The Daily Caller is reporting that there is turmoil in two of the nation’s leading gun prohibition lobbying organizations and the center of the storm allegedly is Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which has become something of a subsidiary of Everytown for Gun Safety.
Both organizations are supported by anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
Citing unnamed sources, the Daily Caller said Watts “remains a problem within both” Everytown and the Moms groups. Liberty Park Press has reached out to Watts for a reaction.
The story broke Thursday. It included a response from Everytown spokeswoman Kate Folmar that said: “This fake news is the result of how we are effectively providing a counter to the extremist leadership of the NRA. Our movement is strong and growing with more than three million volunteers beating back the gun lobby’s agenda in all 50 states.”
Two weeks ago, as the National Rifle Association was meeting in Atlanta, members of the Moms group demonstrated for more gun control. However, contrary to how this demonstration was portrayed in a Newsweek article bylined by Watts under a headline about going “toe-to-toe with the NRA” the demonstrations were in a park area a couple of blocks away.
While some protesters appeared to hear anti-gun Congressman John Lewis tell NRA members they weren’t welcome in Atlanta, more than 81,000 Second Amendment activists gathered for the convention.
On the horizon, the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility will gather for a fund-raiser on May 30. Their keynoter will be Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress. That group will be patting itself on the back for passage of the 2014 initiative that requires so-called “universal background checks” and last year’s Extreme Risk Protection Orders measure.
“Together,” their email says, “we have made Washington safer for our communities and families.”
Not according to recent headlines, however. Initiative 594’s background check requirement didn’t keep a gun out of the hands of a teen who allegedly shot three Seattle police officers before he was fatally wounded in a daylight shoplifting that went very bad.
The measure didn’t prevent the January slaying of Patrice Pitts on Jan. 29. Nor did the law prevent three fatal shootings last month in Seattle, Burien and Federal Way. It certainly didn’t prevent the Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington last year.
As for the alleged turmoil inside Everytown and Moms Demand Action, the Daily Caller report, again citing an unidentified source, said several key staffers have departed since Everytown promised to spend $25 million to elect anti-gunners to Congress next year in an effort to block National Concealed Carry Reciprocity legislation. However, gun owners who were instrumental in giving Republicans control of Congress are in no mood to wait that long for a law to be passed. They want Congress to move swiftly on concealed carry and the proposed Hearing Protection Act, which will make silencers more accessible.
When President Donald Trump spoke at the NRA convention, he promised a roaring crowd that he would never let them down. It may require some goading on his part to make sure the Congressional GOP doesn’t let them down, either.
Whether Watts is creating problems within the gun prohibition lobbying effort, if those measures do not pass on Capitol Hill with Republicans running the show, she will be able to claim a victory. Republicans who think gun rights activists will give them a pass for inaction this time around may be delusional.
Related:
Triumphant Trump Tells NRA Members, ‘I Will Come Through For You’
U.S. Congressman Tells NRA: ‘You Are Not Welcome Here’
‘Shoplift Shooting’ in Seattle Reveals Liberal Mindset
Anti-gunners Furious, Push Hysteria Over Trump’s NRA Talk
