Dear Group,
On May 29th at Green Bluff McMorris Rodgers assured us, “I’m definitely going to take a look again.” She also said, “…with everything going on I tend to think that this is…that now is not the right time.” She was answering a question about her co-sponsorship of H.R. 367, The Hearing Protection Act, a bill that should be named the “Gun Muffler and Silencer De-Regulation Act of 2017,” (if truth in advertising were required of legislation). H.R. 367’s sole purpose is to repeal the part of the National Firearms Act of 1934 that regulates gun silencers. I quoted the Green Bluff encounter and covered the background in CMR’s Devotion to NRA Messaging.
I marked my calendar. Six weeks have passed. McMorris Rodgers is still a co-sponsor. She signed on as a co-sponsor March 27, 2017. She must think the name of the bill gives her enough cover so folks will assume this is a medical issue, not a gun issue. Has she “looked,” as she promised? We cannot know. If she didn’t, then she simply blew us off. If she did look, she must have calculated her NRA base, people who know exactly what this bill does, is paying more attention than the rest of us will. She hides behind the benign, Orwellian bill name: The Hearing Protection Act.
She is happy to make weapons of war potentially more deadly by deregulating silencers at the same time she is offering “thoughts and prayers,” talking about making schools into armed camps, and suggesting students need to be more proactive in reporting odd behavior among fellow students.
This is the same woman who voted for the H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, another NRA darling bill, which would allow people from less regulated states (like Idaho) to carry a concealed weapon on the streets of Spokane. (See CMR’s “Courageous Conversations”)
She even uttered a few sentences about federally outlawing “bump stocks,” the assault rifle add-ons that increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic weapon to nearly that of a machine gun. Has anything come of her comments? Not a thing. McMorris Rodgers and the NRA are persistent, they assume we’ve moved on, that we’ve forgotten.
McMorris Rodgers is the same woman whose Spokane County Republican Chairwoman, Stephanie Cate, promised the Spokesman the Republicans would not auction off an “AR-15” at their Lincoln Day fundraiser on June 2nd at which McMorris Rodgers spoke (along with Jason Chaffetz). Then they auction off an AR-15 knockoff assault rifle anyway. McMorris Rodgers didn’t blink…and the local media ignored it. (See CMR and the Clandestine Assault Rifle Auction)
Apparently, the status quo of assault weapon ownership and minimalist regulation in the United States isn’t enough for McMorris Rodgers. She is actively working to make firearms more prevalent, available, and less easy to detect in a crisis situation.
Like me, Lisa Brown grew up in Mid-western gun culture. It is time to elect a Representative with an open mind, who understands guns are part of our culture, but also won’t lie to us with legislation like “The Hearing Protection Act.” Lisa Brown will offer common sense around this issue…and many other issues. Remember that as you mark your ballot for August 7 and November 6.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry
P.S. McMorris Rodgers has often championed “States’ Rights.” Take not H.R. 367 is written to pre-empt all state regulation around silencers. I guess states rights must be limited when it comes to gun regulation…