Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194
What Just Happened?
“A House-passed bill to expand gun background checks will be an early test of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s commitment to the Senate rules that enable the Republican minority to block Democratic priorities,” Bloomberg reports.
“Manchin, together with Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey, led previous Senate efforts to expand background checks in 2013 following the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. That bill was blocked by a Republican-led filibuster.”
Reuters: “The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on a pair of bills to expand background checks before gun purchases, two years after a similar House effort failed to make it through the Senate.”
Gallup: “Fifty-six percent of Americans say they are dissatisfied with U.S. gun laws and policies, marking the ninth consecutive year of majority-level dissatisfaction since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. At the same time, 42% of U.S. adults express satisfaction with U.S. gun laws.”
“The National Rifle Association said Friday that it has filed for bankruptcy in U.S. court as part of a larger restructuring plan aimed at removing its footprint in New York for Texas,” CNBC reports.
“The gun-rights advocacy group said it would restructure as a Texas nonprofit to exit what it said was a ‘a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York,’ where it is currently registered.”
“Claims that he was armed inside the halls of the Capitol on Jan. 6 has Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and rules surrounding weapons inside the Capitol facing scrutiny,” the Asheville Citizen Times reports.
“It is unclear whether Cawthorn carried a loaded gun on the House floor or in parts of the Capitol where rules for lawmakers carrying firearms are more permissible.”
“Several incoming House freshmen have inquired about carrying guns into the Capitol, leading a board overseeing congressional security to rethink a regulation banning members from packing heat under the dome,” Axios reports.
“Some Democratic members say expanded gun carrying on Capitol Hill would be a ‘provocation’ in light of the current political climate. Some Republicans consider it an expression of a citizen’s Second Amendment rights.”
“After years of denying allegations of lax financial oversight, the National Rifle Association has made a stunning declaration in a new tax filing: Current and former executives used the nonprofit group’s money for personal benefit and enrichment,” the Washington Post reports.
“The NRA said in the filing that it continues to review the alleged abuse of funds, as the tax-exempt organization curtails services and runs up multimillion-dollar legal bills. The assertion of impropriety comes four months after the attorney general of New York state filed a lawsuit accusing NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre and other top officials of using NRA funds for decades to provide inflated salaries and expense accounts.”
“Attorneys for Brad Parscale argued in court Thursday morning that the city of Ft. Lauderdale had no right to take his guns away after his wife told police in September he was ‘ranting and raving’ with a handgun,” Business Insider reports.
“The hearing, over Zoom, was to determine whether Ft. Lauderdale has the right to obtain Parscale’s psychiatric records and use them to make a decision. Florida’s ‘red flag’ law could allow the city to hold on to his 11 guns for one year if authorities determine he poses a significant threat to himself or others.”
New York Times: “Many gun buyers now are saying they are motivated by a new destabilizing sense that is pushing even people who had considered themselves anti-gun to buy weapons for the first time — and people who already have them to buy more. The nation is on track in 2020 to stockpile at record rates, according to groups that track background checks from F.B.I. data.”
“Across the country, Americans bought 15.1 million guns in the seven months this year from March through September, a 91 percent leap from the same period in 2019.”
“The Internal Revenue Service is investigating longtime National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal taxes,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A former high-ranking official within the National Rifle Association is breaking ranks with the powerful gun lobby, publishing a book that accuses its leaders of decades worth of mismanagement and fraud that he says has left the organization in a state of financial and moral disarray,” ABC News reports.
“Joshua Powell, who formerly served as chief of staff to longtime NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, said the lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to dissolve the NRA for an array of ‘illegal conduct’ merely scratches the surface of a much deeper culture of corruption.”
Associated Press: “The coronavirus pandemic, protests against racism and police killings, a rancorous election and some people’s perception that cities are being overrun by violent mobs have brought about a markedly more aggressive stance by some gun owners and widened the divide over firearms in the U.S.”
“Americans are turning out more often and more visibly with guns, a sign of the tension engulfing the country.”
HuffPost: U.S. faces a “perfect storm” of political violence heading into the November election.
“Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund is booking $6 million in television and digital ads to boost Joe Biden in Florida,” NBC News reports.
“The group is partnering with Priorities USA, the major Democratic super PAC that’s supporting Biden and attacking President Trump, on production and strategy. Everytown plans to spend $4 million in TV ads in the Orlando and Tampa markets and $2 million in statewide digital ads starting after Labor Day and running for five weeks.”
“Demand for guns and ammunition is accelerating in the US ahead of November’s election, driven by consumer concerns about protests and civil unrest and by Americans seeing hunting as a socially distanced leisure pursuit during a pandemic,” the Financial Times reports.
The Attorney General of New York took action today to dissolve the National Rifle Association, following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is “fraught with fraud and abuse,” NPR reports.
“Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars, and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three year period. The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.”
Politico: “Internal FBI data reveal a jarring new stat: The number of people trying to buy guns who can’t legally own them has skyrocketed. That came as part of a surge in gun purchases in the first three months of 2020, compared to the same time period in 2019. And the change has raised concerns about gun safety.”
“In March 2019 and February 2020, the NICS system blocked about 9,500 and 9,700, respectively. But in March 2020, it blocked more than double that amount: a whopping 23,692 gun sales.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) told KFTK that he would probably pardon the St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters marching past their home on June 28.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the couple were charged Monday with gun crimes.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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