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I am fascinated by clever commentaries like Dave Andersons recent submission (If Democrats show respect for the 2nd Amendment, Republicans will compromise on gun safety legislation, June 2). Mr. Anderson seems so earnest in his attempt to bring us all together on the crisis of gun violence in America, but is he?

Mr. Anderson suggests that there is only one thing holding Republicans back from entertaining sensible gun restrictions. And you guessed it, its Democrats. His thesis is that Republicans would be onboard if Democrats would just show respect for the Second Amendment. Thats all.

The writer explains that it is very simple if you threaten what I love, I will fight to keep it. Well, guess what. Most of us love our families, our children and going to public places without the fear of being gunned down indiscriminately by rapid fire assault rifles. And we are ready to fight for that.

This articles real intent seems to be to inject the word, confiscation, into the conversation. Pro-gun advocates use the straw man of confiscation as a shield from meaningful discussion. Confiscation, seriously? No one is scheming to confiscate that gun you love so much, except perhaps those Americans who are burying their children this week after an 18-year-old used his birthday money to buy an AR-15 since he couldnt legally buy beer.

Mr. Anderson sums up his meeting of the minds argument with this: If Democrats show respect for the Second Amendment, compromise is possible. If not, the slaughter will continue.

I have another idea. Why dont Republican lawmakers start showing respect for the Second Amendment? Stop raising money by fear mongering confiscation. Stop glorifying your long rifles on campaign ads and Christmas cards. Show some honest respect for your constituents and start doing the hard work of coming to the table with real ideas for real compromise. If not, the slaughter will continue.

Mitch Vitullo, Columbia

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Why won't Republicans respect the 2nd Amendment and their constituents? | READER COMMENTARY - Baltimore Sun

To the Editor:

This whole discussion of assault rifles is filled with emotion, misleading information, outright false information and propaganda. Many democrats want to eliminate guns altogether. They tend to spin the Second Amendment to make it fit their desires. Lets look at the facts:1: The Second Amendment (if you read the Federalist papers) was enacted because our founding fathers wanted a check against the threat of a totalitarian government. It gave us the right to keep and bear arms. President Biden makes the ridiculous observation that we cant own a cannon. No one wants to own a cannon. We cant own a jet fighter either. However, we can own a gun to use for sport or for protection.We cant own a machine gun or a bazooka. Those are weapons of war. The democrats and gun control people want to try to classify most legally owned guns as weapons of war so they can have them confiscated. An assault weapon is a weapon that is fully automatic, like a machine gun. The AR15 is a semi-automatic firing gun and is not a weapon of war. It may look like a weapon of war but it isnt. However, President Biden and other democrats would have you believe it is a weapon of war.2: There are millions of guns in the United States. Most families own at least one gun for protection. There are many gun enthusiasts who own many guns they use for hunting and sport. They dont shoot people. Mentally ill and evil people use guns and bombs and knives to kill innocent people. This is not a gun issue, its a mental health issue.

Larry MoranVillage of Mallory Square

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Let's look at the facts when it comes to assault rifles and Second Amendment - Villages-News

by Kevin Cody

Lance Dominguez, of Torrance, spent two weeks working with Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach city hall, police, and fire officials to get a permit for Saturdays March for Our Lives. The march drew an estimated 200 gun legislation supporters, who met at noon at the Manhattan Beach Pier, and marched to the Hermosa Beach pier for a rally on Pier Plaza. The permit required he pay for security.

I find it ironic, Dominguez told the marchers, that it is more difficult to organize a peaceful march than for an 18-year-old to walk into a store, and walk out with an AR-15, and 100 rounds of ammunition. If exercising my First Amendment right to assembly can be regulated to protect public safety, shouldnt the same be true of those exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms? he asked.

Seaside is the Christmas lights neighborhood. You may have even bought hot chocolate from Rebeccas son David, Dominguez said.

Boldrick introduced herself over the loudspeakers as a former Torrance School District teacher. Her son David, and daughter Lauren attended Seaside Elementary, Calle Mayor Middle School, and South High School before the family moved to Parkland, Florida in 2016.

The Torrance School District began active shooter drills after the mass shooting in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School (in Newtown, Connecticut). But I never dreamed my childrens school would have an active shooter, Boldrick said.

On Feb. 14, 2018, Boldricks son and daughter were in class at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, when former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire on students and teachers with an AR-15 assault rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

David and Laurens childhood ended that day. My daughter lost four of her best friends, Boldrick said.

The following month, her son David Hogg, co-organized the inaugural March for Life on Washington D.C. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential People in 2018.

The March for Our Lives (South Bay) gets underway at the Manhattan Beach Pier June 11. Photo by Garth Meyer

Saturdays March for Life was one of hundreds nationwide, held in response to the May 24 killing of 19 students, and two teachers, and the wounding of 17 others at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas by an AR-15, wielded by 18-year-old Uvalde High School student Salvador Ramos.

Following Boldricks recorded address, former Torrance school counselor Christine Macinnis told the marchers, Over 90 percent of mass shootings are by young white men. But it is easier to get a gun than a therapist We cant keep saying this is a mental health issue without providing mental health.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, who was reelected last Tuesday to a fifth term representing the 66 Assembly District, said California has the strongest gun laws in California. Its 111 gun laws include background check requirements; and a red flag ban on high risk people having guns..

In January, Muratsuchi co-authored a bill that would prohibit manufacturing, andr assembling unserialized firearms, commonly known as ghost guns.

Im proud to say every time the National Rifle Association releases a scorecard, I get an F, Muratsuchi said.

The rally was briefly interrupted when a man, who declined to identify himself, approached the speaker stage and shouted, What about the pharmaceutical industry? They kill more people than guns. (Prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death, after heart disease, and cancer in the United States and Europe, according to the website PubMed.com).

Marcher Justin House, of Hermosa Beach, guided the anti protester away from the stage. He and Hermosa Beach Police Josh Droz, kept the man engaged in conversation until the rally ended, approximately 30 minutes later. ER

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First and Second Amendments focus of March for Our Lives in Hermosa Beach - Easy Reader

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has doled out over $319 million in grants, awards, and charity to media organizations, including $38 million to so-called investigative journalism centres.

According to Mint Press News (MPN), which sorted through over 30,000 documents, Bill Gates has given roughly $38 million to investigate journalism centres aimed at training journalists. Of this sum, over $20 million has gone to the International Center for Journalists, which builds the expertise and digital skills journalists need to deliver trustworthy news essential for vibrant societies.

The generous donations given to the ICFJ over several years have been given with the express purpose of producing journalists who focus on data-driven health and development news reports to help African media to better contribute to setting development agendas and furthering public accountability, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations website.

Producing health-obsessed investigative journalists is a common trend with Gates.

According to the Foundations website, the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism received its grant ($3,800,357) to support sustained high-quality, evidence-based, and solutions-oriented media coverage of global health and development issues in Primary Health Care systems, Agriculture & Financial Inclusion.

Other recipients of over $1 million include The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting ($2,432,552) to support editorial projects focused on global health issues, Fondation EurActiv Politech ($2,368,300), International Womens Media Foundation ($1,500,000), Center for Investigative Reporting $1,446,639, InterMedia Survey institute ($1,297,545), and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism ($1,068,169).

Put simply, it appears Bill Gates wants to install a personal army of professional scrutineers in various media outlets that disseminate his position on healthcare and propaganda about public officials who deviate.

Gates also, of course, funds the journalism programs of several universities, including Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, the University of California Berkeley, Tsinghua University, Seattle University, Rhodes University, and Montclair State University.

Harvard University (of which Gates is a dropout), the University of Southern California, Boston University, and Ahmadu Bello University have also received money from Gates Foundation to take on various media projects.

Producing new journalists isnt the only area in media that Gates is focusing on, though. He also targets experienced journalists in legacy media organizations. According to MPNs report, a total of $166.2 million has been given to well-known legacy media organizations.

The money is generally directed towards issues close to the Gateses hearts. For example, the $3.6 million CNN grant went towards report[ing] on gender equality with a particular focus on least developed countries, producing journalism on the everyday inequalities endured by women and girls across the world, while the Texas Tribune received millions to to increase public awareness and engagement of education reform issues in Texas. Given that Bill is one of the charter schools most fervent supporters, a cynic might interpret this as planting pro-corporate charter school propaganda into the media, disguised as objective news reporting, reports MPN.

Just over one decade ago, Bill Gates was under fire for his attempt to control the media through spread-out donations, but this fire seems to have flickered out until recently.

Beyond their subject matter, these [health report stories] have something else in common: They were all bankrolled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Seattle Times wrote in 2011.

Better-known for its battles against global disease, the giant philanthropy has also become a force in journalism.

