Gun lovers are hacked and threatening political reprisals against House Speaker Beth Harwell and her Republican supporters for refusing to expand Second Amendment rights despite the party’s large majority in the legislature.
In an alert to supporters, the Tennessee Firearms Association denounces Harwell as an opponent of gun rights. The association went so far as to equate her to Jimmy Naifeh, the old bull of the legislature who was vilified by conservatives when he was speaker during Democratic rule.
[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….
