The Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund recently spent $350,000 to purchase television ads targeting four Republican senators and calling on them to support “bipartisan” background check and red flag laws.
The ads call out Sens. Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Cory Gardner, and Rick Scott and will air on national morning news shows as well as on local broadcasts in the senator’s respective states, according to the Washington Post.
The ad begins with a montage of the most horrific massacres since 2012 while a voiceover reads, “It seems like every day there is another shooting. This isn’t normal. It’s time our elected officials did something about it. Tell Mitch McConnell to stand up to the gun lobby and pass bipartisan background check and red flag laws to keep guns away from those who pose a danger to our communities.”
The ad fails to mention that the “background check” law Congress is considering would end the private transfer of firearms. All firearm sales by licensed dealers must include a background check, but many states allow the private transfer of firearms between individuals. The universal background check bill would criminalize private transfers nationwide and force even close friends to undergo background checks before transferring firearms.
SEE ALSO: President Trump Calls for Red Flag Laws, Tweets Support for ‘Strong Background Checks’
Everytown appears to have chosen Sens. McConnell, Rubio, Gardner, and Scott for their past openness to gun control legislation.
Sen. McConnell vowed to consider gun control bills when Congress reconvenes, and specifically mentioned the universal background check proposal. Sen. Rubio has advocated for a national red flag law, and Sen. Scott signed a similar piece of legislation as Florida governor.
Sen. Gardner hasn’t made public statements supporting gun control (he told a crowd “I don’t support gun control” as recently as August 6), but he’s up for reelection in 2020 in a solidly purple state.
Sen. McConnell is also up for reelection in 2020.
SEE ALSO: BREAKING: Florida Gov. Rick Scott Signs Gun Control Bill
The ad concludes with a call to action asking viewers to text “Checks” to 64433. Respondents then receive a message that reads, “US Senate must act to end gun violence. Reply with zip code to call Senators.”
Replying with a zip code prompts a robo-caller that transfers respondents to their senator’s offices. Then, respondents receive another text message with a link to a donation page.
The Senate reconvenes on September 9 when Republicans will decide whether to move forward with the dozens of gun control bills coming out of the Democrat-controlled House.
President Trump expressed support for strengthening the background check system following the massacres in Dayton and El Paso, but has since toned down his rhetoric. But the White House still plans to release a slate of gun violence prevention proposals, which will include modifications to the background check system.
Don’t give shit about gun violence or any of the propaganda bullshit it’s all bullshit to disarm the people I won’t give mine up without a fight! And if you are truly a patriot and believe in the constitution you won’t either .
If our current gun laws are truly effective, I totally expect whoever sold that nutjob in West Texas his rifle to face prosecution! With all of the law enforcement agencies that are investigating that crazy SOB’s rampage, they should be able to find the seller…
Governor Abbott & law enforcement have both already told the press the shooter was specifically prohibited from lawful purchase of a gun because he had been determined mentally ill by a Texas criminal court.
They also have stated the NICs system did actually prevent the shooter from acquiring a rifle he had tried to purchase from an FFL, but then his crazy ass just went & bought one from a “private seller”. If we are unable to hold that “private seller” accountable for providing a known lunatic with the tool he needed to turn the West Texas countryside into a civilian slaughterhouse, we NEED universal background checks!!!
Brainwashed turd!
RED FLAG Gun Laws are Just another way to Punish Legal Gun Owners. “GUN FREE ZONES” Another Way. Everytown Should Not Be Allowed To Run Attack Ads. The Media Has Forgot How To Report News, When A Good Guy with a Gun STOPS A BAD GUY With A Gun, You Never Hear About It In The NEWS, We Only Here The Negative Side Never The Positive.
You All, who cares……….. How about all of US try what the NRA did back in the day, Attraction. Yep they brought me in 57 years ago at age 12. Still shooting, don’t much care for The Right Nor The Left as I have always been and hope to stay Independent. Free Ur Mind, Be Party Blind.
“It seems like every day there is another shooting.”- Everytown
Pushing lies are the only way the anti-gun folks can carry their agenda, unless of course they are referring to Chicago…
Hyperbole is all they really have. Do you ever hear them cite the FBI stats and trends? Those FBI figures just do not support the narrative of those who want to take guns away. Yes, there are a few honest gun grabbers who will admit that is exactly what they want to eventually accomplish with these incremental gun control laws.
Now, if I was a jerk, I would waste their time by texting that number, tell them my zip code is 94118, and let them transfer me to Nancy Pelosi’s office so I can give her a piece of my mind about this. I’ve always thought that if these idiots had half a brain, they’d be dangerous. Turns out, they _do_ have half a brain, and they _are_ dangerous.
While I do share y’alls legitimate concerns with the inherent problems with “red flag laws”, I am much less sympathetic with the argument against universal background checks… I get that it’s an inconvenience and there is a financial cost associated with the requirement that private transfers between friends and family also include a federal background check.
However, all extremists (whether religious or ideological) have family and close friends who are always shocked & appalled when those close to them does something unthinkable. I personally would never sell any of my guns to ANYONE without involving an FFL who can document two things… (A) The gun I used to own is no longer mine so I no longer have any control over how it used and (B) The person who I sold my gun to can at a minimum pass a NICs check (i.e. this demonstrate that I have no reason to believe the individual I sold my gun to is going to do anything illegal with it).
As far as political adds targeting the GOP in advance of next year’s election go… Y’all should expect me to support any efforts to unseat any members of the GOP who currently hold an elected federal office as long as the GOP continues making completely unreasonable excuses for what so clearly appears to be Donald Trump’s inappropriate relationship with Moscow. I really hope the GOP does the right thing because I’m not at all comfortable voting “straight ticket” next November. If, however, the GOP continues their failure to do the RIGHT thing (i.e. the endless excuses for an inexcusable buffoon need to stop) between now & November of next year, please remember how clear I was in warning of my 2020 voting intentions!!!
The issue with the universal background check is that it amounts to a registry. Here is an example. You buy a gun from a friend and do have a background check done. You are stopped by the police and are questioned if you had a background check done. How are the police able to tell if there has been a proper background check done unless they can look up the serial # of the gun and see yes, you did have a background check. Only way it works is with a registry. A registry that could possibly be hacked? or used for confiscation? I’m sorry but no one needs to know what guns you or I own.
Well if you’re like me and your collection includes a few NFA items that you acquired legally, the ATF already has us on a registry, don’t they? Please note, my ownership of any NFA items is certainly NOT something I go around advertising but my comments here have no personally identifiable information attached to them… So this should hopefully be no different than when people see me out at the shooting range using those items.
Look, I totally agree that we shouldn’t have some public list of all guns in the country that’s accessible to just anyone who doesn’t specifically have significant federal security clearance. I also don’t think local police should be charged with enforcing any new federal background check requirement.
Unless you’re worried about a break down between the checks & balances that have always existed between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government in this country, how would the existence of a federal registry that is specifically Top Secret be at all concerning to you?
@Rob. Your argument against the Registery is exactly why it’s needed. You are only focusing on the impact to you – which is nothing compared to the impact of keeping guns out of the hands of unstable individuals.
As a multi gun owner and daily carry patriotic citizen, I carry the unselfish interest to protect our freedoms. As gun owners we must protect those who cannot protect themselves. That means we must exclude those unfit to own and carry guns.
@Rob. Your argument against the Registery is exactly why it’s needed. You are only focusing on the impact to you – which is nothing compared to the impact of keeping guns out of the hands of unstable individuals.
As a multi gun owner and daily carry patriotic citizen, I carry the unselfish interest to protect our freedoms. As gun owners we must protect those who cannot protect themselves. That means we must exclude those unfit to own and carry guns.
I’m sure our founders would love the idea of the Second Amendment being highly scrutinized and monitored by central government. You know, the same men who by a wide majority opposed a standing army because of the hotels their previous government subjected them to.
Reminder, you are NOT a free men but subjects under the new crown of 2019 politicians.
*horrors not “hotels”
Juan, this is a valid point… I do think the founding fathers designed our centralized federal government with a healthy skepticism of centralized power though and their design has proven effective over time.
This is exactly why I am so alarmed by the Trump administration’s extraordinary efforts to circumvent the specific federal checks & balances that were so thoughtfully developed to prevent tyranny from every taking root in our great nation.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/house-needs-its-subpoena-power-against-trump/596857/
Please read the article referenced above… No real American should be okay with Trump’s refusal to provide Congress with the financial records from Deutsche Bank they require to do their constitutionally mandated job!!!
You laid it on a little too thick with the “Y’all”, you dedicated anti-gun advocate trying to pass yourself off as a gun supporter.
Tim, you can label me whatever you want bro. I use the term “y’all” because I’ve lived most of my life in a state where that is how we speak… There are no limits on the kinds of guns we are allowed to own in my home state and that is how I prefer it. The diverse variety of guns that I own demonstrates that fact, but you go right ahead and call me whatever you like!
Try this Ricky:
1) Your “universal background check” puts people in danger and is discriminatory. If I want to give my girlfriend my shotgun because she receives a threat from an ex, why should she have to wait to find an ope FFL to do a transfer? On a weekend that could mean a 2-3 day wait. Felons don’t wait.
