Issue: Assault Weapons; NOT 2nd Amendment
Sub “assault weapons” for NRA-speak (6)
* Combatting NRA deflection and obfuscation to stay focused *
Meet Greg Gianforte — Because he body-slammed a journalist, Montana’s Republican Congressman may be banned from owning guns in 7 States*
On May 26, 2017, Alex Yablon reported in The Trace, the NRA-backed Gianforte could lose his right to carry a concealed weapon in his home state if convicted. AND HE WAS. Gianforte pleaded guilty to the assault charge (a misdemeanor) in June and was sentenced to a 180-day deferred sentence, 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management, and a $300 fine. As part of his settlement with the journalist (Ben Jacobs of the Guardian), Gianforte also donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Gianforte denied the attack until Jacobs’ released an audio recording of the incident. After his client was proved to be a liar, Gianforte’s defense attorney Todd Whipple said in a statement, “Greg Gianforte, as a publicly elected official of Congress, believes in transparency.” (Seriously?!)
According to the New York Times, as of October 4, 2017, Gianforte had received $344,630 from the NRA, including money spent on his behalf and money given directly — making him the fifth most NRA-funded member in the U.S. House. When asked whether the NRA’s campaign contributions will influence his votes on assault weapons¹ control, he went to the Trump/GOP script: “I can’t be bought. You know, I’m my own person.” (Yes, seriously!)
(No April Fools — an AR-15) During his 2016 campaign, Gianforte touted endorsements from the Montana Chamber of Commerce the Montana Shooting Sports Association, and the NRA. He was in Flathead, MT for the MT Chamber’s Governor’s Cup golf tournament, where he hosted a “golf ball shoot” event using AR-15's. But instead of golf clubs, this competition featured an AR-15 with a golf ball launcher attached. “Frankly, I’m better with an assault weapon¹ than a golf club anyway, “ he claimed. (Seriously?!)
On Dec. 6, 2017, Congressman Gianforte voted to protect Montanans’ assault weapons² rights. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38) passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a vote of 231–198. “I will always defend Montanans’ assault weapons² rights, and I am proud to have cosponsored the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act,” Gianforte said. “The bill ensures that law-abiding Montanans keep their right to bear assault weapons¹ when they cross state lines.”
But as Alex Yablon pointed out in his article, Gianforte may not be able to take advantage of the bill he co-sponsored because Montana prohibits citizens from receiving a concealed-weapons permit if they have been found guilty of a misdemeanor that “included as an element of the offense an act, attempted act, or threat of … serious bodily harm.” That would include the not-so-honorable Gianforte, who is also on record as not supporting Montana’s statewide universal background check statute. (Yes, seriously!)
* Oregon, California, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New York and Connecticut
(1) substituted for “guns”, “arms”, “rifles”
(2) substituted for “the Second Amendment”
(3) substituted for “firearms, ammunition and magazines”
(4) added for emphasis
Just sayin’: According to the NRA website, “The NRA is America’s preeminent gun rights organization, made up of nearly 5 million members.” According to the United States Census Bureau, the U.S. population is nearly 326 million people. How is it that any Congressman or Senator can claim they are representing the American people when their positions on gun control align with the NRA’s, i.e. only 1.5% of the population?
Note: At the time that the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, “In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use.”
Other articles in this series feature the following personalities:
1. Fox & Friends: Pete Hegseth
2. Senator Marco Rubio
3. Senator Joni Ernst
4. Congressman Steve Scalise
5. Fox News: Laura Ingraham
