Dana Loesch: Biden's gun safety executive order is an attack on due process

Former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch discusses why Joe Biden's executive order on gun safety is an attack on due process and Second Amendment rights.

Recommended Stories

  • Speaker Pelosi remembers Officer Evans

    "He represented the best of public service, selflessness, sacrifice and sheer courage in the face of a threat to our nation," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

  • Explainer - More guns than people: Why tighter U.S. firearms laws are unlikely

    President Joe Biden announced limited measures to tackle gun violence in the United States last week, but more ambitious steps will be harder to enact despite widespread public support. With about 121 firearms in circulation for every 100 residents, the United States is by far the most heavily armed society in the world, according to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, a research group. However, gun ownership is becoming less common across the country.

  • Ford Bronco drops Vermont Off-Roadeo site after locals object

    Buyers of the 2021 Ford Bronco, as well as those who purchase the top-spec Badlands version of the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, earn entry to a one-and-a-half-day trail-riding experience at a Bronco Off-Roadeo. Ford has advertised four Off-Roadeo locations in Vermont, Texas, Utah, and Nevada, but is now withdrawing from the Vermont site after local residents objected. The Vermont location, in South Pomfret, was to be on the site of the Suicide Six ski resort and operate during the off-season.

  • Explainer: Why tighter U.S. firearm laws are unlikely

    “Gun violence in this country is an epidemic and it’s an international embarrassment.” President Joe Biden promised to tighten gun laws but he’ll find it difficult to make good on that ambitious pledge, despite widespread public support.The United States has more guns than people.For every 100 residents, there are about 121 firearms in circulation, making the U.S. by far the most heavily armed society in the world. That figure belies the fact that gun ownership is actually becoming less common.Nearly a half of households owned firearms in 1990.That had dropped to a third by 2016. But ownership varies greatly state by state.In New Jersey, for example, 8% of households have guns.In Montana, it’s 66%. The U.S. Constitution enshrines the "right to bear arms". That's been interpreted to allow individuals to keep handguns at home for self defense - a right cherished by gun advocates.The federal government requires a criminal background check for most gun buyers, though and tightly regulates the ownership of fully automatic machine guns and silencers. Most other gun laws are set at the state level, where policies vary widely. Many Democratic-dominated states, like California, have tightened their laws. Rural and Republican-dominated states, such as Mississippi, are much more permissive. Most Americans do support tougher gun laws, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. But politicians in Washington have done little on the issue in recent years. One reason why? Those small, rural states where gun ownership is widespread have disproportionate influence in the U.S. Senate.[President Joe Biden, saying:] “This is not it and should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue.” In March, the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, passed legislation to expand background checks. But it faces long odds in the Senate, which is split 50-50 with Republicans.[Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying:] "No more hopes and prayers, thoughts and prayers. A vote is what we need.”Presidents can act on their own. After 2018’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, which killed 58 people, Donald Trump banned what are called "bump stocks” - a gun part that allows semi-automatic rifles to fire at a similar rate to fully automatic ones. For Biden, the focus is on so-called "ghost guns". [President Joe Biden, saying:] "These are guns that are homemade, built from a kit that include directions and how to finish the firearm. You can go buy the kit. They have no serial numbers. So when they show up at a crime scene, they can't be traced. “ It seems the political landscape may be shifting. The National Rifle Association was one of the most powerful lobbying groups, but its hold is potentially waning. In 2016, it gave $55 million to presidential and congressional candidates. In 2020, it was $30 million.Meanwhile gun-control groups, like Moms Demand Action, have stepped up lobbying expenses over the past decade - though they still trail gun-rights groups as a whole.

