Stafford police arrested seven middle school students Wednesday on charges they made threats to shoot up their school, and were going to become "active shooters." The students - four 11-year-olds ...
The Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday approved by a 67-50 vote a gun-safety package that would raise the legal age for buying rifles, impose a three-day waiting period on all gun sales and allow some public school personnel to be armed.
The bill is in response to the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 14 students and three faculty members were killed. The accused shooter, Nikolas Cruz, legally purchased the AR-15-style assault rifle used in the killings when he was 18.
The measure, previously approved by the state Senate, would automatically become law within 15 days unless vetoed by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Here are highlights:
GUN SAFETY CONTROLS
- Imposes a three-day waiting period for the purchase of all firearms, not just handguns, or until a background check is completed, whichever is longer. Exemptions apply to holders of concealed-weapons permits, people with hunting licenses or who have completed a hunter-safety program, law enforcement or corrections officers and members of the U.S. military.
- Raises the minimum legal age to purchase a rifle or shotgun to 21 from 18. Federal law already prohibits anyone under 21 from buying a handgun.
- Outlaws bump stocks, which enable a semi-automatic weapon to be fired as an automatic weapon. Such devices were used in a mass shooting in Las Vegas last year that took 58 lives.
ARMING SCHOOL STAFF
- Allows local sheriff’s departments to establish a “guardian program” in which school personnel can be permitted to voluntarily carry a gun on the job. Those who do must undergo special training, mental health and drug screening and be licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Each school district would decide whether to opt into the program.
- Excludes classroom teachers unless they are Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps instructors, serve in the military or have been police officers. Otherwise, only non-teacher personnel are eligible, such as administrators, guidance counselors, librarians and coaches.
MENTAL HEALTH
- Allows police to temporarily seize firearms from someone who has been taken into custody for an involuntary mental examination under Florida’s so-called Baker Act statute.
- Prohibits anyone from owning or possessing a firearm who has been judged mentally incompetent or has been committed to a mental institution, until a court rules otherwise.
- Allows police to petition a court for a “risk-protection” order of up to 12 months barring an individual from possessing firearms if that person is deemed dangerous because of a mental illness or violent behavior.
- Creates a “mental health assistance allocation” to help school districts establish or expand school-based psychiatric care.
- Appropriates $400 million to implement the bill’s provisions, including $98 million to improve and “harden” the physical security of school buildings, and $25 million to replace the building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in which the shootings took place.
Compiled in Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Editing by Steve Gorman, Peter Cooney, Toni ReinholdThe Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday approved by a 67-50 vote a gun-safety package that would raise the legal age for buying rifles, impose a three-day waiting period on all gun sales and allow some public school personnel to be armed.
The bill is in response to the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 14 students and three faculty members were killed. The accused shooter, Nikolas Cruz, legally purchased the AR-15-style assault rifle used in the killings when he was 18.
The measure, previously approved by the state Senate, would automatically become law within 15 days unless vetoed by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Here are highlights:
GUN SAFETY CONTROLS
- Imposes a three-day waiting period for the purchase of all firearms, not just handguns, or until a background check is completed, whichever is longer. Exemptions apply to holders of concealed-weapons permits, people with hunting licenses or who have completed a hunter-safety program, law enforcement or corrections officers and members of the U.S. military.
- Raises the minimum legal age to purchase a rifle or shotgun to 21 from 18. Federal law already prohibits anyone under 21 from buying a handgun.
- Outlaws bump stocks, which enable a semi-automatic weapon to be fired as an automatic weapon. Such devices were used in a mass shooting in Las Vegas last year that took 58 lives.
ARMING SCHOOL STAFF
- Allows local sheriff’s departments to establish a “guardian program” in which school personnel can be permitted to voluntarily carry a gun on the job. Those who do must undergo special training, mental health and drug screening and be licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Each school district would decide whether to opt into the program.
- Excludes classroom teachers unless they are Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps instructors, serve in the military or have been police officers. Otherwise, only non-teacher personnel are eligible, such as administrators, guidance counselors, librarians and coaches.
MENTAL HEALTH
- Allows police to temporarily seize firearms from someone who has been taken into custody for an involuntary mental examination under Florida’s so-called Baker Act statute.
- Prohibits anyone from owning or possessing a firearm who has been judged mentally incompetent or has been committed to a mental institution, until a court rules otherwise.
- Allows police to petition a court for a “risk-protection” order of up to 12 months barring an individual from possessing firearms if that person is deemed dangerous because of a mental illness or violent behavior.
- Creates a “mental health assistance allocation” to help school districts establish or expand school-based psychiatric care.
- Appropriates $400 million to implement the bill’s provisions, including $98 million to improve and “harden” the physical security of school buildings, and $25 million to replace the building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in which the shootings took place.
Compiled in Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Editing by Steve Gorman, Peter Cooney, Toni Reinhold
As a porn star heads to court to sue the president of the United States over their dealings, Republicans may finally be reacting to the Stormy Daniels scandal.
South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford—who is best known for a sex scandal of his own that stemmed from an affair in which he flew to Argentina to see his mistress and told people he was "hiking the Appalachian trail"—has spoken up about the pending lawsuit, according to the Washington Post's Erica Werner.
The statement starts out with the boilerplate talk of being "deeply troubled" and acknowledging that "everyone makes mistakes."
"That having been said what we can't do in the body politic is whitewash the past or be purely tribal in our thinking," he said. "If it was a Democratic president and hush money had been paid in the campaign, would there be a series of hearings going on.
"Thew problem now is that nobody knows nothing about nothing," he said. "It's like $130,000 went but we don't acknowledge anything."
Read the full statement here.
Betsy DeVos, a wealthy heiress from rural Southwestern Michigan who ended up being in charge of the Department of Education through a series of fluke events, just finished what she described as "a very sobering visit" to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
DeVos appeared shell-shocked in a press conference given after meeting with survivors of the Parkland shooting, repeatedly swallowing hard, clearing her throat into the microphone and forcing tight smiles.
"I heard a variety of things from the students I spoke with," she said. "For students who were actually in the building, involved—it's, it's very tough."
So DeVos did what Mr. Rogers said to do, and "looked for the helpers."
She found dogs. And she was very taken with these dogs. When asked how the students were coping, she mostly talked about the dogs.
"I did note, however, that there are a number of helper dogs around the school—comfort dogs," she said. "I spoke with a small group of students who are having a particularly tough time and when I asked them if they had any opportunity to connect with the dogs, all of their faces lit up in an amazing way. So that was encouraging."
The warm feelings associated with the dogs were ruined a few minutes later when DeVos had to maintain that "arming teachers" was "a mischaracterization" of her boss' plan to arm teachers.
DeVos broke with Republicans who have tried to stifle the survivors in their push for gun control, encouraging the students to speak up and push for reforms.
"They have a lot of really important and worthwhile things to say," she said.
You can watch the press conference below.
A majority of Republican lawmakers in the tightest congressional races are changing their message on guns, expressing new support for restrictions after last month’s high school shooting in Florida, according to a Reuters review of the candidates’ public statements.
Eleven Republican incumbents face elections in 2018 widely seen as toss-ups or leaning against the current office holder. So far, six of them have publicly embraced new gun control measures in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Reuters found. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2I8qevA)
In advocating for some restrictions, they are breaking ranks with a party that has often balked at taking significant steps that could restrict Americans’ constitutional right to own guns and has typically limited its responses to mass shootings to expressions of sympathy.
However limited the shift, it shows that lawmakers who will depend on the votes of moderates and independents to win tough swing-district races are deviating from decades of party orthodoxy on gun ownership.
They are doing it amid a public outcry over repeated mass shootings that has been driven in part by student activists who have confronted lawmakers over legislative inaction on the issue.
In less competitive races, most Republican candidates are still holding to the party position on guns. Most Republican lawmakers were largely silent last week when President Donald Trump surprised his party with his call for new limits on gun ownership.
Don Bacon, a first-term congressman for Omaha, Nebraska, is one of those lawmakers facing what is shaping up to be a hard-fought race in November’s congressional elections. After a former student shot dead 17 people at the Florida high school, he expressed support for tighter restrictions on Americans’ ability to buy and own guns.
In social media posts and interviews, he departed from the message of the National Rifle Association, which is a major donor to the Republican Party and has given Bacon one of its highest ratings.
Bacon said he was working on legislation to raise penalties for illegal gun buyers. He also wanted to improve background checks and allow law enforcement officers to temporarily seize firearms from people believed to be dangerous, after those people are allowed to contest the claims against them.
After a gunman shot dead 58 people at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas in October, Bacon was more cautious: He joined 78 lawmakers from both parties in signing a letter urging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to reevaluate so-called bump stocks that make semi-automatic rifles fire more quickly. The NRA also supported the move.
