Gun rights activists hold conference
Bamacarry, a statewide pro-second amendment group, held their annual firearms conference in Prattville Saturday, ahead of the 2023 Legislative session. Kris Anne Hall, a Christian constitutional attorney, author, and professor, was the featured speaker. Hall said that guns and the second amendment are “very important, but sometimes we need to take a step back and get reacquainted with the principles on which our constitutional republic was founded.” Hall implored people to read and be better informed on U.S. history and the Constitution. “I have studied and taught on the constitutions of all fifty states,” Hall said. “I have presented in 49 of the 50 states – Hawaii is the one I haven’t got to. Every single time I teach a state constitution, I have people who come up to me and whisper in my ear. ‘Thank you for coming and teaching us about our state constitution. I did not even know we had a state constitution.’” Hall argued that history education has become “watered down.” “We have online classes that teach American history back to 1660,” Hall explained. “The American education system has so watered down the teaching of our American history that it is no longer recognizable.” “There is not a single solitary person you are going to send to Washington DC to fix what is wrong with America,” said Hall continued. “Our hope does not rest with the President of the United States.” Hall called for Americans to understand the U.S. Constitution. “We don’t need to rewrite our Constitution. We just need to read it,” Hall said. “To pursue liberty, we must pursue knowledge. Knowledge is not watching what they tell you on television. I have had a podcast for nine years. Let me be clear, watching a podcast is not pursuing knowledge.” “If the constitution can give rights you can amend the constitution to take them away,” Hall explained. Rights come from natural law, which comes from our Creator.” Hall spoke out against executive mandates ordering the closing of churches and businesses during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. “Power without legislative consent is null and void,” Hall said. “We have an obligation to our children to non-comply with any order that is outside of the constitution.” Many of Bamacarry’s county groups have grown inactive due to COVID fears and restaurants and venues closing during the global pandemic. Johnny Moore Jr. is the Bamacarry Coordinator tasked with reversing that trend. “I am the coordinator, and I want to get all 67 counties going,” Moore told the estimated 165 people in attendance. Former State Sen. Scott Beason is a talk radio show host in Birmingham on 92.5 FM. Beason announced that his show will soon expand to Montgomery on 93.1 FM. “We live in a weird world now,” Beason said. “We live in a strange time. Most of us are older. Most of us can remember some of the things from 15 years ago. Remember when we thought we are never going to have two guys getting married? Now we don’t even know that they are guys. Adam and Steve got married, and now they are women. How did we get here?” “Bamacarry has made a huge difference in gun laws in Alabama,” Beason continued. “I was the sponsor of the first constitutional carry bill back in 2010.” “Maybe we watch our phone too much; maybe we watch TV too much; maybe we pay too much attention to what the Los Angeles Dodger or the Atlanta Braves and what their stats are,” Beason argued. “The right to bear arms is in the Constitution. It has also been in the State Constitution since 1819. Every citizen has a fundamental right to bear arms.” Beason was the sponsor of the 2013 Omnibus Gun bill. “Why in 2013 did we need an omnibus gun law?” Beason said. “The reason is that somewhere along the way, we forgot, and we forgot what was given to us by our forbearers. The courts forgot. Judges forgot. Law enforcement forgot. Legislators forgot. Sometimes we need to remember what is there. Y’all have reminded legislators what our rights are.” Beason believes prayer should be allowed in school. “We used to teach prayer in school – I am for that,” Beason said. “There is right and wrong, and someday you are going to have to answer to God for what you did in this life.” “Students meet in Bible classes and prayer services after school,” Beason continued. “In Arkansas, the left has decided that they are going to have a Satanist Club after school. Freedom of religion is freedom of religion, after all. Do you think that George Washington would be for it? Satanists are now claiming that abortion is one of their religious rights.” Stephen Willeford spoke at the meeting as well. Willeford, a ‘good guy with a gun,’ shot and ultimately killed mass shooter Devin Patrick Kelly after Kelly killed two dozen people in the Baptist Church in his neighborhood in Texas. Willeford, a plumber who worked for a hospital, was on call that weekend. He was resting in his bed when he heard shots. Willeford’s daughter rushed in to tell him that a shooter in body armor was attacking the Church next door. “I ran to my safe and grabbed an AR-15 (a semi-automatic rifle),” Willeford said. “I got behind a truck. I hit him in the chest. I hit him in the abdomen. Both were stopped by the body armor.” When Kelly turned to get in his vehicle – that gave Willeford his opportunity. “I put one in his side where it was not covered by the armored plate,” Willeford said. “I put another one in his waste.” Willeford then flagged down a motorist, and the two drove after Kelly in hot pursuit of the gray Ford Escape – the driver talking to police dispatchers and Willeford shooting. “My shots must have mattered,” Willeford said because Kelly eventually ran off the road dead. “Nobody is coming to rescue you,” Willeford said. “I have the highest respect for law enforcement, but they are
Jim Zeigler: Don’t give Nancy Pelosi an extra vote and extra funds
“Alabama would lose an electoral vote in presidential elections. That vote would not disappear. It would go left.”