  • Number of unauthorized immigrants in U.S. steadied over past 2 decades

    Data: Pew Research Center and Migration Policy Institute; Chart: Will Chase/AxiosThe number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States has fallen or flattened after rapid growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to estimates by think tanks like the Migration Policy Institute and Pew Research Center.The big picture: The overall number is about 11 million. While the surge of Central Americans trying to cross the border has attracted recent headlines, there has been a steady decline in the number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.These fluctuations mean the current influx and another in 2019 are more likely to change the demographic makeup of the undocumented population, rather than the overall number, MPI's research director Randy Capps told Axios.Between the lines: In recent years, roughly two-thirds of new, unauthorized immigrants came to the U.S. legally but overstayed their visas — as opposed to crossing the border unlawfully, Capps said.This is especially common among the rising number of unauthorized immigrants from Asian countries.Of note: It's difficult to get an accurate count of the unauthorized immigrant population. Researchers can use slightly different models, which leads to the disparities seen in the chart above.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

  • As Biden's emissaries go to Taiwan, China terms exercises 'combat drills'

    BEIJING (Reuters) -China described its military exercises near Taiwan as "combat drills" on Wednesday, upping the ante as senior former U.S. officials arrived in Taipei on a trip to signal President Joe Biden's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy. Taiwan has complained over the proximity of repeated Chinese military activity, including fighter jets and bombers entering its air defence zone and a Chinese aircraft carrier exercising off the island, which is claimed by Beijing. Twenty-five Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday, the largest reported incursion by Taipei to date.

  • Josh Hawley of Capitol Riot Fame Introduces Bill to Limit Big-Tech Monopolies

    United States Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a frequent critic of Big Tech who gained notoriety for his role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots, got more headlines on Monday for introducing a bill aimed at...

  • Mexico arrests 30 marines over disappearances in Tamaulipas

    The victims went missing in 2014 when the marines were deployed near the US border, officials say.

  • Former Airstrip Now Hides Huge Classic Car Collection

    This is a desert find of a lifetime!

  • I Weigh 300 Pounds—These Are The Everyday Challenges Of Being Overweight That People Don't Talk About

    "Every time I put up a happy post on social media in a cute outfit or (gasp!) a bathing suit, I inevitably get comments about how 'brave' I am."

  • Loved ones wait for missing from capsized boat

    Family members gather at a fire station as search and rescue efforts continue for missing workers and crew of a capsized ship off Louisiana. (April 14)

