by Bob Barr | Apr 3, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comIn the aftermath of the February 2018 mass murder at a Parkland, Florida high school, it became readily apparent that danger signs and evidence abounded that a disturbed former student at the school was likely going to commit such a heinous crime. Despite local, state and federal law enforcement officials having possession of such knowledge, they failed to act on that information even though they had lawful and ready means to do so. Now, rather than hold responsible those who failed in their responsibilities in that tragedy, and to address specifically the reasons why our law enforcement and judicial systems failed in that instance, state governments and the Congress of the United States are moving to dramatically reduce due process protections for everyone, or at least for everyone who owns a firearm. The vehicle being used to thus undermine citizens’ rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment, are so-called “red flag” laws (also known as “Emergency Risk Protections Orders”). The problems evident in the Parkland mass murder and others – Sutherland Springs, Texas in 2017, Charleston, SC in 2015, and Sandy Hook in 2012 — are very real and very serious; and need to be addressed. However, doing so in ways that expand the government’s power to confiscate law-abiding citizens’ firearms without affording them long-standing and constitutionally-based due process, is neither necessary nor appropriate. Yet this is precisely what is happening.To gun-control advocates like 2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Cory Booker, every mass shooting is the result of insufficient gun-control laws – “loopholes” in Liberal Speak. To them, the failure on the part of law enforcement and other government agencies to have used the...
by Bob Barr | Mar 27, 2019 | Townhall Article, Uncategorized |
Townhall.comEvery day, I thank America’s Founding Fathers for their prescience in providing a Bill of Rights to protect against the government arbitrarily undermining fundamental civil liberties. The actions undertaken by the government in New Zealand in response to the mass murder by a lone gunman earlier this month, provides but the most recent illustration of why our Bill of Rights is so vital to the preservation of freedom. The First, Second, and Fifth Amendments to our Constitution guarantee — among other fundamental liberties — the rights to free expression, the right to keep and bear arms, and the right to own property free from arbitrary confiscation. These civil liberties, which we enjoy here in America (and often take for granted), are being decimated by the New Zealand government in the name of “public safety.” Predictably, of course, has been the effusive praise with which many public officials and media outlets here in the United States have lauded New Zealand’s government for “moving swiftly” in the wake of the March 15th murder spree in Christchurch; actions making it even more difficult than previously for that country’s citizens to purchase or possess most handguns and many rifles. It would be surprising indeed, if the American Left had not quickly rallied in praise of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pressing for a sweeping ban on various firearms, including “military-style assault rifles” following the mosque murders. What is less understandable is the silence with which those same liberals who laud New Zealand and bemoan our own government for its gun-control lethargy, have reacted to the other edict issued by that government – criminalizing the...
by Bob Barr | Mar 25, 2019 | Uncategorized |
The Daily CallerThe college-admissions scandal announced this month involved public and private colleges and universities from coast to coast. It netted the perpetrators tens of millions of dollars, and ensnared media darlings along with working-class individuals. While it may be the largest such scandal in the history of modern higher education, it is not the first and likely won’t be the last.At the outset, it is important that this “vast college prep conspiracy” be considered and treated solely and precisely for what it is — a criminal enterprise fueled by greed. Grift on a massive scale.AdvertisementAlready, however, some on the Left are shifting the focus from the crass criminality of the scandal’s many participants, to a broader political attack on “privilege” in America. Others, on the conservative side are blaming affirmative action as the predicate for what the federal indictment properly characterized as a “racketeering enterprise.”While the cheating scandal very well may exhibit elements of “class privilege” and affirmative-action abuse, obscuring the scheme by viewing it through the lens of contemporary public policy debates diminishes its importance and increases the likelihood it will be repeated.Ten years ago, the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) system was shaken by a massive cheating scandal; orchestrated not by students trying to improve their grades, but by teachers and administrators fearful that lower student scores on standardized tests mandated by the federal “No Child Left Behind Act,” would slow the spigot of federal tax dollars on which the schools had become dependent.When news of the APS scandal broke, many educators and public officials in Atlanta and across Georgia sought to have it addressed administratively; as...
by Bob Barr | Mar 22, 2019 | Uncategorized |
In light of clear moves by many Democratic Members of the House of Representatives to consider impeachment proceedings against President Trump, Bob Barr has written a White Paper titled, “Presidential Impeachment in History and Procedure.” The paper is published by FreedomWorks and co-authored by Jason Pye, the Vice President of Legislative Affairs at FreedomWorks.Presidential Impeachment in History and...
by Bob Barr | Mar 20, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comSo-called “no-knock” search warrants — a tool used with increasing frequency since the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act greatly expanded their availability — have proved extremely dangerous to civilians on the receiving end of such actions. A scandal involving the use of such a warrant earlier this year in Houston, Texas, however, illustrates just howdangerous these situations can be to everyoneinvolved, including the law enforcement officers executing such warrants; especially if undertaken with little or no regard for truth or accountability.In January, 59-year old Navy veteran Dennis Tuttle and his wife were suddenly shaken by the sound of their front door being smashed in. What happened next left both Tuttle and his wife dead from gunshot wounds, and five Houston police officers injured. The police had been hoping to find large quantities of heroin in the Tuttle’s home. What they came away with — in addition to two human beings shot dead, five officers injured, and one pet dog killed — was a small amount of drugs. Most tragically, however, is the fact this surprise raid appears to have been based not on facts, but on false statements made by Gerald Goines, the officer in charge of the operation, in order to secure permission from the judge to carry out the no-knock operation. The human tragedy of this operation is compounded in the refusal by the Houston Police Department to admit error, accept responsibility, and improve procedures going forward. Moreover, and in a move clearly designed to further shield the police department from responsibility, Police Chief Art Acevedo used the tragedy as a pretext to blame insufficient “gun control” in testimony...
