Tennessee Governor Signs Constitutional Carry Bill Into Law

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) signed a constitutional carry bill, also known as the permitless carry bill, into law on Thursday.

The law goes into effect on July 1.

“I signed constitutional carry today because it shouldn’t be hard for law-abiding Tennesseans to exercise their #2A rights. Thank you members of the General Assembly and NRA for helping get this done,” Governor Lee said.

Governor Lee signed the constitutional carry bill into law as Joe Biden attacked the Second Amendment and called on Congress to take action and pass more gun control laws.

WTVF Nashville reported:

The legislation allows military members ages 18 to 20, and adults 20 and older to carry open or concealed handguns without a permit. Currently, gun owners have to take a training course before carrying a handgun.

It also increases punishments for certain gun crimes. The theft of a firearm will be increased from a misdemeanor to a felony and requires six months jail time for the offense.

While the bill was a priority this year for Gov. Lee, it has received criticism from numerous groups, including law enforcement over concerns it would increase crime. However, supporters claim they’re supporting 2nd Amendment rights.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/new-tennessee-governor-signs-constitutional-carry-bill-law/

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker Says ‘No’ to Vaccine Passports

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on Wednesday voiced opposition to issuing a state-mandated vaccine passport as proof individuals have received a coronavirus vaccine.

Boston Herald reports:

“I think having a conversation about creating a barrier before people have even had an opportunity to be eligible to be vaccinated — let’s focus on getting people vaccinated,” Baker said Wednesday, replying only “no” to reporters’ questions about a state vaccine passport system.

The Republican governor’s stance came the day after two lawmakers sent a letter urging Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito [R-MA] to develop a “robust framework” for vaccine verification as other states move forward with plans.

Baker’s remarks follow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issuing executive orders prohibiting state-directed vaccine passports over growing concerns about the curbing of civil liberties.

Abbott issued an executive order Tuesday which not only bars vaccine passports but also blocks state agencies from receiving public funds for creating such documentation.

“Texans are returning to normal life as more people get the safe and effective COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] vaccine. But as I’ve said all along, these vaccines are always voluntary and never forced,” the Texas Republican said in a statement. “Government should not require any Texan to show proof of vaccination and reveal health information just to go about their daily lives. That is why I have issued an executive order that prohibits government-mandated vaccine passports in Texas. We will continue to vaccinate more Texans and protect public health — and we will do so without treading on Texans’ personal freedoms.”

On Friday, DeSantis issued an executive order effectively banning the use of vaccine passports in Florida. The directive also prevents businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination.

“There was never under discussion any mandates to take vaccines. We will not have COVID vaccines mandated in Florida,” DeSantis stated last week. “The flip side of that though with these vaccine passports is it’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.”

Other Republican governors such as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) have also voiced opposition to vaccine passports, though Kemp did not say whether he will take executive action against the creation of one.

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2021/04/08/massachusetts-gov-charlie-baker-says-no-vaccine-passports/

Portland City Council Approves $1.4 Million for ‘Unarmed’ Patrols to Combat Gun Violence

Portland, Oregon’s City Council approved $1.4 million for “unarmed” patrols to be stationed in parks to fight gun crime.

KGW reports there will be “two dozen” such patrols, working a schedule that ensures someone is working “around-the-clock.”

The money for the “unarmed” patrols is part of a larger $6 million plan intended to fight gun violence in the city. The largest portion of the money–$4.1 million–“will be earmarked for community groups that work in the neighborhoods hardest-hit by gunfire.”

None of the money okayed by the City Council will go to the police.

The Associated Press quoted Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) reacted to the approved funding: “We agree that the immediate spike in gun violence is a public health threat that requires a public health response that invests in community-based organizations working to change the conditions and environments that foster violence.”

There have been more than 250 shootings in Portland thus far in 2021. That is a greater than 100 percent increase over the 111 shootings in Portland at this same time in 2020.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/04/08/portland-city-council-approves-1-4-million-for-unarmed-patrols-to-combat-gun-violence/

Florida Senate Passes Bill Promoting ‘Intellectual Freedom And Viewpoint Diversity’ In Colleges

A new bill protecting “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” in public colleges and universities in Florida was passed Wednesday by the Florida state Senate.

