Thursday, January 12, 2012
Legislature Feeling Ignored, Gun Lobby Threatens to Retaliate Against Harwell and Her Supporters
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM
[W]hat should firearms owners and 2nd Amendment supporters expect from the General Assembly in 2012 —— nothing, nothing at all. Since 1995, legislative progress on firearms issues could prove ultimately to be worse with a Republican governor and Beth Harwell as speaker of the House (and those in the caucus who support her) than in any year in which the House was controlled by Speaker Jimmy Naifeh and Democratic leadership.
The legislature went hog wild on gun laws in the last General Assembly, adopting guns-in-bars and other expansions of Second Amendment rights. But after helping the GOP gain absolute control of the legislature in the 2010 elections, the gun lobby has been getting the cold shoulder. Legislative leaders, even including the gun rights champion Ron Ramsey, have dismissed the need for new laws. Lawmakers are worried the media will paint the GOP as extreme on the issue, putting off independent voters who expect state leaders to focus on improving the economy.
In its alert, the association accuses Harwell of threatening to retaliate against lawmakers who push new gun laws. "One must wonder to what extent the pro-2nd Amendment legislators are being suppressed by 'suggestions' of future consequences coming from the Speaker’s office," the association says before issuing its own threat.
Pay close attention in 2012. Tennessee conservatives, firearms owners, 2nd Amendment supporters are now faced with vetting out the disingenuous and making sure that their actions are recalled when its time to raise money, campaign and vote. In particular, Harwell and a few others in leadership may be hard to defeat in an election but those in the caucus who voted to put them in power and who support them in power may be much easier targets….
Comments (11)
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What more do they want? One can carry a killing weapon almost anywhere now.
Of course, just because the GA doesn't pass more gun laws doesn't mean they will do anything about the sorry state of our economy which still hasn't recovered from the Bush Recession yet.
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Nice, non-sequiturs about Bush that ignore Obama's contribution to the current economic climate, and hysterics about "killing weapons," too boot. You ever note how folks on your side of the issue are forever predicting "Wild West" scenarios with blood running in the streets, scenarios that consistently fail to materialize? Perhaps it's time to realize that your unreasoned fears consistently lead to false statements and failed predictions.
Unlike the wiser pro-choice and anti-gun groups, the pro-life and pro-gun groups are either politically inept or incredibly arrogant. To their credit, pro-choice and anti-gun groups are far more likely to stick with the Democrats even when a Republican is as good, or even better, on their issue than the Democrat. Pro-life and pro-gun groups like to support Democrats, even in close races, in order to demonstrate to Republicans that they, not the party or the good of the voters, should be the most important factor in an election.
A few years ago, for example, TN Right to Life practically invented an issue in order to justify supporting a Democrat over Pat Marsh, who beat an inept but extremist pro-lifer in the primary. Given the closeness of the House at that time, this was a crucial election in terms of control and TNRTL was willing to damage the Republican position out of spite.
Single issue groups have a place in politics and government but at a time when the nation and the state face such massive problems, insisting on getting one's way on any single issue or threatening to overturn the table and wreck the game is bad policy, bad politics and damnably dangerous.
"Unlike the wiser pro-choice and anti-gun groups, the pro-life and pro-gun groups are either politically inept or incredibly arrogant."
Huh? There is nothing more politically inept than an anti-gun group, they've been on the losing side for well over a decade now. They may send out the occasional press release when there's a shooting or something, but no one pays attention to them anymore. The pro-gun side has been dominant since the '94 Congressional elections and the right to keep and bear arms has finally been recognized by the Supreme Court. Life is good.
So guns aren't weapons and don't kill?
And Bear Stearns collapsed in March 2008, Bush, Paulson and Bernanke gave trillions in welfare(TARP etc) to Wall Street in 2008 too. Obama didn't start till well after the Bush Recession was under way. Do you need a calendar to keep up?
Poor Kosh, dont have a clue about macro economics or when the seeds to the economic downturn were sown. You believe that a change today, will have an immediate impact on the economy tomorrow, ROTFLMFAO, ROTFLMFAO, uh yeah right.
Poor Jeffery, still irrelevent gun control ka ka is the best you can do, pathetic.
Typically, the title poses the issue exactly inverse to reality, characterizing liberating legislation as "expansion" of rights. There is no "expansion" in these meaures, rather the removal of unconstitutional abridgements already in place.
Whenever there is a discussion about expanding the privilege to carry a gun, I remember the testimony before one of the education committees last year from a university security officer, who said that, once he and his people arrive on a shooting scene at a university, their goal is to take down everyone with a gun, because they don't have time in an emergency to figure out who is the aggressor.
@Kosh: TARP has been repaid with interest by the financial institutions. It was a good deal all the way around. (Way to go, Bush 43!) The government can recoup its billions from AIG( an insurance company) when the stock hits $27 something per share. It can recoup the $30,000,000,000 from GM when that stock hits $53 per share. Don't hold your breath waiting on GM . Meanwhile, keep on spouting your nonsense because at least the people who don't have knowledge of the subject can be educated when your foolishness is revealed.
I support the Business's Private Property Rights and think that it is an invasion to force them to allow HCP to have guns in their cars on the Business's Private Property Parking Lots.
I support HCP being allowed to bring weapons on any Public property and/or Government School.
