“Scumbag.” Casey Wardynski accuses Dale Strong of crossing a line during congressional debate
Tuesday evening’s debate between U.S. Senate candidates Dale Strong and Casey Wardynski turned tense after ethical comments were made pertaining to Wardynski’s resignation as Huntsville superintendent in 2016. The two candidates are vying for the seat being vacated by Mo Brooks. The two were combative, which has been apparent in their T.V. ads throughout the race and showed itself during the debate on WHNT News 19. Yellowhammer News confirmed with multiple sources that after the debate, a heated exchange occurred between Strong and Karen Wardynski, Casey Wardynski’s wife. According to the sources, Mrs. Wardynski approached Strong while the candidates were exiting the debate stage and told Strong, “I’m coming after you. I’m going to get you.” Strong responded to Mrs. Wardynski, “OK, no-bid contract.” The exchange came from questions raised about Dr. Wardynski’s sudden resignation as superintendent of Huntsville City Schools in September 2016. Wardynski said he resigned because his relationship with then-Karen Lee, who was CEO of Pinnacle Schools, which did business with Huntsville Schools. Wardynski claimed that he didn’t want any ethical issues to occur because of their relationship and so he resigned. Wardynski said he was in a relationship with Lee in July, and by September, he knew he should resign. Wardynski stated, “I thought I should resign since I supervised her. It would create an ethical challenge that I didn’t want to have. They said, ‘No, no stay.’ On the 13th of September, my attorney wrote a letter and hand-carried it and never got an answer. So on the 15th, one month in, I resigned because I thought it would create an ethical problem.” All of Wardynski’s comments during the debate mirror his comments from AL.com at the time of his resignation in 2016. Wardynski stated, “I have talked to ethics attorneys, and I shared with responsible authorities with the school system when I felt that it was an issue.” The next question in the debate pertained to Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in schools. Wardynski said he supported the banning of CRT and that he had helped President Donald Trump remove CRT from the Army. Wardynski stated, “As far as school systems go, I was superintendent up until 2016, and I don’t recall anybody ever hearing of Critical Race Theory until 2020 when we saw the riots. That’s when it came on my radar in the Army.” Strong responded, arguing that CRT had, in fact, been in Huntsville schools back in 2015 and argued that there is evidence to prove it. “Parents, they saw it. Teacher in-service: they saw it. It says Critical Race Theory in 2015. Not only that, Common Core, my opponent supported that.” Strong continued, “Talk to the teachers; some 800 of them that were relieved of their jobs that did a lot less than what he did with this Pinnacle contract where he was getting personal sexual gratification from that contract. I think that the record is clear. He supported CRT, he supported Common Core, and he also supported that the dollar shouldn’t follow the child whenever we had failing schools, and that’s where I believe there’s a big difference.” Wardynski was allowed to respond to Strong’s comments and called the remarks “lies.” Wardynski reiterated that CRT wasn’t in Huntsville schools in 2015. Later in the debate, when asked about attack ads during campaigns, Wardynski said, “Ask this guy because he’s the one who did it first.” “He accused me of taking sexual favors from somebody to do work. You know, that’s a scumbag in my book,” Wardynski said of Strong. “This fellow has never served his country under the uniform or under the flag. I’ve got three kids serving around the world. They get to listen to this garbage. They don’t appreciate it.” Wardynski continued, “This is the kind of garbage you get out of a 26-year career politician who lives in the gutter. He works for people who date on Ashley Madison, and I don’t. I come from service, from a place where the motto is ‘duty, honor, country.’ I left the school system because it was the thing to do that was ethical, and he turns that into sex. That’s where his mind goes. That’s not what we need in Washington D.C.” Strong responded, “I stand behind my record.” He also argued that his attack ads came from accusations that he didn’t support Donald Trump.
Rand Paul to headline two events for Mo Brooks Friday. Pundits note the future of U.S. Senate leadership is on the line
Dr. Rand Paul will be headlining two campaign townhalls in Alabama for Congressman Mo Brooks for U.S. Senate. On Friday, June 17, Sen. Paul and Rep. Brooks will be at the Valley Hotel in Homewood, Alabama at 12 pm. At 3 pm, the duo will head to the Four Points by Sheraton in Huntsville. National media and insiders have noted that the Senate race between Brooks and opponent Katie Britt has become a proxy battle between Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump supporters within the party. While Trump pulled his endorsement of Brooks and endorsed Katie Britt, it hasn’t stopped Trump-like and Trump-supporting senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz from going all-in in their support of the firebrand congressman. Meanwhile, McConnell and his team favor Britt, the former president of the Business Council of Alabama and chief of staff to Richard Shelby. Both Paul and Cruz have campaigned on behalf of Brooks. Notably, Brooks’s first endorsement for his campaign was from Paul, back in May 2021. Paul stated, “I’m happy to endorse my friend Mo Brooks today for the U.S. Senate. Mo has proven time and time again he will stand up for liberty and do what he thinks is right. He will join me in fighting to lower spending, cut the size and power of government, curtail foreign aid, and stop our endless wars overseas. Mo will stand for the Bill of Rights and against the entrenched bipartisan power and big spenders in the Senate just as he has done in the House.”
Barry Moore supports legislation to designate fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
On Monday, Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert introduced the Fentanyl is a WMD Act to classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). This act comes in response to the rise in fentanyl deaths, which Boebert believes is caused by the ‘Biden Border Crisis.’ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths involving opioids increased from an estimated 70,029 in 2020 to 80,816 in 2021. Deaths from fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, rose to 71,238 in 2021 from 57,834 in 2020. In a speech yesterday, Rep. Barry Moore announced his support for Boebert’s legislation, agreeing that the border crisis was exacerbating the issue. “Last year alone, fentanyl killed more Americans than any weapon of mass destruction in our nation’s history,” noted Moore. “Fentanyl is now the number one cause of death for Americans aged 18-45 – not guns, not COVID-19, not even car accidents, but fentanyl. CDC numbers show more total drug overdose deaths last year in the U.S. than those killed by the atomic bomb blasts that ended World War II,” Moore said. “The direct cause of so many American deaths from fentanyl is the Biden administration’s surrender at our southern border,” Moore said. “In 2021 alone, more than 11,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized at our border. So, just imagine how much fentanyl got across the border and into our communities.” By listing fentanyl as a WMD, the legislation would direct the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office to allocate resources to address the fentanyl epidemic. Rep. Boebert stated, “Back home in Colorado, almost everyone I talk to knows someone who has died from fentanyl. Fentanyl is America’s silent killer and is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. The saddest thing about the fentanyl crisis is that it is preventable. National security experts know that the vast majority of deadly fentanyl plaguing our communities comes across the southern border. Just last year, Border Patrol encountered enough fentanyl at the border to kill every American seven times over. There is no way around it—the Biden Border Crisis is killing Americans. It is time to call fentanyl what it is: a weapon of mass destruction that is destroying our nation.” According to 1819 News, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) claimed that designating fentanyl as a WMD was unnecessary to address the issue. Additionally, they stated that the Homeland Security Act of 2002 “lacks a provision for classifying fentanyl as a WMD.” The report stated, “A statutory designation of fentanyl as a WMD does not appear necessary for additional executive branch action to address fentanyl as an illicit drug or chemical weapon, Congress may consider developing legislation to improve upon perceived shortcomings in the U.S. government’s approach to addressing fentanyl.”
Jim Zeigler calls Alabama’s low voter turnout “discouraging” but has plan to improve it
Secretary of State candidate Jim Zeigler called the 23% voter turnout in Alabama’s May primary “discouraging” but says he has a plan to improve turnout if elected. Zeigler led the May primary for Secretary of State with 43%, but 50% plus one vote is required for the nomination. He faces a runoff with state Rep. Wes Allen of Troy, who received 39% of the vote in the first primary. The runoff is next Tuesday, June 21. The Secretary of State is Alabama’s chief elections officer. “The current Secretary of State’s office ran a successful campaign to increase voter registration. The result was that Alabama now has the highest percentage of registered voters in its history and one of the highest in the nation. But registration is not the problem now — lack of turnout on election day is. Voters not turning out on election day is a major challenge,” Zeigler said. “When voters don’t turn out, the wrong person can get elected – a candidate who does not stand for the majority of the people,” Zeigler said. “A turnout of 10% to 15% has been predicted for the June 21 runoff. “ Zeigler says his plan is modeled after Alabama’s successful campaign that increased voter registration. “My plan is named ‘Don’t Vote, Don’t Complain.’ It will involve churches, employers, TV and radio personalities, athletes, celebrities, and civic groups. The goal is to double voter turnout within four years. It is an achievable goal.” “If elected, I would become Secretary of State in January 2023. I will have a trial version of the plan ready by the first special election. I will seek to have the plan active in all counties by the vital 2024 Presidential election.” “I expect the naysayers to say this plan is silly or impossible. I will ignore them while getting it done.” The Secretary of State is an open seat with incumbent John Merrill term-limited.
