1/ So @WaysandMeansGOP are starting their mark up of a package of bills they're claiming will provide tax relief for small businesses & everyday Americans.

But don't be fooled.

The legislation disproportionally benefits the very very very wealthy 2/@WaysandMeansGOP is touting a provision that is supposed to incentivize corporations to conduct research, but some activities subsidized do not meet any definition of “research” & many of the companies lobbying for this tax break have paid very little in taxes...

1/ Just days after pushing our country to the brink of default in order to make it easier for wealthy tax cheats to avoid paying their fair share in taxes, Republicans have introduced legislation that would reward the richest Americans and corporations with huge tax cuts. 2/ @iteptweets found that the richest one percent would receive an average $16,550 tax cut next year.
The poorest fifth of Americans? Just $40.

1/ As @POTUS prepares to deliver #SOTU, I urge him to go beyond rhetoric about our nation's gun violence epidemic and announce a comprehensive plan to reduce all forms of gun deaths & bold steps he will take today to start saving lives tomorrow.

Here's what that could look like

https://twitter.com/GunsDownAmerica/status/1498363101669900292

@POTUS 2/ For context: almost 50,000 Americans have died from gun violence under @POTUS' watch & during last year's Joint Address he promised to “do everything in my power to protect the American people from this epidemic of gun violence.”

He must live up to these words at @SOTU...

Oh look, @RandPaul is coming up on @foxnews, which is more than happy to give him a platform to smear Dr. Fauci, add credence to the grievances of armed extremists who want to kill him, and of course fundraise fundraise fundraise! @RandPaul @FoxNews .@RandPaul categorizes Fauci's suggestion that he is giving credence to the grievances of extremists who want to kill him as "juvenile and personal."

1/ I applaud @POTUS for taking important initial steps to help reduce gun violence in our communities and for including $5B for community violence intervention programs in BBB.

BUT -- as gun deaths ⬆️ @POTUS can and should be doing more to prioritize gun violence prevention...

https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1470802359194431503

@POTUS 2/ You can act to help reduce gun violence TODAY by:

- establishing a Office of Gun Violence Prevention w/ staff to coordinate a full-govt response to the crisis. Currently, you don't have a single staffer whose sole job is to work on reducing gun deaths.

At least 3 deceased, 6 injured (including one teacher) at a shooting in Oxford High School in Michigan. The 15-year-old shooter at Oxford High School in Michigan used a semi-automatic handgun. Fired at least 15 shots and had more than one magazine.

1/ This quote exemplifies the consequences of the ⬆️ threat of political violence:

“When you start dehumanizing political opponents.. it becomes a lot easier to inflict violence on them...I have a hard time seeing how we have a peaceful 2024 election"

nytimes.com/2021/11/12/us/… 2/ While we're investigating Jan. 6th, we (federal, state, local leaders) must also look ahead and take steps to protect our democracy from violence

It's seriously getting scary out there -- and GOP lawmakers are doing everything they can to make sure extremists are *armed*

A prominent conservative judge explains why even gun owners would understandably be unsettled and frightened by a Supreme Court decision that allows citizens to carry guns everywhere and anywhere: nytimes.com/2021/11/02/opi… "The court has a newly reconstituted conservative majority who may want to expand Second Amendment... But...the framers of our Constitution intended the people and their democratically elected legislatures to decide where and when to permit the carry of firearms in public"

1/ The White House’s withdrawal of David Chipman’s nomination to head ATF represents a significant setback for @POTUS's efforts to fight rising gun violence & firearm trafficking...

politico.com/news/2021/09/0… @POTUS 2/ However, Chipman's withdrawal is a boon for gun manufacturers that continue to profit from the weak enforcement of existing gun laws & have spent millions maligning this dedicated public servant.

1/ Shootings in TX ⬆️ 14% this year vs. 2020

Shootings in TX ⬆️ 50% this year vs. 2019

So of course TX just enacted a law that allows most Texans who legally own a firearm to carry it openly in public without obtaining a permit or training

That's right, no training required 2/ Gun rights advocates call it constitutional carry

They're wrong. TX constitution supported regulations

1869: “Every person shall have the right to keep and bear arms…under such regulations as the legislature may prescribe” Tex. Const of 1869, art. I, § 13

So did TX laws...

1/ This AM, @Smith_WessonInc, one of the world's largest manufacturers of firearms, released first quarter fiscal 2022 financial results, bragging that it made $274.6 M in net sales.

I compared that number to the *cost of gun violence* during that period. Look at what I found.. @Smith_WessonInc 2/ Using data from @GunDeaths, I pulled the number of gun deaths and injuries from May 1, 2021 - July 31, 2021.