2) Your universal check requires an ID. Your friends on the left say that requiring an ID to exercise the right to vote is unconstitutional and discriminatory, because the poor and minorities don’t have ID. So your position is RACIST to require an ID to acquire a gun for protection.
3) FFL transfers cost money, anywhere from $15 to $50 in my state. Again, this law disproportionately impacts the poor. Why do you hold poor people’s lives so much of a lesser value than the rich? You again are a privileged hater.
Hi grif,
1) Any new universal background check requirement should only include the SALE of guns. So this would in no way impact your right to either loan or gift your girlfriend a gun.
2) So there should not be any cost associated with an Americans right to vote. If you are an American citizen who is homeless, you still have the right to vote. While I am very sympathetic with Americans who are less fortunate than me, our 2nd amendment rights do NOT include free guns & ammo for everyone.
3) Please see my response to point #2 above. If you can afford the cheapest High Point pistol and some Tula ammo, then you can afford a $15 FFL transfer fee.
Buried within the universal back round check bill is a means to turn you into a felon . Picture yourself and your son/daughter are put bird hunting and their shotgun breaks , so you loan them your extra 20 ga. you both just became felons. That bill has been vetoed twice as it is un-constitutional it just has a different number attached to it.
I don’t believe this is correct, Mark. Loaning something to someone for a very specific purpose with the intention of your gun being given back to you after the hunt is over is not at all the same thing as transfering ownership.
If your comment is more just a general skepticism of how some overzealous prosecuting attorney with a personal or political grudge against you may abuse any new legislation, I do share your concern… I certainly support making sure any new legislation includes clear language intended to ensure our constitutional rights are not violated by any efforts to enforce any new laws!
Read the actual words in the previous bills and this one. Transferring a firearm is NOT just transferring ownership, it includes borrowing, passing down, inheriting, etc.
Let’s grant more unconstitutional power to centralized government over the 2A in the name of progress. Register every firearm. Convert your right into a privilege. Give up the power, We The People have to act as a check and balance to against the oversized standing army our constitution only permits two years of funding at a time by Congress. Ignore the warnings left by our founding fathers. The American experiment has clearly failed because so many are willing to repeat mistakes in history from GB, to Rome, to Germany.
While you’re at it, let’s allow the government to register and oversee the rest of our rights given to us BY OUR CREATOR.
Juan, I’m not going to pretend like I’ve read every single bill that Congress debates… Most of them never get signed into law so reading each version a bill before it is in final form (i.e. ready for the President’s signature) is really just a waste of my time.
Since I have no reason to believe you are lying about this, I stand corrected… This is no way changes my opinion on how universal background checks SHOULD work. The ONLY thing that should be considered a gun transfer that is subject to the background check requirement should be the SALE of a gun. This would exclude gifts or loans! The GOP currently holds majority control over most of the federal government so it’s not like they don’t have control over the language included in the actual bill the President signs into law.
Ricky B, Ricky B, Ricky B! Your comments, including replies to replies, about how a ‘registry’ would be acceptable TO YOU are just what the grabbers and haters want to see – a disjointed and divided group of gun owners.
“Unless you’re worried about a break down between the checks & balances that have always existed between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government in this country, how would the existence of a federal registry that is specifically Top Secret be at all concerning to you?”
This is just so naive as to be a joke.
You want to use a FFL for transfers, that’s fine, feel free to do so. In CA the DOJ has a list of every handgun I’ve ever owned. Doesn’t matter if I no longer own any one of them, the list still exists. That list is available fairly easily so don’t fool yourself with being ‘free and clear’ after a ‘registered transfer’ to someone else.
What makes you think that the .gov will be able to keep a secret list secret?
Have you not been paying attention to the ‘news’ over the couple of years?
Even the former top brass at the FBI leak information to their ‘friends’ and then it suddenly becomes public information. The last thing I want is to see you or me doxed and on the front page showing how much of what you own. That then makes ‘us’ a target of all the loons and haters, which means we would have to defend ourselves and families against their violent views. I personally do not wish to end up in a courtroom, ever.
Hi Wade, thanks for reading all of my commentary bro, including my responses to responses… Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy what you read.
It’s my understanding that none of the information the former FBI brass leaked was in anyway classified…
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/politics/james-comey-russia-donald-trump/index.html
I certainly agree that doxing is a significant risk in our 21st century online word… I’ve been very confused about why so many people are so comfortable posting personal and private information all over social media sites like Facebook ever since social media was first developed right around the turn of the current century. I think using those type websites and mobile apps probably increases one’s likelyhood of ending up in a courtroom someday.
Stay safe bro!