Last Friday, Congress sent a gun control package to President Biden which had the backing of Republicans in both the Senate (where the bill originated) and the House where it would have passed even with only Democrat support.
Still, Republicans in both chambers chose to push a key GOP party platform plank of “protecting constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms” to the side and infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.
Fifteen Senate Republicans who supported the package were Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
Fourteen House Republicans who supported the bill were Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Tom Rice (R-S.C.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio).
As I previously reported, this bill contains the following provisions:
Expanded background checks on would-be purchasers between the ages of 18 and 21 and millions of dollars in funding that states would be provided with to enforce “red flag laws.”
Would-be buyers in the 18-21 age group could be subject to a waiting period of up to 10 business days – potentially up to two whole calendar weeks – before being able to purchase a firearm.
Through funding provided by Byrne JAG grants, states will be given additional dollars to support “extreme risk protection orders” (ERPO’s). Those orders – known colloquially as ‘red flag laws’ – temporarily require a person to surrender their firearms to law enforcement officials and also do not allow individuals to purchase or possess firearms or ammunition.”
I am not typically a fan of party purity tests, and I believe immensely in growing and expanding the appeal of the Republican Party and of our candidates.
I believe this deeply and have dedicated hundreds of thousands of hours of effort in the last decade — in both paid and unpaid capacities — to spreading our Republican message through door knocking, social media and communications roles, and in my current role as a writer for American Liberty News, which is how I am able to bring you the piece that you are currently reading.
I do however believe just as deeply that there are a few things Republicans cannot compromise on and still call themselves Republicans. To me, those issues are raising taxes, not standing up for life and refusing to defend Second Amendment rights.
Of the Republicans listed above who refused to stand up for gun rights, the following still have a primary election this year, and the grassroots activists in their respective states still have the chance to nominate an alternate Republican to represent our party this November.
If you live in one of these states do your hardest to make sure these people are not in Congress next year and that you have true conservative representation in Washington, D.C.
Liz Cheney: Wyoming – August 16th
Cheney has been at odds with her conservative electorate ever since she voted to impeach former President Trump and also elected to be a part of Nancy Pelosi’s sham January 6th commission. Somehow, her chances at reelection just got even more difficult after her gun control vote last week. Conservatives have a solid choice in Harriet Hageman, the state senator challenging Cheney.
They seem to know it, too, as the Daily Mail reported the following poll numbers earlier this month:
Liz Cheney is 28 POINTS behind her GOP primary opponent Harriet Hageman: 70% of Republican Rep’s party’s voters in Wyoming view her unfavorably as she faces an uphill battle to keep her seat.”
Hageman’s campaign wasted no time putting Cheney on blast for her vote last week.
Hopefully, Hageman is able to win the seat and Cheney won’t be casting many more votes like this abomination.
Peter Meijer: Michigan – August 2nd
Freshman Congressman Peter Meijer has been a mushy moderate ever since he came to Congress and voted in favor of impeaching former President Trump as one of his first actions in Washington. The name ID he has from being an heir of the Meijer grocery store chain is definitely an asset in his political career, but Michiganders should still do their best to try and oust him this year.
Meijer has a seemingly reputable challenger in John Gibbs.
Gibbs is Harvard and Stanford educated and served in President Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Secretary Ben Carson as well as on the 1776 Commission. Gibbs has been endorsed by both Trump and Carson and has raised over $200,000 per Q1 FEC reporting Data. Q2 Data is published after the end of June.
Maria Elvira Salazar: Florida – August 23rd
To be completely honest, I was quite happy when Elvira Salazar was elected to Congress last cycle. Her election in 2020 was a pick-up for Republicans when she unseated Democrat incumbent Donna Shalala. Still, I believe Salazar must be held accountable by her constituents for her vote last week.
Salazar does have a primary challenger — Frank Polo Sr. — who ran for the seat in 2020 last as an unaffiliated candidate.
Per his Ballotpedia biography he has the following background:
Frank Polo has based his political career on the fight against corruption and on improving the lives of others in society. Polo is a forty-eight years old Conservative father of two seven years old twins, and he is a faithful husband. He was born and raised in Cuba in a catholic family with great family values. Frank Polo is an ex-telecommunications business owner with an education in telecommunications, advanced Tax-Law and a Bachelor’s degree in business administration. He owned and ran his international telecommunications company in over fourteen countries for over seven years. At the age of twenty-two, Frank Polo escaped Castro’s Cuban tyranny on a raft in 1994 and was transported to the U.S. Naval Base of Guantanamo Bay, where he was detained for ten months. This last fact makes Polo the first Cuban rafter to run for U.S. Congress.”
Although he would have an extreme uphill battle to win the primary as he seems to have little name ID, only raised a measly $4,000 in his 2020 run and doesn’t even seem to have filed an FEC report in 2022, I still believe Republicans should go and vote for him in the primary to show their dissatisfaction with Salazar’s vote.
Lisa Murkowski: Alaska – August 16th
Senator Murkowski has long been a swing vote in the Senate and Alaskans know that.
Murkowski is facing a primary challenge from Kelly Tshibaka, who has not held back any punches when taking on Murkowski’s recent votes and statements.
Tshibaka has raised a respectable $2.5 million per Q1 FEC data and recently blasted Murkowski’s funding sources as well.
Notably, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is the single Senate Republican who voted for gun control and is up for reelection this year. I expect several others who supported the bill, including McConnell and Cornyn (the gun bill’s author) to not seek another term when their current one is up. Whether or not the future will prove my hypothesis to be true remains to be seen in the coming years.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Victoria Snitsar Churchill is a proud immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen with a decade of experience in grassroots politics and community organizing.
Her writing has been featured in many online publications, including Campus Reform, The Daily Torch and The Daily Signal.
As an undergraduate at the University of Kansas, Victoria appeared in media outlets such as CBS News, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, The Blaze and NRATV.
Victoria is also a former NCAA D1 student-athlete and Kansas College Republicans State Chair.
After moving eleven times in six years, Victoria resides in Arlington, Virginia and enjoys overpriced brunch on Sundays with her husband.
Get these RINOs out
RINOS are worse than traitors. They will be primaried out and evicted from party. In all likelihood, they will NEVER be able to return to home states. Constituents will likely hang them.
Voters know what they have to do. Get rid of the RINO’s, all of them. They are working against their constituents. They always will. Firearms isn’t the only issue. If one doesn’t vote them out of office, then no one has a right to complain, then one must love being miserable.
Given who her father is, it’s surprising Cheney can be a libtard and side with Marxist dems on on every single issue. Shee really needs to go.
They all need to be bounced out on their collective real ends! And, everyone, let’s stop shopping at that punk’s family grocery store chain.
They have ALL violated their oath by NOT doing what their constituents want them to do. Deaf ears equal no votes!! We see your voting record and will cast our votes accordingly!
Isn’t there any way for the people, through the first amendment, able to charge these idiots with violation of the Constitution, as amended?