Republican AGs, 26 of 27, challenge new sex-based discrimination federal guidance
Half of the state attorneys general in the country want the Biden administration to walk back new federal guidance on sex-based discrimination for schools and other organizations that receive federal money for food programs. The AGs, 26 of the 27 Republicans in those offices across the country, claim in a letter to President Joe Biden the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s guidance means states, local agencies, and programs that receive federal food dollars through the Food and Nutrition Act and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program could lose funding if they don’t comply, including in hiring practices. “Using hungry children as a human shield in a policy dispute violates basic decency,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “Aren’t there any parents in the Biden administration that can see past the edges of their ideology?” In May, the USDA announced it will interpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex in Title IX to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. “USDA is committed to administering all its programs with equity and fairness and serving those in need with the highest dignity. A key step in advancing these principles is rooting out discrimination in any form – including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said. “At the same time, we must recognize the vulnerability of the LGBTQI+ communities and provide them with an avenue to grieve any discrimination they face. We hope that by standing firm against these inequities, we will help bring about much-needed change.” The AGs called the interpretation drastically broader than originally defined in Title IX. The guidance applies to about 100,000 public and nonprofit-private schools and residential child care institutions that participate in the national school breakfast and lunch programs, which provide subsidized free or reduced-price meals daily for nearly 30 million children. “We have long had a productive relationship with the federal government, managing various food and nutrition programs guided by the principles of cooperative federalism. We would like to continue this cooperative relationship. But the guidance flouts the rule of law, relies on patently incorrect legal analysis that is currently under scrutiny in the federal courts, and was issued without giving the states the requisite opportunity to be heard,” the letter reads. Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Virginia each signed the letter. The letter originates from Tennessee AG Herbert Slatery III. The only Republican AG to not sign was New Hampshire’s John Formula. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
J. Pepper Bryars: Here’s who funded some of those silly Pro-Katie Britt advertisements
My mailbox has been infested the last few weeks with a bunch of silly pro-Katie Britt flyers paid for by a group calling itself “Alabama Christian Conservatives.” Aside from insulting my intelligence with such juvenile propaganda, I found the group’s cynical attempt to exploit my connection to those three words — Alabama, Conservative, and Christian — especially aggravating, and the use of that last one a bit irreverent considering the manipulative language used on the flyers. So, I set out to find out just who the Alabama Conservative Christians really are. And guess what? It’s just a made-up name for a political action committee registered to some guy’s house in Austin, Texas, according to records at the Federal Election Commission (FEC). It received much of the millions it spent on these flyers and other advertisements from another political action committee (PAC), which itself received millions from another PAC, which in turn collected money from yet even more PACs, and so on. In the end, though, the Texas PAC posing as an Alabama Christian organization got most of its money from these guys, who together gave almost $15 million to it and other PACs supporting Katie Britt and opposing Mike Durant and Mo Brooks: And that’s just one money trail that I followed. There are probably more. It’s a shell game that most people aren’t inclined to follow, but the receipts are there and regularly updated for anyone who wishes to look: Step 1: Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC $10.9 million — That’s at least how much money was collected by the Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC since it was founded last September, according to FEC records. Some of the Pac’s money came from relatively small donations for this sort of game, like $50,000 from an Illinois company called Medical Pro and another $50,000 from billionaire private equity investor Marc Rowan (who, as a Jewish resident of New York City, seems an unusual candidate for membership in an organization called the Alabama Christian Conservatives). However, about 96% of the fund came from these three sources: $5.5 million was transferred in from Defend America PAC (this is the fund sponsored by Sen. Richard Shelby). $3 million was transferred in from Alabama’s Future PAC (more on it later). $2 million came from Francisco Collazo, chairman and founder of COLSA, a Huntsville-based engineering and service support company (we’ll see his name again). Of that, about: $3.1 million was spent supporting Katie Britt, That may be a confusing categorization because most of the flyers I received contained pro-Britt language on one side and language critical of her opponents on the other. $464,000 was spent opposing Mike Durant, $252,000 was spent opposing Mo Brooks, $4.7 million was transferred to the Alabama RINO PAC. Step 2: Alabama RINO PAC FEC records show that Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC accounted for 99.9% of all the money in the Alabama RINO PAC’s bank account as of early June. Of that, about: $2.6 million was spent opposing Mike Durant. $790,000 was spent opposing Mo Brooks. And here’s something interesting: both Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC and Alabama RINO PAC are both registered to the same residential address in Austin, Texas. State records show this is also the address of the Burton Strategy Group, and the registered agent is Jeff J. Burton. He’s a political consultant and lobbyist who once worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Why transfer money between two PACs that are funded by the same donors, operated by the same person, run out of the same house, and targeting the same race? The shell game continues… Step 3: Alabama’s Future PAC Now, back to Alabama’s Future PAC, which transferred $3 million to the Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC back in early April. Who are they? FEC records show the address of Alabama’s Future is a rented PostNet mailbox next to Winn-Dixie in Rainbow City, Alabama. (That’s a dismal metaphor for our state’s “future,” by the way.) $7.1 million — That’s how much money the Alabama Future’s PAC has collected since it was founded last October, according to the latest FEC records. The money came from just four sources: $3 million came from Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc. That’s the company owned by Jimmy Rane, the YellaWood guy from Abbeville. $2 million was transferred in from Senate Leadership Fund PAC. That’s the fund affiliated with Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. (By the way, Mitch McConnell? Big Trump supporter there! And he’s funding ads talking about Mo Brooks bailing on Trump? Laughable. Can’t we see we’re getting played?) $2 million came from Francisco Collazo, who also gave $2 million directly to Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC. $100,000 came from Warren Stephens, an investment banker who lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. Of that, about: $3.6 million was spent opposing Mo Brooks, $357,000 was spent supporting Katie Britt, $3 million was transferred to Alabama Christian Conservatives PAC … who sent me those ridiculous flyers. Step 4: Senate Leadership Fund PAC and Defend America PAC These two PACs have spent years collecting millions upon millions from all sorts of sources — from individuals like Marc Rowan and Warren Stephens, from companies like RAI Services, which makes cigarettes (Camel, Newport, Lucky Strike, etc.), and, of course, from other PACs, like those established by FedEx and General Electric. But here’s where you hike this trail for yourself, because it’s virtually endless. Anyone with an internet connection and a healthy level of curiosity can follow these trails by visiting the website of the Federal Election Commission: https://www.fec.gov. Once there, enter some names in the search box and start exploring. One thing will lead to another, and your eyes will be slowly opened to the level of money swamping our democracy. The Game I had to sketch this whole thing out on a legal pad to keep track of who was giving what to who. Here’s a better version: The Opposing View I reached out to Katie Britt’s campaign spokesman for her opinion about this, but he didn’t respond. In all likelihood, however, the Britt campaign didn’t make the rookie mistake of coordinating with the people who designed and launched those advertisements. That’s against the law. And based on what I’ve heard from people who know her, Katie Britt is a serious person, tough and smart,
Steve Flowers: Katie Britt favored to capture Senate Seat
Katie Britt is headed to a likely victory to fill our U.S. Senate seat in next Tuesday’s June 21 runoff. The 40-year-old, first-time candidate garnered an amazing 45% of the vote against two major candidates on May 24. She finished far ahead of second-place finisher Mo Brooks at 29% and third placeholder Mike Durant at 23%. She almost beat them without a runoff. Katie Britt carried 62 of the 67 counties in Alabama and barely lost the other five by a slim margin. Katie won overwhelmingly in most of the populous GOP counties in the state. As expected, she ran very well in her native Wiregrass, receiving 63% in her home county of Coffee. To the contrary, her opponent in the runoff, second-place finisher Mo Brooks, barely carried his home county of Madison by a 39 to 36 margin. In adjacent Limestone, a suburb county of Madison, the vote count was 7,130 for Brooks to 7,100 for Britt – a 30-vote margin. In short, Brooks lost his own congressional district to Katie Britt. It appears that home folks know you best. Those of us who have followed politics in Alabama and especially in southeast Alabama have watched Katie grow up in Enterprise. We have all said she has had governor or senator written all over her. She has been a leader her entire life. She was the leader of everything at Enterprise High School; she was Governor