Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) is throwing his weight behind gun control, he told Cheddar in an interview Tuesday.
“I respect Second Amendment rights and people’s rights to own a gun, to protect themselves,” he said. “At the same time, I also believe that when we talk about things like semi-automatic weapons [and] bump stocks that make guns automatic, we ought to make sure that those aren’t just out there on the streets.”
His comments came after former Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens penned a [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html) op-ed in favor of a full-blown repeal of the Second Amendment, which he called a “relic of the 18th Century.”
While that view might be extreme, there does appear to be growing demand for gun reform in the country. The sentiment was highlighted at last weekend’s March For Our Lives rallies, which drew in hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Castro said that placed palpable pressure on legislators to act.
“It’s clear that the young people are not going away...They’re going to be very persistent on this issue,” said Castro.
And plenty of activists were out in force to make sure Saturday’s marchers will stay involved through the November elections.
“There’s a group called Move San Antonio that does wonderful work all over town registering people, and they were very active at the rally,” Castro said.
Whether those efforts will turn the historically red Texas blue remains to be seen. Castro says Democrats have a chance, but it will be “an uphill battle.”
“We always rank near the bottom in terms of voter participation,” explained Castro. “Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat [Senator] since the mid-1990s, and it’s an expensive state to run in.
“But we are getting stronger. We’ve got good candidates, and I think we have a chance of breaking through.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-joaquin-castro-d-tx-wants-to-see-eye-to-eye-with-all-constituents).
Tax filing season is officially upon us, just as the IRS returns to full strength following the five-week government shutdown. But tax filers should expect some turbulence along the way, said Nicole Kaeding, director of federal projects at the Tax Foundation, a tax policy think tank.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Jan. 28, 2019.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
President Trump announced on Friday that he reached a tentative deal with Democrats to reopen the government temporarily while the two sides continue to negotiate on border security. The continuing resolution would fund the government at current levels for three weeks, until Feb. 15. While Trump framed the deal as a victory, he was essentially agreeing to the same proposal that was offered by Democrats before the shutdown, which he had rejected.
President Trump's longtime ally Roger Stone was arrested Friday in connection with Robert Mueller's Russia probe. The FAA reported delays at several major airports across the U.S. because of an increase in employees taking sick leave at air traffic control centers. And Lois Backon, head of Corporate Partner Marketing for JPMorgan Chase, tells Cheddar how the bank partners with celebrities to share their financial planning tips.
Early Friday morning, FBI agents in riot gear arrested Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, at his Florida home. He was charged with five counts of making false statements, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction, related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the election.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 25, 2019.
As the partial government shutdown enters its sixth week, it's up to moderates on both sides of the aisle to compromise on a solution to reopen the government, even if it means giving President Trump a partial victory on border funds, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told Cheddar. "Let me be clear, I'm willing to support more border security," the Virginia Democrat told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin on Wednesday. "But we ought to do it without these lives being held in hostage. Let's get the government open, even if it's for a few weeks, to let us negotiate."
It was an urgent warning from a group of professionals not known for a proclivity to scare the public. "In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break. It is unprecedented," the statement read in part. It was issued jointly on Wednesday, from the unions representing America's air-traffic controllers, pilots, and flight attendants.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.
