political posturing Archives -

NC Rep. Joe John Responds To Constituents

As I wrote yesterday, NC State Rep. Joe John (D-Wake) was one of six state representatives that changed their vote on H652. The result was that Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D-NC) veto was sustained. The other result is that churches with attached schools remain dangerous gun-free zones with congregants put at risk.

Rep. John sent a form email out to people who had written him asking him to over-ride the veto.

Thank you for your email concerning the veto override vote on H 652. As you probably know, I originally voted for the bill. The balance of interests at that time seemed to favor a “Yes” vote. However, I wanted you to hear from me personally that I have subsequently determined otherwise and voted yesterday to sustain the Governor’s veto.
I take seriously my responsibility to represent all House District 40 constituents, including those whose political party affiliation may not match my own. I recognize that, in this instance, you will be disappointed by my override vote. However, I received numerous communications from educators and parents, also constituents, raising valid concerns which were not fully evident earlier. Supporting our school systems is one of my top priorities and, as such, their concerns persuaded me that sustaining the Governor’s veto was the appropriate course of action.
I respect that your views on this issue were important enough to you to express them to me as your elected Representative. I hope you will continue to do so in the future.
Best regards,
Representative Joe John

H652 never applied to “school systems”. It applied only to non-public schools which were co-located with churches.

The only non-public schools in North Carolina that are part of a “school system” are Catholic schools in the Dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh. The bill contained a provision (Section 1a.(5)) that clarified that carry was forbidden in any church-school that was posted against carry. Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama of Raleigh and Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte have long made clear that carry is not welcome in Catholic churches.

Rep. John is engaging in sophistry. He wants you to think his backing of the governor’s veto was about protecting school children. It was nothing of the kind. It was a political favor owed to the governor and his progressive backers. The people of those congregations impacted be damned.

He must think his constituents are too stupid to be able to read the bill’s clear language. It is so clear that even a judge of long-standing like Joe John could not misconstrue it.

Ludicrous Posturing

It is like little kids posturing on the school yard. One kid says something and the other kid says, “Yeah? Well, I did that and this too!” So it is with politicians and firearms especially if they have D after their name.

The latest extreme example of this comes from my home state of North Carolina. Rep. Rodney Moore (R-Mecklenburg) says he’ll introduce a bill to raise the legal age to purchase a rifle to age 21.

Here is his rationale as reported by WRAL:

Rep. Rodney Moore said he didn’t need to look any further than the faces of the victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to know change was necessary.

“[They’re] very tragic examples of where we’ve become as a society in letting weapons of war be distributed on our streets,” Moore said.

His bill would per the usual exempt law enforcement, firefighters, and members of the military.

You are probably saying, “So what! Lots of people have said they want to raise the age to 21.”

Ah, but it gets better.

Penalties for using rifles to commit a crime in places like a school or public building would increase and the law would require a 90-day waiting period to purchase guns.

“We need to go through a thorough criminal background check. We need to do a mental evaluation and that is why we need the waiting period,” Moore said.

In a statement of extreme irony, Moore concludes by saying he supports the Second Amendment.

Moore said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment, but does not feel his proposal violates anybody’s rights.

“What it is doing is enhancing the safety of that particular amendment,” he said. “When the Second Amendment was written into the Constitution, the founding fathers had no idea how technology, how weapons would change.”

Raise the age to 21, add a 90-day waiting period, insist on a mental evaluation, AND say you are doing it to enhance the “safety” of the Second Amendment. In terms of political posturing that is going to be hard to beat.