of Girls State, then she was President of the Student Government Association at Alabama. Soon after graduating from law school, she went to Washington and served five years as Chief of Staff to Senator Richard Shelby. She is about to take that seat in the U.S. Senate. She is scripted for the role. Katie will hit the ground running and will be an effective, conservative voice and advocate for Alabama. One of the primary reasons Katie won so overwhelmingly is that she outworked all of the others. She started over a year ago and worked all 67 counties in the state – especially the rural counties. She won the endorsement of the Alabama Farmers Federation the old-fashioned way. She got out and earned it. She started early and stayed late. She built a grassroots organization throughout the state, and it propelled her to a tremendous lead on May 24, and it will carry her over the line next week. Katie’s opponent, Mo Brooks, is a colorful character, almost comedic. During his almost 40 years in Alabama politics, he has built a legacy as a right-wing, ineffective, ideological gadfly. He has never passed a bill in his 16 years in the legislature or 12 years in Congress. He is unbelievably unashamed of his lack of effectiveness or achievement. He likes the mantle of being a right-wing ineffective nut. Mo and I served together in the Alabama House of Representatives for 16 years. He was immediately recognized as someone who wanted to accomplish nothing for his Huntsville district but wanted to sit on the back row and keep our voting record and rank as us on how conservative we were based on his criteria. You can only imagine how popular he was in the Alabama House. Mo could not have passed a bill or gotten anything done for Huntsville if he had wanted to. In fact, if we had a bill to pass, we would quietly say to Mo, “I’d like for you to vote for my bill, but please don’t speak for it.” Mo has built on his reputation as an ineffective right-wing nut during his tenure in Washington. They have written him off as a crazy gadfly. Both the Republican and Democratic U.S. Senate leadership in Washington would put Mo off in a corner and laugh at him. This would not be good for a state that depends on federal defense dollars to endure. He would be an albatross for our state. When asked about our U.S. Senate race a year ago, when Mo looked like a player, the witty and wise Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy quipped, “A U.S. Senate Seat is a terrible thing to waste.” Folks, under the entrenched Senate Seniority system, Alabama would probably be better served with a 40-year-old vibrant, able and conservative senator who can build power and seniority than a 69-year-old gadfly relegated to the corner of the Senate, who would continue to vote against Alabama interest like defense and agriculture. Mo’s allegiance would be to the clandestine, right-wing Club for Growth rather than the interests of Alabamians. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at: www.steveflowers.us.
ALGOP Chairman John Wahl calls on changes to primary system after ‘crossover voting’ issues
“Crossover voting” has become a hot topic of conversation among Republican leaders. Since 2010, crossover voting has not been allowed in primary runoff elections in Alabama. However, voters in Alabama are not required to register with a party prior to voting, so there is no mechanism to prevent crossover voting from happening in Republican primary elections because Alabama has open primaries. After Mo Brooks accused Senate opponent Katie Britt of soliciting Democrat votes in last month’s primary, Jennifer Montrose, president of the West Alabama Republican Assembly, issued a resolution requesting the Republican Party Steering Committee conduct “a fully public hearing or meeting with notice to the public to consider the facts and potential sanctions against candidate Katie Britt.” Now Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl is also calling for changes in the way Alabama Republican primaries are handled. Yellowhammer News reported that Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl said the comments that Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry made were “concerning”. Perry commented on Twitter about how “helpful” Republican Senate candidate Katie Britt was in electing Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate in 2017. Wahl said it was a wake-up call for the Republicans on how Democrats were trying to influence the Republican primary process. Wahl argued on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program” that it was time for a closed primary system in Alabama. “I’ll tell you one thing — next legislative cycle, I’m going to encourage closing the primary,” he commented, “and having a registered party system where we know only registered Republicans will be voting in the Republican primary.” Wahl continued, “[W]e are seeing in Alabama a push from the Democrats to try and insert themselves into our primary and have influence in picking out nominees,” he said, “and I think it’s very inappropriate.” Wahl said changing the primary process would be a major focus for him next session. “I’d like to think that even in politics good common sense reasoning and a good argument, when you can explain it, can carry the day. For me this is one of my number one targets for the next legislative cycle,” he concluded.