  • Taliban Promises ‘Nightmare’ for U.S. Troops in Final Afghanistan Stretch

    NOORULLAH SHIRZADA/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Taliban never kept secret what their reaction would be if the Biden administration delays the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and now that it’s happened, U.S. forces may have to deal with a new, unbridled wave of violence and bloodshed in the months leading up to the new September pull-out deadline.Hours after news broke on Tuesday that following a “rigorous policy review,” President Joe Biden is planning to have all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11—a break away from the previously agreed May 1 deadline—Taliban military leaders sat down for a policy review of their own. The group then announced it would be boycotting peace talks unless “all foreign forces completely withdraw from our homeland.”Speaking to The Daily Beast on Wednesday, Mullah Salih Khan, a Taliban group commander from Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, said that the insurgent group is “very much prepared to strike,” against U.S. and Afghan government forces, warning that the militants will turn Afghanistan “into a nightmare” for them.Mullah Mujahid Rahman, a Taliban subcommander from the Ghazni province, added that the U.S. has “proven they can’t be trusted after retreating from the May 1 deadline,” and that the group is willing to “fight till the end” of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.“We have the pride of defeating about 100,000 invaders from [different] countries in Afghanistan. A few thousand won’t be a problem at all,” he said, referring to the 3,500 American troops still stationed in the country.Taliban Boycotts Key Peace Talks After U.S. Pull-Out DelayExperts say this reaction shouldn’t come as a surprise.“Afghanistan will likely see an unrestricted fighting season, with attacks on Afghan provincial capitals as well as against foreign forces,” Andrew Watkins, Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for Afghanistan, told The Daily Beast. “It is hard to say if the talks have been entirely halted, but it’s also difficult to see any reason for the Taliban to continue, if, as they seem to suggest so far, the Doha deal has been broken by the U.S.”There were signs of the violence-to-come even before U.S. officials shared news of the extended deadline, when rumors of a seemingly inevitable delay were swirling both domestically and abroad.Most dramatic among them was one video shared across their social media platforms last week, portraying what appears to be the Taliban’s training facility, somewhere between the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The 50-second clip, made in English for the benefit of international parties, shows an assortment of 50 odd young men—part of the Taliban’s martyrdom-seeking forces of suicide bombers and fighters—dressed in military fatigues and with their faces covered.Wearing a jacket with the initials “I.E.A”, an acronym for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan—the Taliban’s self-given name—one of them issues a warning against the Americans: “God willing, if they do not abide by the agreement they will be responsible for the killing in the next war,” he said, adding that the martyrdom forces are “waiting the order of the Emir and the establishment of the Islamic system all around the world.”“It seems clear from the Taliban’s response that even if they privately celebrate the news of a U.S. withdrawal, the primary mood is mistrust, and they reject the announcement as an abrogation of the U.S.-Taliban deal,” said Watkins, adding that while the Taliban may resume talks with Americans, “there is very little chance of the Taliban committing to real compromise in peace talks with other Afghan stakeholders.”Other stakeholders believe that the seeming disintegration of the peace process might not entirely be on Biden, but can also be attributed to developing fractures within the Taliban’s insurgency.“Not all of the Taliban have been in favor of power-sharing, inclusive governments. Many among them want a monopoly over everything,” Rahmatullah Nabil, a former Afghan spy chief, told The Daily Beast.He was referring to the many recent proposals made public that detail a potential deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government. One such proposal from the U.S. recommended a power-sharing agreement between the warring parties and has been criticized by the members of the U.S. Congress.Biden Desperate for Last-Ditch Afghan Deal Before Admitting He’ll Miss Trump’s Withdrawal DeadlineNabil continues to maintain strong intelligence networks and had previously warned of the Taliban’s lack of commitment to the process and the U.S.-facilitated deal, which seems to have emboldened the insurgent group.“The Taliban is consulting with their leaders in Pakistan… but with no actual pressure on the Taliban’s main backers like the Pakistani military and ISI, we will plunge into another crisis if the peace process collapses and Americans withdraw,” he warned.Hekmatullah Azamy, deputy director of the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies, an Afghan think tank closely observing the political and security developments, gave a similar assessment.“The Taliban’s military wing feels compelled to teach the Americans a lesson for not abiding with their promised deadline, and as such, they will restart the violence. Unfortunately, the political wing that is conducting the negotiations is unable to convince them otherwise,” Azamy told The Daily Beast.In any case, an increase in violence seems inevitable.“Such units are already prepared for battle,” Azamy said, referring to the information gathered by his organization. “They understand that it won’t be easy, and the U.S. is fully equipped to respond to their attacks. But many among them are willing to engage in conflict anyway.”Meanwhile, Afghan government officials are opting to remain optimistic, as the U.S.’s extended stay in Afghanistan gives them a little more time to develop diplomatic and political pressure on the Taliban to agree to a possible ceasefire.“I think the U.S.’s extension on troop withdrawal could be a good thing for Afghanistan. It will force the Taliban to reconsider their stance,” a senior Afghan security official told The Daily Beast. But the official was less certain that the Taliban would actually escalate violence against the U.S. right away: “They have gained so much, it is unlikely that they will risk it all,” he said.Some in the Taliban, however, continue to promise otherwise.“We never paused our Jihad after the U.S.-Taliban deal,” said Mullah Salih Khan, one of the Taliban commanders who spoke to The Daily Beast. “There is nothing for the Taliban to lose, but the puppet Afghan government will lose everything.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Magic mushroom compound at least as good as antidepressant in UK study

    Psilocybin, the psychedelic active compound in magic mushrooms, may be at least as effective as a leading antidepressant drug and could help more patients into remission from severe depression, a small study by British scientists has found. The findings, in the first-of-a-kind head-to-head comparison of psilocybin therapy and the antidepressant escitalopram, suggests the psychoactive ingredient has promise as a potential mental health treatment, the researchers said. "Remission rates were twice as high in the psilocybin group than the escitalopram group," Robin Carhart-Harris, who designed and led the study as head of the centre for psychedelic research at Imperial College London, told a briefing.