“It’s not about winning re-election. It’s about doing what’s right,” the congressman told Reuters of his post-Parkland support for new measures. At the same time, he emphasized that he views himself as a defender of the gun rights enshrined in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
AMERICANS FAVOR RESTRICTIONS
Three out of four Americans say they favor banning military-style assault weapons, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The poll of 1,488 people between Feb. 25 and March 1 also found that nearly 9 in 10 people supported expanding background checks for gun buyers.
Republican incumbents in competitive districts need to respond to voters who are often more open to gun restrictions than those in districts that are easy wins, said Ryan Williams, a Republican strategist at FP1 Strategies.
“In swing districts, voters have different opinions and they want to see a more comprehensive approach,” Williams said.
Because concern in the United States over mass shootings is high, adopting more restrictive views on gun policy could help candidates in tight races, said Doug Heye, another Republican strategist. But Republican lawmakers also want to avoid alienating gun rights supporters, said Williams.
Underscoring that, in another 13 races, where Republican incumbents face competitive but not toss-up races, only three of the Republicans have moved toward gun control, according to the Reuters review.
NOTICEABLE SHIFTS
Dana Rohrabacher is another congressman and gun rights stalwart facing a tough fight to keep his seat. The Southern California Republican has also noticeably shifted his positions. He now says it should be illegal to sell weapons to felons and people taking psychiatric prescription drugs.
By contrast, after the Las Vegas shooting, Rohrabacher’s spokesman Ken Grubbs said it was “demagoguery” to discuss specific legislative changes, according to a report in a local Californian newspaper. Grubbs did not return a request for comment from Reuters.
Congressman John Faso of upstate New York said in interviews after the Florida shootings that he favors expanding background checks and not allowing people to buy semi-automatic guns until they turn 21.
Faso, who took office in 2017, confined his response to the Las Vegas shootings to a Twitter post in which he described them as “heart breaking.”
Bacon, Rohrabacher and Faso and eight other Republican incumbents face the toughest re-election fights, according to three political analysis groups - Cook Political Report, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections.
Republican lawmakers in seven “safe” districts adjoining those districts have largely stuck to the same positions they had before the shooting: mostly opposed to new forms of gun control.
Some defended their decision to not endorse new restrictions when contacted for comment by Reuters. Congressman Ken Buck of Colorado said he has seen no evidence to justify new laws restricting the purchase or ownership of guns. None of the other lawmakers contacted by Reuters besides Bacon and Buck offered an explanation for their shift or steadfastness on gun policy following Parkland.
Reuters examined the public statements of 31 lawmakers in the competitive and safe districts, including speeches and social media postings, and asked them about any other pronouncements they have made on the issue.
NRA DECISIONS TO COME
The stark difference in responses can be seen in Florida. Republican congressman Carlos Curbelo is in a tight race in his South Florida district. He said he now favors raising the age of purchase for long guns and even advocates banning civilian purchases of military-style weapons and regulating high-capacity magazines.
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who is in an adjacent safe Republican district, issued a press release praising Trump’s NRA-endorsed call to ban bump stocks as “a welcome announcement.” He advocated no other specific measures to reduce gun violence.
The 18 Republican lawmakers in both competitive and safe seats whose statements Reuters analyzed have received more than $1.5 million from the NRA in donations or expenditures on their behalf throughout their political careers. The 11 lawmakers who did not shift their stance on gun control after the Florida shootings received 85 percent of that, Reuters found.
Asked whether the NRA was considering limiting support for any of the lawmakers who have expressed support for new gun control measures, NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said the association had yet to complete its evaluations of candidates. This would be done after election registration deadlines, which have not yet passed in most states.
Reporting by Julia Harte and Jason Lange; Editing by Damon Darlin and Ross Colvin
A member of the Duck Dynasty clan plopped a video on his Facebook page Monday night, showing off an assault rifle before claiming that the Bible is the greatest defense against murder.
In the video, the patriarch of the reality show that featured camouflaged duck call manufacturing millionaires dispensing down-home homilies about Jesus and hunting, the camera slow-pans over Phil Robertson's AR-15 being setting on the TV star sitting in a camouflage easy chair holding in a Bible.
"So I have here an earthly weapon. It’s a firearm. I would never want to use that against another man," Robertson explains as the camera focuses on the weapon.
"This is also a weapon. It’s called a sword — the sword of the spirit. You want to stop murder worldwide? You’re focusing on the wrong weapon, he continues as he picks up a Bible held together with duct tape."
