There is a long-term problem with the GOP silence on guns and abortion

Do We Need to End the Impossibility of Gun Safety Reform? A Reply from Rep. Joe McConnell after the Wisconsin Shooting

Yet another mass shooting and a new blow to nationwide abortion rights left Republicans facing pointed questions on two of the most emotive issues dominating American politics.

The GOP is locked into positions that are most popular among its grassroots voters, but can cause it to be alienating from the public.

But there are signs this could be changing. The Supreme Court ruled against Republicans in several swing races in the last year, but that didn’t deter Democratic voters from turning out in large numbers. In Wisconsin, which reverted to a pre-Civil War law banning almost all abortions once Roe was overturned, the issue was critical to the victory of a liberal candidate in last week’s state Supreme Court race, which flipped the conservative majority.

The two issues that the Republicans have achieved their political and policy goals on are threatening the long-term viability of the party.

McConnell sent his prayers to the victims, their families, and the city of Louisville as they await more information. Senator Paul and his wife were praying for everyone who was involved in the shooting, and for the families who lost loved ones.

Democrats offered condolences too, but also had a more practical response. President Joe Biden called for the kind of gun safety reform that is impossible with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and without Democrats holding more seats in the Senate. Many Americans are paying the price of their own lack of action. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?” Biden asked in a tweet.

Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents Louisville in Congress, called for action to tackle gun violence. “Thoughts and prayers for those we lost, those who are injured and their loved ones and families are appreciated, but today serves as a stark reminder that we need to address gun violence at the national level,” the freshman congressman said.

There are no signs that Republican leaders are going to change their stance on guns or abortion. Or that they have the political room to do so. Even though it makes sense for Republicans to appeal to a more general audience to avoid alienating crucial suburban, moderate and female voters, the vehemence of their core supporters makes this an impossible straddle. GOP power brokers have faced the same dynamic with Donald Trump in the past. The former president remains so popular with base voters that his GOP critics risk their careers by publicly opposing him. And yet, he has long been a liability among general election voters – as proved by the GOP’s performance in 2020 and 2022.

There are more guns than ever before. Republicans around the country are leading efforts to slash firearms regulation and broaden citizens’ capacity to carry guns. Despite a murderous run of massacres in schools, nightclubs, places of worship and, on Monday, in a bank, the party has effectively closed down all significant attempts in Congress to make it harder to buy weapons – including the assault-style rifles used in recent shootings. Congress passed a bipartisan effort to get states to embrace red flag laws, which can help authorities take weapons away from people who are considered to be a risk. Its success was notable because it was the only federal legislation in previous decades.

The Campaign to Overturn Abortion, the Gun, and Prostitution: The Case of a South Carolina Senator who fought for a National Gun Law

One of the most stunning victories in political history was the 50-year conservative campaign to overturn the law regarding abortion. It reached its peak last year with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Wade decision.

Nancy Mace, a Republican representing South Carolina, is pro-life but warns against state laws that do not allow exceptions for rape, Incest or the health of the mother. Mace was a rare Republican to publicly respond to Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s abortion drug ruling last week, which Democratic groups have seized on to renew claims Republicans want a national ban on abortion.

The party’s failure to align with most Americans on abortion and on some aspects of gun safety may not be sustainable. Polls show that many voters, including younger Americans, are being driven away from the party because of its positions.

More than half of 18-to 29-year-olds think gun laws should be made more strict, and 22% say they should be retained, according to the Harvard Youth Poll. Young Americans are generally on the same page as the public as a whole. In October 2022, 57% of all Americans said that laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, with 32% saying laws should be kept as they were and 10% that laws should be made less strict, according to a Gallup survey from October 2022.

On abortion, only 26% of Americans favor laws making it illegal to use or receive through the mail FDA-approved drugs for a medical abortion, while 72% oppose such laws, according to a PRRI report that analyzed polling on the issue over the last year. While 50% of White evangelical Protestants favor making it illegal to use or receive those drugs, less than half of any other racial, gender, educational or age group agree.

The Memphis Revival: Justin J. Pearson is Reinstated to Lead the Tennessee House a People’s Rights Towards the First Amendment

Tennessee Rep. Justin J. Pearson was once a community activist in Memphis. The views expressed by him are his own. Read more opinion on CNN.

Tennessee is emerging in its new miraculous diversity. Many people who wrote in our largest state newspaper, The Tennessean, decried the lack ofDemocracy they saw when the GOP supermajority expelled us.

I am happy to be back in the House and working for my constituency. I was elected to office on January 24, 2023 in a special election, but I fought against corporate environmental racism for many years and won. My constituents sent me to the Tennessee State House to continue this work in their name. We will not be silenced. We will not sit down. We will not move to the back of the bus or the back of the house. We will move forward.

The Republican legislator who authored the expulsion resolution against me stood to belittle me and to minimize the deeply serious concerns of my constituents and the thousands of protestors present. He told me that he and his White conservative colleagues were “enraged” that I had had the audacity to walk, unbidden, to the front of the chamber and acknowledge the grieving families. He did so while upholding the status quo of a majority that denied equal rights to people who look like me.

The fact is, I break decorum with my very presence in that chamber. I am the son of a pastor and a school teacher. The two Black women that I am the grandson of stood up against Tennessee in the 20th century and beyond.

We joined chants from the floor because of our rights under the First Amendment and because the speaker ordered us to go on a recess.

We followed the State Constitution’s directive to oppose policies that would hurt the people who elected us. As a result, we were put on display in that very House to “stand trial” for our alleged offenses.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/opinions/justin-pearson-reinstated-vote-tennessee-house-pearson-ctrp/index.html

The Nashville massacre, Justin Jones, and the Tennessee House of Pensates on the Ctrp: More guns aren’t the answer

People in Tennessee aren’t even required to purchase a permit to publicly carry guns in the state of Tennessee. Now the GOP-led legislature is considering lowering the age of permitless gun purchase and carry from 21 to 18. At a time when we should be looking at ways to reduce the amount of firearms in society, Republicans in Tennessee are considering a bill that would let teachers carry guns in school.

The Nashville massacre came about a month after 20 people were killed in a shooting in Memphis. There have been far more mass shootings in the US this year than there have been days. Virtually everyone in Tennessee knows someone whose life has been touched by preventable gun violence, including me. Larry Thorn was killed a few months ago while he worked at his son’s middle school. More guns can’t be the answer.

In Tennessee, the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan and where multiple Klan, White Nationalist, and neo-Nazi organizations still thrive, the condescension and barely-veiled racism heaped on Justin Jones and me, and on the communities we represent, were on full display last Thursday night.

Legislators do not need permission to walk to the well of the House. During the recess, we are not reprimanded for our peaceful actions. And we are required by the Tennessee State Constitution to object to policies injurious to the well-being of our constituents.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/opinions/justin-pearson-reinstated-vote-tennessee-house-pearson-ctrp/index.html

What the old South has to offer: The Good, the Bad, the Right, and the Evil — Bringing about a Renewed South

We will continue to challenge the old South and bring about a RenewedSouth, one that is fair and just for all people. We will win. We are on the right side of history.