(The Center Square) – Across the country, there is a push to declare gun violence as a “public health crisis” and impose a “state of emergency” in response to shootings.
Proponents of the Second Amendment are concerned the emergency declarations lay the groundwork for expanded government powers, as witnessed during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
U.S. Congressmen Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., raised those fears in a recent House Judiciary Committee meeting.
“And our fellow Americans know the impact of folks up here in Washington declaring everything and anything a public health emergency,” Gaetz said during the meeting. “It means you’re more likely to be locked in your homes, deprived of your freedoms, less healthy, less safe, less secure and less able to live a truly American life.
“So know this: when the left talks about this as a public health emergency, get ready to see those enhanced authorities abused by the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives],” Gaetz said.
In the same hearing, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-MO, called for gun violence to be recognized as a public health emergency.
“In St. Louis and nationwide, gun violence is a public health emergency and common sense regulations are a necessity,” Bush said during the hearing.
Cities across the U.S. such as Flint, Michigan, Portland, Oregon, and Blakely, Georgia, have declared gun violence emergencies.
In New York, the cities of Rochester and Albany all declared a gun violence state of emergency. The state of New York declared a gun violence state of emergency in 2021.
Rochester has been under a current gun violence state of emergency since November 2021. That declaration allows the police department to shut down any commercial business that has had a shooting and is determined to be a nuisance after a review process.
The city of Rochester’s press release stated: “The Proclamation gives the Mayor broad powers to protect life and property and to bring the emergency under control.”
The state of New York gun violence emergency order gives the governor the power to “temporarily suspend or modify any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation, or parts thereof, during a State disaster emergency if compliance with such would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency.”
The Delaware state legislature passed a resolution in March declaring gun violence a public health crisis.
And what if President Joe Biden declared a national emergency over gun violence? The White House didn’t respond to an email asking if Biden had considered such an option.
When a president declares a national emergency, there are at least 135 statutory powers that could be made available, according to the Brennan Center.
“Debate over the Second Amendment is clouded with propaganda terms intended to diminish the right of law-abiding citizens to bear arms,” said Stephen Halbrook, an expert on the Second Amendment and a senior fellow with the Independent Institute. “Instead of criminals committing acts of violence with guns, the term ‘gun violence’ implies that the guns commit the violence. Calling criminality with guns a ‘public health crisis’ obscures that crime is volitional and may be repressed only by taking criminals off the streets. Guns create no national ‘state of emergency,’ and recidivist violators create a state of emergency against every victim they attack.”
#1. The lies, cons, deceptions, hypocrisy and treachery of the treasonous, woke, socialist Democrat Party cult and their disciples know no bounds.
* “Washington declaring everything and anything a public health emergency,” Gaetz said during the meeting. “It means you’re more likely to be locked in your homes, deprived of your freedoms, less healthy, less safe, less secure and less able to live a truly American life.
“So know this: when the left talks about this as a public health emergency, get ready to see those enhanced authorities abused by the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives],”” Gaetz said.
Note that the cities with the most murders and crimes are the woke Democrat Party ruled cities. And these Woke Democrat Party ruled cities have the most strict anti-gun laws, but they don’t enforce their own laws.
To fully advance the Lying, Treasonous, Demonic, Woke, Socialist Democrat Party’s destructive beliefs and agendas is to divide our citizens with hate and promote – racism, open borders, radical feminism, abortion-on-demand, the LGBTQ lifestyle, unfettered sexual identity, transgender, same sex marriage, child indoctrination into sexual confusion and perversions, the pagan Liberal left Democrats must do away with GOD, our Constitution, common sense, morality, Christian values and free religious exercise altogether.
Under the of Disguise of Democrats versions of “anti-discrimination.”
It all depends on which government is doing the lockdowns and the arresting, not to mention the prosecutions. NOTHING will change in the Democrat run cities for the criminal elements whose cities are run by the criminals where honest gun owners are afraid to use them lest it be THEY who get prosecuted even if a mob tears down their house or business. Only an army of non-indoctrinated emotionally detached robocops trained to only punish the lawbreakers and leave the law-abiding citizens alone, would be able to take out the trash but leave the gun protections in place to do what they were Constitutionally designed to.,,,I.E. protect the innocent. The Gort Robot enforcer from the 1951 movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” would work perfect. No prejudice nor political “get out of jail free” cards from this guy. You play bad, you pay big.
Exactly. THERE IS NO POINT IN making more laws, WHEN THE CRIMINALS ALREADY BREAK THE EXISTING ONES and the dems refuse to do a damn thing about it.
it is just about game over in the former united states of america.
freedom is almost dead the bill of rights and the constitution are toilet paper
the new world order lead by the world health organization and big pharma along with bill gates jeff bezos and george soros
are the final nails in freedom and libertys coffin and paves the way for the antichrist and 666 to take the world stage.
i pray everyday for america because we need it. the left has used every tool in the communist play book to divide us and it seems to have worked.
Don’t give up hope. It is bad and very well may get worse, but remember, “we win in the end”.
You always hear Socialist democrats talk about taking your guns but never talk about taking criminals guns. When demonrats talk and go into the hood to Seize guns then we will be safer
BECAUSE the hoods are where their main voter base is.. THE WELFARE LEECHES!!!!
These Socialist Democrats don’t get it . Defending yourself and/or your family DOES NOT make you a criminal.
TO THEM it does/ AS THEY LOVE Criminals, as they are criminals!
If they are so desperate to “do something “ to stop the mass killings they should declare mental illness a public health crisis and fund some research to see WHY these crazy individuals feel they have to slaughter innocent people.
IMO we know the answer to that, the left SEES LIFE AS expendable. They don’t VALUE IT, obviously with their ABORTION ON DEMAND support.
Sorry, but more firearm laws and controls will never stop the violence with guns. The statistics have proven that to be true. For the simple reason that those who are mentally ill or are career gangbangers, will never obey any gun laws, neither the old ones or any new ones. The answer is strong law enforcement of the laws we already have and severe punishment for the violators especially the revolving door repeat offenders.
Disarming law abiding citizens with extreme 2A violations will certainly make a bad problem even worse. You can put your momma’s last dollar on that!
All this foot stomping about more control gun control that will not solve the gun violence is mute, in light of the overwhelming numbers of young Americans being mass murdered by the China/Mexico fentanyl coming across our southern border. Please show me the same outrage for this deadly weapon of mass destruction taking place in our country! Tell me why we haven’t declared war against the perpetrators of this weapon of mass destruction? Far more people have died from the non-stop flow of deadly fentanyl, a weapon of mass destruction, than those who are victims of gun violence. Both problems could be resolved if this country had the right leadership to actually do the right thing to stop the criminal gun violence and the open border war crimes!
THEY DO nothing, because they CARE NOT.