"This, this will stop human beings from murdering one another," he adds as he ends the lesson on bringing gun violence to an end.
You want to stop murder worldwide? You’re focusing on the wrong weapon. [Picks up Bible] This, this will stop human beings from murdering one another."
Watch the video below via Facebook:
H/T the Friendly Atheist.
Two conspiracy theorist were charged on Monday after being accused of harassing victims of a church massacre in Texas.
The San Antonio Express first reported that the Wilson County sheriff’s deputies took 54-year-old Robert Ussery and 56-year-old Jodi Mann into custody after they showed up at the scene of the First Baptist Church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Pastor Frank Pomero, whose 14-year-old daughter was killed in the shooting, said that the pair yelled at him as he drove up to the church.
The two conspiracy theorist believe that the government conspired with members of the church to fake the Nov. 5 shooting that killed 26 people.
Ussery “continually yelled and screamed and hollered and told me he was gonna hang me from a tree, and pee on me while I’m hanging,” Pomero recalled.
“He said, ‘Your daughter never even existed. Show me her birth certificate. Show me anything to say she was here,’” the pastor explained. “I just told him there was enough evidence already visible, so if he chooses not to see that, how would I know he would believe anything else?”
Read the entire report at The San Antonio Express
During a discussion about the activism expressed at , commentator Angela Rye refused to let the National Rifle Association off the hook for being out of touch with Americans.
It began with Republican strategist Alice Stewart that most in Hollywood don't know where Pakistan and Iowa are on a map. She explained that the "bubble" makes them out of touch with the rest of the world. She went on to call Hollywood hypocrites for sitting in a theater with armed guards while trashing the NRA. She brought up veterans and other buzzwords, none of which had anything to do with the gun lobby.
"So, Alice, are you on retainer?" Rye quipped. "Like last week we were sitting right here... and you did this same NRA public service announcement. Like these folks are as wrong as two left shoes. They are wrong. This isn't about the NRA standing up to protect people in Hollywood. This isn't about people who are out of touch. The NRA is out of touch."
She went on to explain that even laying partisanship aside, the fact that the NRA seems to be continuing to lobby for more guns, now in classrooms, ignores the deaths experienced not only in Parkland, Florida but Las Vegas, Sandy Hook and other mass shootings
"Let's lay partisanship aside. Let's lay all of this aside and say, kids have died. The NRA is out of touch. They are in God's way," Rye continued, quoting rapper Common from his Oscar performance. "Common had it right, right? Like we didn't need anybody to tell us that. We don't need you on here telling us how amazing the NRA is. They're not. They're terrible. They are terrible, and it's high time that somebody that wasn't just standing up for the Second Amendment -- and we don't even have time to unpack all of that. But, like, it's high time that there is an organization that competes with them to say, we are not going to allow you to buy public service. That is not for sale. You owe everything to this country. You owe public servants. You have to protect your constituents."
She concluded by saying she simply "can't deal" with the "NRA PSA tonight."
Watch the commentary below:
Utica College in upstate New York ordered students to shelter in place on Monday after it received threats from a person saying he was armed with a weapon, school and police officials said.
Police had found“no substantiation to any reports of an active shooter or shots fired on campus” but were continuing to investigate, Utica’s police department said in a statement.
No gunfire or injuries have been reported, the school said.
Armed law enforcement officers were evacuating buildings and taking people on campus to a safe location, the college said.
The Tangerine, a student newspaper at the college, shared a photograph online of people hiding under desks.
The lockdown comes at a time of heightened tension in U.S. schools after a gunman with an assault-style rifle killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, one of the deadliest examples of school attacks that happen multiple times a year in the United States.
The college is in Utica, a small city close to Lake Ontario.
Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Jonathan Oatis
The vice chairman of the Republican Party in Cobb County, Georgia promoted a video that claims the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was faked.
WXIA reported that Vice Chairman Michael Davis shared the Facebook video, which points to an active shooter drill prior to the Parkland shooting as evidence that the massacre of 17 people never happened.
The post claims that students at Douglas High School were "rehearsing" prior to "the fake shooting aired by NBC."
In a statement, Cobb Country GOP Chairman Jason Shepherd refused to say whether the conspiracy theory was the official position of the party.
"Maybe 11Alive should focus on the fact these so-called 'student lead' protests are anything but with left winged organizations from the ACLU to the SCLC just in Cobb County when it opens the door legally for outside political organizations using students to disrupt the school day when the US is already ranked near the bottom in education among industrialized nations," Shepherd said. "If a school district opens the door to one, then under Equal Protection they must allow any group of students to stage walkouts. What will this do to education in America?"
In Sunday's "Last Week Tonight," host John Oliver did a hard-hitting report and commentary on the National Rifle Association.
According to him, they are “a group that feels about guns the way the rest of us feel about Nutella.”
As Parkland students speak out and take to the streets to oppose the weapons that fired upon them, corporations are finally pulling their special perks they hand to NRA members. However, a few major tech firms have decided not to. He named off Amazon, Apple and Roku, which offers NRA TV on it's channel selection.
Oliver wondered what exactly NRA TV was and discovered it was nothing more than videos “trolling for your attention.” Occasionally they'll have a celebrity country music singer or spokesperson Dana Loesch will comment on the “clenched fist of truth.” One program on the channel shows an ex-military member reenacting scenes from his favorite movies, that all seem to be bank robberies.
There's also a series talking about why women should be part of the gun-toting world. They feature things like handbags that hold a concealed weapon along with gun-specific arts and crafts like painting your gun or monogramming it. One show is named "Armed and Fabulous," which, according to one clip, reveals the key marketing tactic: “if you get the woman, you get the family.”
Another, called "Love at First Shot," helps women learn to use guns. The show's episodes include tips and tricks for using the very weapon used in the Parkland shooting. Oliver described it as “a light poof of happiness.” Describing a semi-automatic weapon like former TV painter Bob Ross described a cloud.
The worst was an Antiques Roadshow-esque appraisal series where host Doug Wicklund strokes vintage weapons saying things like, “It’s a sensuous gun,” “It gives me shivers,” and “Cock... both hammers at the same time.”
But Oliver's most poignant observation is that NRA TV offers a disturbing and seemingly dystopian view of the United States, where the only solution is a gun. According to him it's one continuous infomercial asking: “Do you have ISIS sympathizers in those hard to reach places? Are you tired of getting 9/11-ed?”
He concluded their dire warning of the world is as the ridiculous as a hat sitting on top of an actually frightening bear.
“It’s the dumbest most transparent thing it does,” said Oliver. In short, “It’s just a vessel to sell America guns.”
Watch below:
Singer, songwriter Common joined Andra Day singing "Stand up for Something" with a powerful message to feminists, DREAMers and the Parkland, Florida community fighting the NRA.
"On Oscar night, this is the dream we tell," Common began. "A land where DREAMers live and freedom dwells. Immigrants get the benefits. We put up monuments to feminists. Tell the NRA they in God’s way. And to the people of Parkland we say Ase."
Activists Khary Penebaker explained that the word "Ase" is a "West African philosophical concept through which the Yoruba of Nigeria conceive the power to make things happen and produce change."
Common continued touting, "sentiments of love for the people, from Africa to Haiti and Puerto Rico." It was possibly a reference to Donald Trump's comments about "sh*thole countries" including Africa and Haiti and the way Puerto Rico has been treated in wake of the hurricanes.
At the end the two asked the audience to stand up for what they believe in, and the Oscar crowd rose to their feet to applaude the message.
Watch it below:
Today is a tough day for NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch.
Not only is the unsuccessful actress-turned-NRA-flamethrower home watching the Oscars with the rest of us, she can already feel herself ready to rage at the TV as actors talk about the nation's avoidable epidemic of gun violence.
Loesch decided to just get out ahead of it, releasing an unhinged screed about "Hollywood phonies" who care about children being killed.
"We've had enough of the lies, the sanctimony, the arrogance, the hatred, the pettiness, the fake news," she says. "So to every lying member of the media, to every Hollywood phony, to the role model athletes who use their free speech to alter and undermine what our flag represents, to the American politics and who would rather let America burn than lose one ounce of their personal power..."
The internet responded with mockery and derision—and with no shortage of references to Loesch's failed bid to join the "phonies" in Hollywood.
Montel Williams, who served in the armed forces before becoming a successful talk show host, teed off on her: " I actually bore arms in uniform. Dana poses in cocktail dresses with guns."
So did a user who identified her as "a failed sitcom wanna be actress" and linked to a story about Loesch's failed "hot Young Mom" sitcom project.
Others pointed out the likelihood that Loesch is watching tonight's festivities alone.
Not all gun owners appreciated her rantings.
And many mocked her past gigs.
Montell brought it all home: "Dana - girlfriend stop with the stupid. And don’t make shadowy threats you can’t back up. You’re a spokesmodel not a hit man."
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