The foundations grants to media organizations such as ABC and The Guardian, one of Britains leading newspapers, raise obvious conflict-of-interest questions: How can reporting be unbiased when a major player holds the purse strings?

Unsurprisingly, the Seattle Times and the Blethen Corporation do not appear to have ever received money from Bill Gates.

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Bill Gates' media control dream - The Counter Signal

Texas cop trains with AR-15 rifle. (Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4)

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Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. published an article on Tuesday saying hes "excited" that America looks more poised than ever to start restricting guns.

Bacon started his piece stating that the recent bipartisan gun violence deal "between 10 Republican and 10 Democratic senators is better than nothing" but it doesnt "really address the central problem the broad availability and circulation of guns in the United States."

Though the author claimed hes not worried, because more Americans in general want guns restricted.

"The recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Tex., have cemented two big, important shifts on gun policy that were already happening and wont be slowed by the passage of a minor congressional bill," he wrote.

SHEILA JACKSON LEE OPENS UP ABOUT A BIPARTISAN GUN CONTROL BILL FOLLOWING THE TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING

"First," the columnist explained, "those involved in public policy who are not accountable to hardcore Republican voters have come to agree that guns are the problem."

Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. claimed that America is more poised than ever to restrict guns like the AR-15. (AP)

"As a result, many in the media, top Democratic Party officials, think tanks and advocacy groups that dont usually focus on guns are all pushing for policies such as banning the sale and ownership of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines," Bacon explained.

The author also pointed to the fact that professionals who think that mental health and other circumstances heavily factor into gun violence, also think there are too many guns, is a tell-tale sign things will change. "Just as significantly, the reality-based policy community now agrees that while addressing, say, mental health, gangs and school security might help, what makes gun violence so prevalent in America is the unusually high number of guns in circulation."

The author also claimed that going after guns would address crime more broadly. "Centering guns as the problem unifies issues that are often discussed separately: mass shootings at schools and in other public spaces; shootings that happen among acquaintances or rival gangs; instances where people shoot spouses or partners; and suicides," he wrote.

He argued there was one solution: "fewer guns."

SEN. CORNYN DEFENDS BIPARTISAN GUN DEAL AFTER CONSERVATIVE CRITICISM OF PROPOSED 'RED FLAG LAWS'

Bacon moved to the second shift which is "that the national Democratic Party is no longer afraid of gun control." He provided the example of strategists claiming that Al Gore lost the presidential race in 2000 because his support of gun control cost him the south. Though he claimed that Democrats have realized their "struggles in the South were part of a broader political realignment."

Thus, they dont have to be as afraid of gun control. In addition, "the sheer number of catastrophic mass shootings over the past decade has basically forced Democrats to take on this issue," he added.

Optimistically, Bacon admitted that though there arent enough Senate Democrats to push through serious gun control, he claimed that the fact that everyone, except "hardcore" Republicans, now wants to regulate guns is important for several reasons.

Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. claimed he was excited that more Americans are seeking gun restrictions in the wake of recent mass shootings. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)

"First," he began, "clearly identifying guns as the problem is a big step toward finding actual solutions. Now, wealthy individuals, organizations and the Democratic Party know they must develop a comprehensive agenda aimed at reducing the number of guns in the United States and only backing candidates who believe in that goal," he wrote.

Bacon added, "Second, blue cities and states where Republicans arent a roadblock should pass strong gun regulation." He wrote that "Cities and states as well as philanthropic organizations should also seek innovative ways to encourage people to voluntarily either get rid of guns or not buy them in the first place."

UVALDE SHOOTING 'WORST LAW ENFORCEMENT FIASCO SINCE GEORGE FLOYD', STATE SENATOR SAYS

The authors last reason was that now everyone will start "demanding that GOP-appointed judges, including those on the Supreme Court, accept that some expansive gun-control measures are simply necessary for public safety."

Bacon then claimed that if said judges dont comply, "the only answer will be judicial reforms such as adding justices to shift the balance of the court toward common-sense gun policy."

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A banner hangs at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School, the site of the recent Texas school shooting. (AP/Eric Gay)

"So, no, Im not celebrating this bipartisan guns deal too much. But I am excited to see lots of powerful Americans, including top Democrats, get more serious about reducing the number of guns in the United States," he concluded.

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @gabrieljhays.

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WaPo columnist 'excited' that top Dems and 'many in the media' want gun control - Fox News