GOP Gun Bill Loses Support Amid Outrage From Hunting, Conservation Groups

Five House Republicans have withdrawn as co-sponsors of a bill that aims to repeal an excise tax on firearms and ammunition which for decades has served as a financial pillar of the American model of wildlife conservation.

“Sometimes you look at a bill and, you know, it’s explained to be a positive and you look at it a little bit further and you change your mind,” Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) told HuffPost about his decision to un-sponsor the legislation.

The legislation, dubbed the RETURN Act (Repealing Excise Tax on Unalienable Rights Now) was introduced last month by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and dozens of other House Republicans. It takes aim at a tax that gun and ammunition manufacturers and importers have paid for more than a century. Since the passage of the bipartisan Pittman-Robertson Act in 1937, money collected through the tax — 11% on long guns, ammunition and archery equipment; 10% on handguns — has been distributed to states to pay for wildlife management and research, habitat conservation, land acquisition and hunter education.

Despite that long history and the popularity of the Pittman-Robertson Act among hunters, anglers, conservationists and the firearm industry, Clyde and other sponsors have painted the tax as an assault on the Second Amendment.

Rapper Rollie Bands Fatally Shot After He Told Haters To 'Pull Up' On Him

A rapper from Florida reportedly found out what happens when keeping it real goes incredibly wrong. After he issued a challenge to his enemies in a social media post, the rising artist was shot in front of his own home.

According to a report FOX 13 in Tampa published on Friday, July 22, a man was found face-down in the parking lot of the IQ Apartment complex. The victim was rushed to a local hospital, but unfortunately passed away from the single gunshot wound. The report doesn't confirm the victim's name but fans of Rollie Bands pointed out that he invited his opponents who "want smoke" to come to his home in a social media post.

"If a n***a want smoke, pull up,” Rollie Bands reportedly wrote in his Instagram Story on Friday. ” A lot of these n****s kno where I live at fr. I sleep in peace. If a n***a want smoke, I’m at my crib in 5 mins."

Minutes after he made the post, Rollie Bands was hit with a single gunshot wound that led to his death. He had only been rapping seriously for a couple of years. He had five videos on his YouTube channel and three songs uploaded to his SoundCloud account prior to his passing.

A high-profile pastor was robbed during a live-streamed service in NYC

Gunmen burst into a church as its pastor was live-streaming a service in Brooklyn on Sunday, making off with more than $1 million worth of jewelry from him and his wife, according to the New York Police Department.

The thieves targeted Bishop Lamor Whitehead, who heads the Leaders of Tomorrow International Churches and is known for flashy displays of wealth. Whitehead also describes New York Mayor Eric Adams, the former president of the Brooklyn borough, as his mentor.

Whitehead recounted the robbery in a video on Instagram, describing the moment during the morning service when he saw several armed men enter the Leaders of Tomorrow church in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn .

The armed men drove off in a Mercedes

"When I [saw] them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody, 'Get down,' Whitehead said. "I didn't know if they wanted to shoot the church up, or if they were just coming for a robbery."

Record 2.8 Million AR-15 And AK-Style Rifles Entered U.S. Circulation In 2020, Gun Group Says

TOPLINE 

The United States manufactured or imported just over 24.4 million AR-15 and AK-style guns—which are often known as assault rifles or modern sporting rifles—from 1990 to 2020, a firearm industry group estimated Wednesday, with a record number added in 2020, as Democratic lawmakers call to ban the sale of the popular weapons amid the mounting toll of mass shootings carried out with them.

KEY FACTS

The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates the United States imported or manufactured a record-breaking 2.8 million AR-15 and AK-style rifles in 2020 alone (NSSF subtracted exports to other countries from its figures).

It’s a sizable jump from NSSF’s last recorded figures, which estimated almost 20 million of these rifles were in circulation in the United States as of 2018.

Manufacturing figures for AR-15 and AK-style rifles, minus exports, have exploded in recent decades, from fewer than 100,000 annually in the late 1990s—when many of those firearms were prohibited for civilian use under the 1994-2004 federal assault weapons ban—to more than 1 million every year since 2015.

'Good Samaritan' Who Killed Mall Shooter Broke Property Rules Against Guns

The good Samaritan who shot and killed the gunman who opened fire in the Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana on Sunday afternoon reportedly broke the property's policy against weapons.

The suspected shooter entered the mall on Sunday carrying a rifle and multiple magazines and opened fire in the food court, killing at least three and injuring three before he was shot to death. Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said the suspected shooter was killed by a "good Samaritan with a handgun."

While the armed bystander reportedly had a legal gun permit, the mall's property policy does not permit weapons on the premises.

The mall is owned by Simon Property Group, and the group's code of conduct, last updated in April of 2020, lists "No weapons" as number three.

PSA ON NUCLEAR ATTACK LEAVES NEW YORK CITY RESIDENTS WORRIED, BAFFLED

New York City residents are accustomed to warnings about all kinds of potential threats -- severe weather, public health, mass shootings.

But a new PSA on surviving a nuclear attack has rattled some cages.

Released this week by the city's emergency management agency, the 90-second video advises citizens to stay indoors and wash off any radioactive dust or ash. It opens on a computer-generated street, devoid of life. Damaged skyscrapers can be seen in the background.

Looking into the camera, a spokesperson says: "So there's been a nuclear attack. Don't ask me how or why. Just know that the big one has hit."

2 minors surrender in connection with beating death of 73-year-old man

Two brothers have surrendered to police in connection with a fatal attack on a 73-year-old man, days after authorities released footage of the assault, police said.

The brothers -- ages 10 and 14 -- surrendered on Monday, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

The development comes after the department released disturbing surveillance footage on Friday of the deadly attack, which occurred around 2:30 a.m. on June 24.

In the footage, a group of presumed teenagers can be seen chasing a person, who is blurred, across a street in North Philadelphia. One of the teens is captured hurling a traffic cone at the victim. A girl is then seen picking up the traffic cone and repeatedly throwing it at the victim.

U of M to hold forum Monday as summer crime spree raises campus safety concerns

The University of Minnesota will hold a forum focused on public safety issues from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, and groups the university lists as “stakeholders” in campus safety are invited to attend.

The forum comes at a time when many parents of U of M students are asking if the campus is safe for their children.

Last week, police began investigating the most recent incident after shots were fired at housing where many U of M students live. The gunfire near Dinkytown apartment buildings prompted one student’s mother to race from southern Minnesota to check on her daughter.

“All of a sudden, I heard gunshots; I heard them flying through my apartment, so my first instinct was to roll off my bed and take cover. I’m like, what if one flies through my window?” Makayla Pahl, a member of the Gopher women’s hockey team, expressed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Eric Chaloux.

Americans can't handle their guns. Time to repeal the 2nd Amendment.

We must repeal the Second Amendment if we want this country to ever be safe again. 

Whether it's killings by police, like the 60 bullets fired into Jayland Walker, or by civilians like in Highland Park, Illinois, Uvalde, Texas, or Buffalo, New York our national record on gun violence is an international embarrassment. It can't be reformed without doing away with guns entirely. 

States like California and New York that have tried to set restrictive gun laws can do little when guns are trafficked in from other states. What's more – legislative attempts at restricting gun rights were recently shot down by a Supreme Court gone rogue. 

We're way beyond what the framers ever had in mind for gun rights already. And for a selective originalist Supreme Court conservative majority, it's hard to justify glossing over the history behind the Second Amendment.