Preston Johnson avoids death penalty in Alabama officer’s killing
A man charged with capital murder in the killing of an Alabama police officer who was shot to death during a chase in 2020 avoided a potential death penalty by pleading guilty to a reduced charge. Preston Johnson, 39, of Addison pleaded guilty to intentional murder on Monday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the killing of Nick O’Rear, an officer with the Kimberly Police Department in Jefferson County north of Birmingham, news outlets reported. The sentence will run consecutively with a 16-year term he received in a federal firearms case. Police tried to stop a BMW driven by Johnson on Interstate 65 after they spotted it moving erratically, testimony showed. O’Rear was driving in front of the vehicle in an attempt to slow it down when he was struck in the head by a rifle shot fired from the BMW, evidence showed, and another police car also was hit. O’Rear was the father of two children, and his girlfriend was pregnant at the time of his death. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
In a boost, Mitch McConnell backs Senate bipartisan gun deal
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his support Tuesday for his chamber’s emerging bipartisan gun agreement, boosting momentum for modest but notable election-year action by Congress on an issue that’s deadlocked lawmakers for three decades. The Kentucky Republican said he hoped an outline of the accord, released Sunday by 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, would be translated into legislation and enacted. McConnell’s backing was the latest indication that last month’s gun massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, had reconfigured the political calculations for some in the GOP after years of steadfastly opposing even incremental tightening of firearms curbs. “If this framework becomes the actual piece of legislation, it’s a step forward, a step forward on a bipartisan basis,” McConnell told reporters. He said the proposal “further demonstrates to the American people” that lawmakers can work together on significant issues “to make progress for the country.” McConnell’s comments were striking, coming five months before midterm elections in which Republicans hope to win control of the Senate and seem likely to win a majority in the House. For years, GOP candidates could risk their careers by defying the views of the party’s loyal gun-owning and rural voters, who oppose moves seen as threatening their ownership and use of firearms. McConnell seemed to suggest that backing this gun measure might even help some Republicans’ prospects in November. While he said senators should take a position “based upon the views of their states,” he said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a chief architect of the deal, presented GOP polling data at a closed-door senators’ lunch saying support among gun owners for the agreement’s provisions is “off the charts, overwhelming.” The plan would, for the first time, make the juvenile records of gun buyers under age 21 part of required background checks. Money would be sent to states for mental health and school security programs and for incentives to enforce or enact local “red flag” laws that let authorities win court approval to temporarily remove guns from people considered dangerous. Senators and aides hope to translate their broad agreement into legislation in days in hopes that Congress could approve it before leaving for its July 4 recess. Both sides acknowledge that is a difficult process that could encounter disputes and delays. Some Republicans expressed unhappiness with the plan Tuesday, with much criticism aimed at its encouragement of “red flag” laws. Nineteen states mostly dominated by Democrats and the District of Columbia have them, but Republicans have blocked efforts in Congress to pass federal legislation on the subject. “If we’re not going to pass a federal red flag law, and we shouldn’t, why would we incentivize states to do something that we think is a bad idea?” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. “I don’t know what we can do in view of the Constitution,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said of the overall agreement, citing the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Cornyn defended the plan’s “red flag” proposal, saying it would create no national requirements for such laws. He said it gives “every state regardless of whether it has a ‘red flag’ law or not” money for programs aimed at improving public safety and helping troubled people get assistance. Texas does not have a “red flag” law. McConnell made clear he would only go so far in restricting firearms. Asked by a reporter why the federal minimum age is 21 for tobacco sales but 18 to buy rifles, he answered, “Good try.” He added that including state and local juvenile records in background checks for the youngest guy buyers was “a step in the right direction.” The alleged shooters in Buffalo, where 10 people were killed, and Uvalde, where 19 school children and two teachers were slain, were both 18 years old, a common profile for many mass shooters. A final agreement on overall legislation would be expected to receive solid support from Democrats. But it would need at least 10 GOP votes to reach the Senate’s usual 60-vote threshold, and McConnell’s plaudits raised hopes that Republican backing would grow beyond that. The framework also broadens the type of domestic abusers who’d be prohibited from buying guns, require more firearms sellers to conduct background checks, and impose tougher penalties on gun traffickers. The National Rifle Association said Sunday it wouldn’t take a position on the proposal until full legislation is produced. It warned it would oppose “gun control policies” or infringements on people’s “fundamental right to protect themselves.” The pro-gun lobby still has political muscle from its millions of dedicated members, who vote heavily on firearms issues. But GOP support for the new package is the latest threat to its power following recent financial scandals and lawsuits. Approval seems likely by the Democratic-run House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has praised the measure as a first step toward strong restrictions in the future. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would schedule votes on the legislation as soon as it is ready. He contrasted recent days’ progress with Congress’ failure to act after a parade of mass shootings in recent decades. “After Uvalde and Buffalo, perhaps this time could be different. To many senators on both sides, this debate certainly feels different,” Schumer said. Congress’ last major gun measure was an assault weapons ban that took effect in 1994 but expired 10 years later. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