As @Smith_WessonInc was making $274.6 million by flooding our communities with *even more* firearms, we experienced:

- 5,538 gun deaths
- 12,155 gun injuries

1/ @fred_guttenberg tweeted this cartoon of kids saying, "I wish the adults were as passionate about stopping school shootings as they are about stopping us from wearing masks."

But is there a connection between governors rejecting Covid science & gun safety measures....

https://twitter.com/fred_guttenberg/status/1430851532073930753

@fred_guttenberg 2/ So I looked up all of the governors who have prohibited schools from mandating masks.

9 states have done this:

IA
FL
TX
AZ
UT
AR
OK
SC
TN

What do we know about gun deaths & gun laws in these states?

Turns out....

15/ In late 2020, @NRA *finally admitted* in federal disclosures that its senior leadership, including LaPierre, spent charitable assets to benefit themselves personally. @NRA 16/ NY Attorney General @TishJames alleges that even these disclosures "are incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, and the result of an uneven and opaque process that raises serious questions about the scope and method relied upon to calculate the disclosed transactions"

1/ NY Attorney General @TishJames has filed a new amended complaint reaffirming her intent to dissolve @NRA.

I just read the 193 page filing & turns out NRA leadership is continuing to violate NY law & use NRA funds to *enrich themselves*

Buckle up & follow along... @TishJames @NRA 2/ Core of @TishJames' complaint against @NRA

LaPierre & @NRA leaders "instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight...evaded internal controls to allow themselves, their families, favored board members, employees & vendors" to benefit financially

.@SenAngusKing is holding up @davidchipman's nomination to head ATF during a period of *increasing gun violence and homicides*

If you care about saving lives and you live in Maine CALL KING'S OFFICE NOW (202) 224-5344)

Demand he do the right thing politico.com/news/2021/08/0… @SenAngusKing @davidchipman Politico reports @SenAngusKing is "under pressure to buck a pick seen as resistant to gun rights in a state where hunting and gun rights are part of many voters’ DNA"

Supporting background checks ensures PROHIBITED PURCHASERS don't buy a gun what does that have to do w/ hunting?

Meet the members of the new #ProGunTaffickingCaucus in the Congress!

Their mission: to support gun dealers who transfer firearms to a prohibited person, fail to run background checks & falsify records!

Who else is dumb enough to join this club? Send 'em to me! Found another #ProGunTraffickingCaucus member!

https://twitter.com/RepDLamborn/status/1407821383254614018

1/ Through the first 5 months of 2021, gunfire killed 8,100+ people, about 54/d (not counting suicides)

That’s 14 more deaths/d than the average toll during previous 6yrs

Gun crisis is getting worse & our leaders MUST pass investments & reform while there's a pathway to change 2/ @washingtonpost is out with a new feature showing that in 2021 the number of casualties exceeds those of the first five months of 2020, which finished as the deadliest year of gun violence in at least two decades

1/ A federal judge has overturned CA's three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, calling the law a “failed experiment” & likening military-grade assault weapons to Swiss Army knives. 

Follow this 🧵 for a *thorough debunk* of the judge's infuriating ruling... 2/ When CA legislature passed assault weapon ban in 1989, it found that assault weapon “has such a high rate of fire & capacity for firepower that its function as a legitimate sports or recreational firearm is substantially outweighed by the danger that it can be used to kill"

1/ New Data from @DebAzrael & Dr. Matthew Miller reveals that 3.8 million Americans became first-time gun owners in 2020.

This estimate (from actual researchers) is significantly lower than the numbers the gun industry has been throwing around to juice more gun sales... @DebAzrael 2/ According to @DebAzrael & Miller:

3.8 M Americans became first-time gun owners in 2020 & made up 23% of all gun buyers last year, up from 17% in 2019.

There were more Black, Hispanic, and female buyers among the first-timers than their prior-gun-owning counterparts.

1/ Law-abiding gun owner in West Virginia will actually be safer with David Chipman's nomination to lead the @ATFHQ

Follow this 🧵 to see a debunk of @SenCapito's fear mongering and how a strong @ATFHQ director will save lives

https://twitter.com/SenCapito/status/1400466703197388806

@ATFHQ @SenCapito 2/ David Chipman worked for my friends at @Everytown & @GiffordsCourage -- gun violence prevention orgs that advocate for policies that are overwhelmingly popular in US & WV. (i.e. 75% of WVers support background checks) manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/in-th…

https://twitter.com/SenCapito/status/1400466703990071300

1/ Eight people were killed & others were injured in a shooting at a rail yard in San Jose, CA today. The gunman was also dead.

This appears to be the 15th mass murder & 231st mass shooting in the first 146 days of 2021 2/ As gun violence ⬆️ , investing in the communities closest to the pain of interpersonal violence & tightening our nation's lax gun laws should be an absolute priority for lawmakers -- particularly those who *campaign* on these issues every election cycle #TheTimeIsNow