The House Bill 233 was passed on a 23-15 vote and has already been sent to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Tampa Bay Times reported. The legislation will require post-secondary educational institutions to survey students, faculty and staff about their political views and prohibit universities from limiting speech that “may be uncomfortable, disagreeable or offensive,” according to the document.

The bill mandates Florida College System’s institutions to conduct “annual assessments of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” which should determine the “extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the university community… feel free to express their beliefs,” the bill reads.

The bill also bars higher educational institutions from “shielding” its students, faculty and staff “from free speech protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution” and allows students to “record video or audio of class lectures” for a variety of purposes, including using the recorded material “as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding.”

The critics of the bill argue that granting such rights to students may result in faculty members being punished for exercising their freedom of expression in class, according to Tampa Bay Times. Democrats also fear that the bill’s protection of “uncomfortable” speech may amplify the voices of groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Proud Boys, according to the report.

“I don’t think that it’s dangerous,” Republican state senator Ray Wesley Rodrigues, the sponsor of the bill, said in defense of the legislation. “Other states that have gone down this road have actually found it educational and beneficial. I think that it would be educational and beneficial in the state of Florida as well.”

https://dailycaller.com/2021/04/07/florida-senate-bill-college-survey-intellectual-freedom/

Biden Gun Speech Filled With Falsehoods

President Joe Biden made numerous false and misleading statements while unveiling a package of gun-control actions on Thursday.

Biden falsely described how federal firearm laws work as he called for Congress to amend those laws. He pushed the Senate to pass H.R. 8, which would ban private gun sales unless done through a licensed dealer, by claiming there is a special exemption for sales made at gun shows.

"Most people don't know, you walk into a store and you buy a gun you have a background check," Biden said in his speech at the White House. "But you go to a gun show, you can buy whatever you want and no background check."

Most people do not know what the president said because it is not true. Federal law does not regulate gun sales based on where they occur. Instead, it regulates them based on who is involved in the sale. If a licensed gun dealer is selling a gun to a private citizen, the sale must go through a background check. Licensed dealers can and do sell guns at gun shows.

When a private citizen sells his own used firearms to another private citizen inside their own state, federal law does not require a background check to be performed. Private citizens do often sell guns at gun shows, but such sales can be conducted anywhere else as well. Some states go beyond federal law and require all gun sales or even transfers between private citizens to go through a licensed dealer, as H.R. 8 would require.

Biden also falsely claimed the gun industry is uniquely protected from all liability while advocating for the repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

"People don't realize the only industry in America, a billion-dollar industry, that can't be sued, that are exempt from being sued, are gun manufacturers," Biden said. "This is the only outfit that is exempt from being sued."

That claim is also false. Gun manufacturers can be sued and sometimes are sued over claims of negligence. Remington settled a lawsuit over an alleged design flaw with the trigger on its popular Model 700 rifle, and Sig Sauer has been sued multiple times over an alleged safety defect with its P320 handgun. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which Biden hopes to repeal, provides immunity to the industry over lawsuits stemming from the criminal misuse of guns by third parties.

Even the limited immunity granted to the gun industry is not unique. Numerous other industries benefit from protections against lawsuits that do not implicate willful misconduct on the part of the company. Pharmaceutical companies developing COVID-19 vaccines have immunity from lawsuits over side-effects caused by the life-saving drugs under the 2005 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The same immunity extends to employers who require vaccinations for employment, according to CNBC.

Biden called on the Senate to pass gun-control legislation that has been approved by the Democratic House. He argued on behalf of H.R. 1446, which would extend the amount of time the FBI can delay a gun sale, with more misleading information. Biden said the existing three-day limit for conducting a background check allowed Dylann Roof to carry out the 2015 Charleston church shooting.

"What happened is someone was allowed to get the gun used to kill those innocent people at a church service," Biden said. "If the FBI didn't complete the background check within three days. There was a process. If it wasn't done in three days, according to the Charleston loophole, you get to buy the gun."

https://freebeacon.com/guns/biden-gun-speech-filled-with-falsehoods/