-decade high, the Federal Reserve announced another three-quarter of a percentage point increase in its benchmark interest rates on Wednesday, the second such increase in just over a month.The US central bank is aggressively raising rates at levels unseen since the mid-1990s as it struggles to tamp down soaring prices, which rose by an annual rate of 9.1% in June, the fastest inflation rate since 1981.The hike, the Fed’s fourth this year and the third consecutive one to be larger than usual, comes as central banks worldwide seek to calm price rises with higher rates.So far the rate rises appear to have done little to rein in rising prices and the costs of everything from food and rent to gas remain high. The Fed will not meet again until September, at which point more economic data will be available, and its decision committee should be better able to see if its policy is working.One important measure of the economy will be made public on Thursday, when the commerce department releases its latest survey of gross domestic product (GDP) – a broad measure of the cost of a wide range of goods and services across the US economy. Many economists are expecting growth to have slowed for the second quarter in a row – a guide used by many to declare a recession.Recessions are, however, officially declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a research group that uses a broad range of measures including jobs growth to decide when the US economy is shrinking. The NBER often makes its announcement well after a recession has begun, as it assesses other economic factors.Jobs growth remains strong – the US added 372,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate stayed low at 3.6%.But, for many, two months of declining GDP is a strong indicator that the economy is in a recession. Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies and senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, pointed out this week that all of the last 10 recessions in the US have been preceded by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.Read the full report:Fed announces another three-quarter-point increase in interest rates Read moreAs expected, the US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates by 0.75% in an attempt to cool raging inflation.We’ll have more details soon…Federal Open Market Committee statement: https://t.co/vwSnKyty12 #FOMC— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) July 27, 2022
      A bill pledging support for human trafficking victims has passed the House, with 20 Republicans voting against.They include Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who is the subject of a justice department investigation involving sex with a 17-year-old girl who once traveled with him, and several other close allies of former president Donald Trump.20 Republicans just voted NO on a bill to support human trafficking victims. Among the no votes are accused human trafficker Matt Gaetz, insurrectionist Paul Gosar, & self-described “Christian Nationalist” MT Greene.When people show you who they are—believe them the first time. pic.twitter.com/EjAzuuFER4— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) July 27, 2022
      Here’s where we are on a busy Wednesday, as we await the announcement from the Federal Reserve of a US interest rate hike:
      Gun manufacturers pocketed more than $1bn over a decade from the sales of AR-15 military-style weapons, as hundreds of Americans died in mass shootings. Carolyn Maloney, Democratic chair of the House oversight committee, said the gun industry was “profiting off the blood of innocent Americans.”
      Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 and returned to work in-person after a five-isolation to give an address in the White House Rose Garden. The president warned that the pandemic was resurgent and urged Americans to get vaccinated and boosted.
      House Democrats introduced a bill to establish term limits for supreme court justices, after an unprecedented term in which federal abortion rights were overturned and threats emerged from the right-wing panel to same-sex marriages and contraception.
      The justice department has centered its criminal inquiry over the January 6 insurrection to Donald Trump’s personal conduct as he fought to stay in office after his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden, per the Washington Post.
      House Democrats have introduced a bill to establish term limits for supreme court justices, after an unprecedented term in which the highest court produced a series of deeply conservative rulings upending American law.In June, a court dominated 6-3 by Republican appointees overturned the right to abortion. It also issued consequential rulings on gun control, the environment and other controversial issues.The Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization Act (Term), would establish 18-year terms for supreme court justices and establish a process for the president to appoint a new justice every two years. After an 18-year term, justices would be retired from active judicial service.If the bill were to take effect, the nine justices now on the court would essentially be forced into senior status in order of reverse seniority, as jurists were appointed under the new mechanism.Supreme court justices are currently appointed for life. The US stands alone as the only advanced democracy that does not have either a fixed term or a mandatory retirement age for judges on its highest court.“Regularizing appointments every two years will ensure a supreme court that is more representative of the nation, reflecting the choices of recently elected presidents and senators,” Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat who introduced the bill, said in a statement.“Term limits for supreme court justices are an essential tool to restoring a constitutional balance to the three branches of the federal government.”The bill is unlikely to pass. Republicans have vigorously shot down any attempts to change the makeup of the supreme court. Even if the measure passed the Democratic-controlled House, it would probably die in the Senate, where it would need the vote of 10 Republicans in addition to all Democrats to overcome the filibuster.Democrats introduce bill requiring term limits for US supreme court justicesRead moreSome Democrats in Washington are publicly fuming over the party’s decision to boost a Republican congressional candidate in Michigan who has questioned the 2020 election result.The outcry escalated after Axios reported that Democrats plan to spend $425,000 to air an ad ahead of Michigan’s primary, highlighting the conservative bona fides of John Gibbs, who is challenging the incumbent Republican, Peter Meijer.In his first term in Congress, Meijer was one of 10 House Republicans to support impeaching Donald Trump after the January 6 attack.The 30-second ad is styled as an attack ad against Gibbs but has dog-whistle themes designed to appeal to GOP voters.Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat on the January 6 committee, said there was nuance in considering whether to boost election deniers.While he said he understood the argument that it was “categorically wrong” to boost election deniers, he also made a case for why it was appropriate to intervene.“In the real world of politics, one can also see an argument that if the pro-insurrectionist, election-denier wing of the Republican caucus is already dominant, then it might be worth it to take a small risk that another one of those people would be elected, in return for dramatically increasing the chances that Democrats will be able to hold the House against a pro-insurrectionist, election-denying GOP majority,” he told Axios.Democrats split by bid to boost election denier in Michigan Republican primaryRead more More