Thursday, the Senate advanced the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which the Senate is expected to hold a final vote on by the end of the week.
The Senate approved moving the bill forward with a vote of 65 to 34, with 15 Republicans supporting it. If the final bill passes, it will go to the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.
The bill includes provisions that would promote “red flag” laws in the states, increase funding for mental health facilities and school safety, and expand background checks for people under 21.
During a press conference Thursday, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) joined his colleagues in the Second Amendment caucus blasting the bill as infringing on Americans’ right to bear arms.
Senator Cornyn said this gun control bill is “a step in the right direction.” So what is the NEXT step?!
This bill weakens ALL constitutional rights and is a gift to the rabid anti-gun Left. Republicans would be foolish to play into their hands. #2AShallNotBeInfringed pic.twitter.com/lYKliQ3NjV
— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) June 23, 2022
“I really think this is a hill we’re going to have to die on as Republicans,” Moore said. “The Second Amendment, to me, protects all other rights. As we start talking about these slippery slopes, y’all remember just a few years ago it was just two weeks to flatten the curve. It concerns me going forward exactly how this thing is going to play out.”
The congressman argued that this bill would just move the nation toward even more gun control.
“Senator Cornyn said himself that this is ‘a step in the right direction.’ My question to the senators is: what’s the next step? It’s never enough,” he argued. “I think [Rep. Dan Bishop] hit on this. They use tragedies in our society to come after our rights. Without the Second Amendment, your rights are not protected as press, there are so many rights that we cannot protect.”
Moore emphasized that it was not the federal government’s role to restrict the gun rights of law-abiding Americans.
“Thomas Jefferson said, ‘When people fear the government, there is tyranny, but when the government fears the people, there is liberty,’” Moore advised. “We have a responsibility. My job, these members’ jobs, are to protect liberty. It’s not to play politics, it is to protect your liberty. You make the decision to protect your home, to arm yourself. That’s your right. It’s guaranteed in the constitution, and it’s our right to fight for that. And so I’m just honored to be a part of this process.”
The Alabama congressman said when it came to these violent tragedies, Congress needed to focus on the real issue, which wasn’t guns.
“This is not a gun issue in America,” he argued “I went to school at Enterprise High School. We had guns in every rack there. It’s a heart issue in America. When you tell young people, and we protest the right to kill a baby in the mother’s womb and sell the body parts, and then go wonder why there’s no value in life in young Americans, it’s because we’re teaching that to our children. And because of that, they do not value life, and therefore we have unmitigated murders in gun free zones.”
This gun control package isn’t compromise – its capitulation. Our 2nd Amendment rights shall not be infringed! https://t.co/kvb9zxs5Tl
— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) June 22, 2022
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee