Under Cover of Darkness U.S. Senate Passes New Gun Control Laws

UPDATE: 3-14-2022 AmmoLand News Updated this article with a statement from Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- Gun Control has been signed into law by President Biden with the support of turncoat Republicans.

In the middle of the night, the U.S. Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA). Some gun rights groups raised alarm bells when this act passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year with Republican support. At the time, some Republicans claimed the anti-gun provisions would be removed.

Democrats and Republicans led by Senator Jodi Ernst negotiated the bill’s anti-gun provisions.

Republican politicians, who previously vowed never to vote for the bill unless the anti-gun provisions were removed, voted yes with those anti-gun provisions fully intact.

The following Republicans voted for this: h/t@JSNMGC

• Barrasso (R-WY)
• Blunt (R-MO)
• Capito (R-WV)
• Collins (R-ME)
• Cornyn (R-TX)
• Ernst (R-IA)
• Graham (R-SC)
• Grassley (R-IA)
• Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
• McConnell (R-KY)
• Moran (R-KS)
• Murkowski (R-AK)
• Portman (R-OH)
• Shelby (R-AL)
• Thune (R-SD)
• Tuberville (R-AL)
• Wicker (R-MS)
• Young (R-IN)

Prominently among those Republicans to betray the Second Amendment was Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Senator Hyde-Smith had previously released a statement to AmmoLand News that she would never vote for the bill in its anti-gun version. The previous statement was given to AmmoLand News after receiving a tip that Senator Hyde-Smith was open to the bill with the anti-gun provisions intact.

March 14th, 2022, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith provided this statement to explain her vote for VAWA:

“Senator Hyde-Smith’s position on the Second Amendment has not changed. The underlying measure placed before the Senate was one to keep the government operating and help the people of Ukraine fight an unhinged foreign dictator. Senator Hyde-Smith does not support the mentioned VAWA provisions and will continue to fight to protect Second Amendment rights.”

NICS Denial Notification Act

The bill includes the NICS Denial Notification Act. This provision will require the criminal investigation of all National Instant Criminal Background Check System denials. The vast majority of NICS denials are false.

The bill’s passage means that thousands of law-abiding Americans will be subject to criminal investigation due to a mistake in a flawed government database. Guilty until proven innocent.

Empowering ATF

Another provision in the bill will allow the deputization of local law enforcement by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). This provision is a direct attack against states with Second Amendment Protection Acts (SAPA). Those bills prevent state and local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun control, but since VAWA allows for the deputization of local law enforcement, that means the federal government can restore the power of local police to enforce federal gun laws by making them agents of ATF.

The bill also includes funds for “gun violence” research. Federal research into gun violence has always been flawed in the past. Instead of using evidence-based science to come to a conclusion, the government has been caught using a predetermined result. The federal agency would decide on a conclusion they wanted first and work backward by using evidence to back up their opinion while ignoring evidence contradicting their stance. The practice was highlighted by whistleblower Dr. Miguel Faria whose testimony in front of Congress ended funding for gun violence research by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

While most gun rights groups have been fighting against the VAWA’s gun-control provisions, there have been rumblings that the NRA lobbyists told Senators that the powerful gun group was neutral on the bill giving those Senators the green light to vote for VAWA. This information was given to AmmoLand News by multiple Congressional staffers on the hill. AmmoLand News has been working to confirm or dispel the rumor with NRA-ILA but so far the NRA has yet to provide a clear statement.

AmmoLand News has reached out to the offices of the Republican Senators that voted for the bill for comment, but none of those Senators have responded to our request.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.