  • Battle-hardened and better funded, Ukraine's army knocks on NATO's door

    At the outbreak of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian army was so poorly equipped that ordinary citizens were knitting socks, donating scrap metal and even crowdfunding a tank for soldiers at the front line. The government that took over after the Maidan street protests said it had only 5,000 combat-ready ground troops and did not put up a fight when Russian forces seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula in March that year. But the Crimea annexation and seven years of fighting Russian-backed forces in the eastern Donbass region drove Ukraine to overhaul its military, combining a huge increase in defence spending with aid and training from Western allies.

  • Afghanistan: 'We have won the war, America has lost', say Taliban

    A BBC team meets the Taliban, a group that clearly sees itself as Afghanistan's government-in-waiting.

  • Taiwan tells Biden emissaries it will counter China's 'adventurous manoeuvres' with U.S

    Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen told emissaries visiting at U.S. President Joe Biden's request on Thursday that the island would work with the United States to deter threats from Chinese military activities. Former senior U.S. officials, including former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, are visiting Taipei in a trip to signal Biden's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.

  • Mom suspected in children's deaths pleads in carjacking case

    A California woman suspected of killing her three children pleaded not guilty Wednesday to carjacking during an alleged escape. Liliana Carrillo, 30, entered pleas in a Kern County courtroom to four felony counts of carjacking, attempted carjacking and auto theft. Carrillo's three children were found dead Saturday by their maternal grandmother in her apartment in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles.

  • Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations offered at Dorchester site on Wednesday

    Setting up a vaccine appointment has been a challenge for a lot of Massachusetts residents, so the walk-in clinics are a welcome sight.

  • Ivanka Trump Gets the Pfizer Jab. Her Anti-Vax Fans Are Not Happy.

    via TwitterIvanka Trump broke her post-inaugural social media silence with some personal news: she’s vaccinated. The former presidential advisor announced via Instagram, Twitter, and a statement sent to the AP that she had received her first Pfizer jab. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) “Today, I got the shot!!! I hope that you do too! Thank you Nurse Torres!!!” Ivanka captioned a photo. In the snap, she wears a tie-dye face mask, white t-shirt and jeans while a nurse in pink scrubs administers the dose. Per the AP, Ivanka received the vaccine in her adopted home state of Florida, where she moved with Jared Kushner and her children after leaving DC. Two sources said that she had the option to get her shot when her father was still in office, but chose to hold off. Ivanka Trump, Miami Beach Bum, Plots Her Next MoveUnsurprisingly, not all fans of the woman whose father consistently downplayed the pandemic and scoffed at basic COVID safety precautions are happy with this news. Her Instagram post has devolved into a deluge of complaints regarding her choice to get the shot. “Bummer. I was hoping you were above this kind of virtue signaling,” one person wrote on Instagram. “Hell no. Quit telling perfectly healthy people to take this so called vaccine,” another added. The resounding agreement in Ivanka’s comments section, per a few more Instagram users: “Disappointing.”There were similar musings on Ivanka’s Facebook and Twitter announcements. “Love you! But going to decline,” a person wrote on Facebook. Former vice president Mike Pence got his shot back in December via a televised press conference, for which he wore a rather unfortunate short sleeved shirt. Donald and Melania Trump received theirs, too, before leaving office in January—though they did not publicize the event and news broke after President Biden’s inauguration. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Prosecution questions pathologist in Chauvin trial

    Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell launched an aggressive cross-examination, attacking a retired pathologist Dr. David Fowler's findings down the line during Derek Chauvin's trial. (Apr. 14)