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Democrats ‘triggered’ by GOP lawmakers’ assault rifle pins in support of 2A

February 3, 2023 | | Print Article

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee engaged in a bit of political gamesmanship this week when they moved to reinstate a rule banning firearms from the committee room and took their grandstanding to Twitter to object to Republicans on the panel wearing firearm pins in opposition to the effort.

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., proposed an amendment that would explicitly prohibit members from carrying firearms within committee hearing rooms and conference rooms, saying the amendment was “sadly necessary” after the Republican-controlled Rules Committee stripped a provision Democrats had adopted prohibiting firearms after that Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Fox News reported.

One of the GOP lawmakers rocking a firearm pin was newly elected U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who was called out on Twitter by U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif.

“Anna Paulina Luna wore an assault weapon pin at today’s Oversight hearing — less than 48 hours after her state experienced a mass shooting. You can’t make this sh*t up. This isn’t the flex you think it is,” he tweeted, along with a photo of Luna.

The shooting Gomez refers to was a drive-by shooting in Lakeland on Monday that appears to be related to the sale of drugs, where 11 people were shot by four men in a car. Effectively, the type of shooting justifies the concern many Americans have about being able to protect their families and themselves.

Other Republican lawmakers wearing firearm pins were U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York, and U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, who wore his as a tie tack. Turns out, Clyde was distributing the pins in support of the Second Amendment and its important role in “preserving our liberties.”

Spouting opinion as fact, Huffman smeared Republicans for inciting political violence while accusing some of “flouting” federal statutes barring members of Congress from carrying loaded firearms in the Capitol, according to Fox News.

“We have too many members who have incited and advocated armed political violence. That is really unfortunate, but that is just a fact,” the Democrat said.

But his shameless actions didn’t stop there, as he referenced U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., being removed from committee assignments after sharing online a photoshopped anime video of himself taking out U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and President Joe Biden.

“They have openly fetishized guns and violence to the point where one of my colleagues across the aisle was removed from their committee assignments for portraying himself killing another member who sits on this very same committee,” Huffman bellowed.

The political theater resulted in a contentious debate within the panel Wednesday. Luna, an Air Force veteran, was far from apologetic reminding her colleagues across the aisle that they too may benefit from her stance.

“Do you think we’re going to hurt you?” Luna asked. “We would never hurt you. I would use my firearm to defend you. Just to be clear.”

The freshman lawmaker also shared her own experience with being threatened to say she takes her personal safety seriously, before saying, “I reserve the right to defend myself, I reserve the right to carry my firearm in whatever capacity I want  to without your permission.”

U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., asked if either Huffman or Ocasio-Cortez, who sit on the committee, had “reason to believe that there is a homicidal maniac amongst us?”

“If they do, they probably would’ve brought a gun into this room whether or not there is a law,” he said, according to Fox News, before challenging the Democrats to “name the names and present the evidence before such a catastrophe confronts us.”

Ocasio-Cortez said she was looking to “impugn the character of any individual member of this committee,” before doing just that.

“I believe that from what I’ve witnessed, the competence of some members may be something that I would be willing to question,” she added.

Meanwhile, some of the left believe they have discovered the cause of all the gun violence in America today:

Tom Tillison
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