By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—POLITICS: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION holds four nights of riveting speeches; President Biden resigned as the Democrat Presidential nominee in 2024 on Sunday, July 21; The Veterans Administration (VA) acknowledged that they would not, and could not comply with a provision of a funding bill, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, that was passed by both Houses of Congress and signed by President Biden on March 9, 2024; Massachusetts: Paul Revere’s home state has just passed one of the most egregious gun laws in the USA.
Politics
Republican Convention: On the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC), former President Trump announced his choice of vice-presidential nominee, Republican Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. Randy Kozuch said, “President Trump has made an outstanding choice in selecting Senator Vance as his vice presidential pick and running mate in the upcoming election. Senator Vance has been an unwavering supporter of constitutional freedoms, especially the right to keep and bear arms. In the U.S. Senate, he has consistently stood against the Biden-Harris gun control agenda. Between now and November, the NRA and its millions of members will engage with America’s gun owners about the importance of electing the Trump-Vance ticket.”
On May 18, 2024, the NRA formally endorsed Donald J. Trump for re-election during its annual meeting in Dallas, TX.
During Vance’s acceptance speech on the convention’s third night, he told the story of his Mamaw, the grandmother who raised him, and her 19 loaded handguns stashed at various locations around her house. This story was not in his pre-written speech, but he told the audience this: After his Mamaw died, they were cleaning out her home, and they discovered that there were 19 loaded handguns throughout her home. He reminded the audience that she had trouble getting around. The guns were to protect her family; she wanted to protect her family no matter where she was in her home. Thus, she wanted to be armed whenever and wherever trouble arrived. @toddstarnes, an X (formerly known as Twitter) member, tweeted, “It’s too bad that JD’s Mamaw can’t be in charge of President Trump’s security detail.”
President Biden: As of July 21, at approximately 1:46 pm EDT, Biden announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) he is not running for re-election. Immediately after that announcement, the Wall St. Journal reported the following comments from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La): “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) said Biden’s decision to end his campaign invalidates the votes of 14 million Americans who voted for him in the Democratic primary.
“The party’s prospects are no better now with Vice President Kamala Harris, who co-owns the disastrous policy failures of the Biden administration,” Johnson said in a statement. He continued, echoing other Republicans, that “if Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as President, and must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”
Federal
Veterans Administration: The Veterans Administration (VA) acknowledged that they would not and could not comply with a provision of the funding bill, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, passed by both Houses of Congress and signed by President Biden on March 9. This enacted law prohibits the use of federal funds to report veterans who have been appointed fiduciaries to the National Instant Check System (NICs) as prohibited “mental defectives.” Under GCA 68, such persons are then unable to purchase firearms.
This admission was made by Kevin J. Friel, Deputy Director of the Pension and Fiduciary Service of the VA, before a hearing (beginning at minute 41.18) of the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. He is a career federal employee who served as an NCO in the U.S. Army. Representatives were undoubtedly surprised by Friel’s testimony.
State Legislation and local communities
States that are still in session: California (in recess), District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire (recess), New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (recess), Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico
Massachusetts: On July 19, 2024, the legislature passed HD4420. The National Shooting Sports Federation (NSSF) has details on the so-called “compromise” 111-page gun bill, HD4420. Jake McGuigan, NSSF’s governmental Relations – State Affairs Managing Director, says, “After nearly a year, in the state where the American Revolution began, Massachusetts legislators are seeking to rush through a 111-page bill that will do nothing to stem violence in the Commonwealth and will only create a bloated bureaucratic mess that impacts law-abiding gun owners.
“The legislature had the opportunity to do something special with a solid bill to address violence. Instead, the bill aims to suppress the exercise of the Second Amendment by implementing onerous training requirements just to purchase a firearm, bans all of the most commonly-used guns in America and implements a draconian gun registration scheme that criminals will ignore. It even makes it illegal for a 15-year-old Boy Scout to use a .22 caliber rifle to earn a merit badge. Judges continue to set free criminals in the Commonwealth while the legislature makes law abiding citizens immediate felons.”
Several police Departments had urged the legislators to stop considering this bill, but unfortunately, it is on its way to Governor Maura Healey.
