Gun control won’t help reduce violence, according to CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp.
“Where we have the highest rates of gun control we also have the highest rates of crime,” said Schlapp, who also chairs the American Conservative Union, one of the largest and oldest conservative lobbying groups in the country.
“If we’re going to jump to gun control as a solution to this problem of violence, we’re being deceitful to people,” he adds. “It’s really not going to solve the problem.”
His statements, though, do contrast with other research. The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, for example, found that states with stricter gun laws, such as California, Connecticut, and New York, generally have lower rates of gun-related deaths.
The most recent mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., hung over this year’s CPAC conference, which kicked off in Maryland on Wednesday.
The attack has ignited a national movement -- helmed by the teenage survivors -- pushing for reform.
Perhaps their efforts were responsible for a concession from Schlapp.
“I would also admit that we’re at a time where I think we ought to do a lot more listening and learning and hearing people out,” adds Schlapp.
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. to stop minting pennies. His surprise announcement comes after decades of unsuccessful efforts to phase out the 1-cent coin. Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost and limited utility. Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel. Here's a look at some question surrounding Trump's order.
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Brian Bennett, Senior White House correspondent at TIME, discusses Musk's relationship to Donald Trump and how he has such access in the federal government.
MarketWatch's Rob Schroeder helps us break down what is happening with tariffs implemented by the Trump admin., plus what Canada and Mexico have promised.
Jen Judson, Reporter at Military Times, breaks down what we know about the fatal commercial airline crash in D.C. and the ongoing investigation into its cause.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, discusses the lawsuits filed against DOGE and explains Public Citizen's approach to efficiency in U.S. spending
Jennifer Mattson, Contributing Writer at Fast Company, discusses the impact of Trump's first weekend in office and what's to come from the administration.