Scott Beason and Michael Hart revive conservative talk radio 92.5 WYDE
Two of Alabama’s favorite conservative talk radio hosts are back on-air!
Former state Sen. Scott Beason announces exit from Yellowhammer Radio
Yellowhammer Radio talk show host conservative former state Sen. Scott Beason announced on his Facebook page late Wednesday night he is leaving his daily radio show. Beason started his stint on the two-hour call-in show on WYDE-FM 101.1 in January 2016, taking over from previous host, the show’s creator and the founder of Yellowhammer News, Cliff Sims. The longtime state legislator from the north Birmingham suburb of Gardendale did not say why he is leaving, simply saying he will “talk” again soon.
Scott Beason: Squeaky wheels
The regular session of the Alabama Legislature is over and some folks in our state are looking at the lack of a General Fund budget as a failure of the legislative branch of government. Keep in mind that the Legislature, in passing a General Fund budget, fulfilled its constitutional responsibility, but the passed budget was vetoed by the governor. The Legislative Session should be seen as a victory for responsible budgeting, fiscal responsibility, and economic viability for Alabama. Conservative members of the Legislature held the line on tax increases and should be commended for doing so. (There was the hiccup of allowing hundreds of state fees to be raised considerably by bureaucrats, but that is a discussion for another day.) While groups such as the Alabama Free Market Alliance worked to inform the residents of the state about what was happening in Montgomery, the real reason behind the Legislature not passing taxes increases was that the people let their voices be heard. The old adage that the squeaky wheel gets the grease is very true in politics. An elected official who only hears from one side of the debate begins to believe that the other side must not care very much, and it gets easier to vote the way of the squeaky wheel. Entities that live off government, including the beneficiaries of corporate welfare, squeak loudly. Many times taxpayers focus on their lives and just hope for the best. This spring taxpayers spoke up some and good legislators held the line. Taxpayers have more work to do. A Special Session will likely take place this summer. The proper philosophy of budgeting is to prioritize spending according to money the state has. Unfortunately, the bigger-government crowd has a philosophy of budgeting that decides what they want to do and then set out to forcibly extract enough money from the people to pay for their wish list. Which philosophy does your legislator believe in? Let’s enjoy a brief victory, and let our conservative legislators know how much we appreciate them holding the line on taxes. Let’s hope other legislators will join the conservatives and do the budget reforms that Alabama needs: abandon earmarks, unify the budgets, and prioritize spending. A little more squeezing might actually foster a big win later this summer. Scott Beason is senior policy adviser at the Alabama Free Market Alliance.
AFMA policy advisor Scott Beason leads charge against tax hikes
Alabama taxpayers are fighting back against millions of dollars in new tax hikes proposed by Gov. Robert Bentley. As senior policy advisor for the Alabama Free Market Alliance, former state Sen. Scott Beason leads the charge with BentleyTaxHike.com. The website has a petition calling to hold the governor accountable on his 2014 campaign promise of “no new taxes.” “One of the things I’m starting on right off the bat is working against taxes,” the Gardendale Republican told reporter Elizabeth Beshears. “AFMA is a low tax, low regulation, pro-economic growth group and we want to help people understand economic issues and how they affect them.” Beason was not impressed with Bentley’s description of his suggested $541 million tax increase plan as “bold.” “Bold leadership,” he said, “would be to un-earmark the budgets, to go to one budget, and let this new legislature prioritize spending. … Straightening out 140 years of state government debacles is very difficult. I understand that. “It’s very difficult if a whole department has to go away because it’s not part of the proper role of government.” While in office, Beason developed a reputation for vocal opposition to new taxes. At the time, Sen. Beason prevented Jefferson County from amending the state constitution to revive occupational taxes. “They told me it was going to shut down the county government, but I just went and got my tag renewed last week and they’re still alive and kicking,” Beason told Beshears. At AFMA, Beason has a chance to take on larger issues. With so many troubles from the federal government, he said, new business regulations are coming every day. “Every business owner probably violates some federal law or regulation every day,” he added, “because they don’t even know it exists is ridiculous.” With increasing regulatory burdens, such as excess EPA regulations on business owners, Beason believes life for business owners has become both difficult and expensive, and will take its toll on consumers. “These things are a real risk,” he warns. Utility companies will pay more, leading to higher rates for customers. “Even though the federal government thinks it can hide it in your power bill,” Beason added. “It’s still a tax increase.” Yellowhammer named AFMA one of the state’s top five conservative groups in 2013. AFMA Chair Paul Reynolds also serves as National Committeeman for Alabama on the Republican National Committee.
