Florida weighs allowing concealed carry guns without permit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is set to become the 26th state to allow citizens to carry firearms without a permit under legislation outlined Monday by Republican House Speaker Paul Renner.

Conservatives and gun rights groups in Florida have long pushed to give Florida residents to ability to carry firearms with a permit, known by supporters as “constitutional carry,” but past legislation has routinely gotten bogged down. This year’s efforts are bolstered by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has repeatedly said he would sign a permitless carry bill if lawmakers sent it to his desk.

As the 2023 legislative session approaches, though, the Renner-led House appears to be taking point on getting the bill through the Legislature.

“Florida led the nation in allowing for concealed carry, and that extends today as we remove the government permission slip to exercise a constitutional right,” Renner said Monday during a news conference, where he was flanked by a handful of county sheriffs.

Renner spearheaded the press conference, a signal it’s a clear top priority for the speaker, but the bill is being sponsored by state Rep.Chuck Brannan (R-Lake City) and state Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa). Lawmakers did not formally file a bill at the time of the news conference but are expected to by Monday afternoon.

Under the proposal, the state will no longer require individuals to get a permit from Florida to own a gun. The state also won’t mandate other provisions, including a training requirement needed to get a permit. Permits would still be an option for gun owners who want to get them, something needed to be able to legally carry a gun in states that do not have permitless carry.

The proposal does not address whether people will be allowed to openly carry firearms in public. Under current Florida law, gun owners are not allowed to carry guns in the open.

In 2021, Texas approved a similar “open carry” law that allows most gun owners 21 and over to carry a handgun in a holster without a permit. The Texas law allows citizens to carry the gun in the open or concealed.

Democrats blasted the bill that they say will flood the state with gun owners who are not properly trained. Shortly after Renner’s press conference, Democrats pledged to fight to defeat it during the 2023 session — but Republicans have supermajorities in both the House and Senate, giving them near unchecked power.

“We are united in opposition to this policy proposal,” said Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (D-Parkland), whose district includes the scene of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass school shooting that left 17 people dead.

Democrats also see the proposal as another in a long line of culture war-infused bills DeSantis will champion during the legislative session to further energize his conservative base as he prepares to run for president. In the past few week alone, DeSantis has asked lawmakers for a sweeping criminal justice bill packed with policies generally supported by conservatives, rejected an Advanced Placement course focused on African-American history, a move that has gotten him national criticism from those who think he is whitewashing American history and signaled he will push for legislation cracking down on teacher’s unions, which are the last bastion of reliable political support for Florida Democrats.

“This is another effort to appeal to his conservative base as he runs for president,” said state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).

DeSantis was not at the Tallahassee press conference, instead holding his own at the same time in Orlando focused on transportation budget requests.

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/uhFSL6d
via IFTTT

Read More

Trudeau knows there’s trouble on the horizon

OTTAWA — It’s unclear if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will still be in power at the end of the year.

The Liberal leader played up the uncertainty in a speech to caucus Friday, identifying the upcoming parliamentary season as a consequential one with political hazards that could trip the country into another early election.

“We're in a minority Parliament, and we need to be ready for anything,” Trudeau told Liberal MPs ahead of Monday’s return of the House of Commons. Liberals seeking re-election are already door knocking and fundraising, thanks to new party rules.

Trudeau’s campaign-style tone is unmistakable.

“There are two leaders today that you have to choose between,” he said in reference to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, a formidable communicator who has been tapping into the politics of misery to build an anti-Trudeau coalition.

In his Friday speech to his party, Trudeau cast himself as a leader with a “positive vision of the future” and portrayed his rival as full of rage and light on policy and “positive solutions.” But by Saturday’s caucus meeting, the prime minister had softened his language on the threat of his government falling.

“We are still in delivery mode,” Trudeau said in French after being asked if his government is aiming to walk the talk on promises made in the last campaign, in case another one comes sooner rather than later.

Here are some hazards that could bring Trudeau some trouble in the year ahead.

Inflation, affordability and recession woes

Canada’s gross domestic product per capita dropped 1.3 percent during the pandemic, a stark contrast to the 1.2 percent growth tracked before 2020. The souring economy risks curdling Trudeau’s progressive agenda — and boosting Poilievre’s appeal to a broader swath of Canadians.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem offered a bleak forecast last week, predicting economic growth will be “pretty close to zero” over the next two, three quarters.

“It's not going to feel good,” he said shortly after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points — its eighth consecutive hike in the past year to tamp down inflation.

A potential recession, mild or full blown, will give Conservatives ammunition to callback some sass from the last campaign when Trudeau asked a reporter for forgiveness, “if I don't think about monetary policy.”

Macklem’s prognosis, and the Bank of Canada’s decision to pause interest rate hikes, puts pressure on the Liberals to slow government spending.

It will be a hard trick to pull off.

A new health deal with provinces and territories is anticipated soon, plus Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has promised a budget decked with measures in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, so that Canada isn't left scrounging for crumbs in a global energy investment race.

McKinsey controversy

Government contracts awarded to the world's most powerful consulting firm have spiked since Trudeau’s Liberals took office in 2015. Now a parliamentary committee is investigating the deals, valued at least C$116 million.

Dominic Barton, McKinsey's former global managing director and Canada's most recent ex-ambassador to China, has been called to testify before members of Parliament. This week’s showdown will give opposition members an opportunity to grill the former Trudeau political appointee about cronyism and government bloat — issues Poilievre has amplified in a bid to portray Liberals as out of touch.

Convoy inquiry report

A final report due by Feb. 20 risks inflicting massive damage for Trudeau.

It's been nearly a year since the Trudeau government invoked unprecedented powers to clear blockades on Parliament Hill and at U.S.-Canada border crossings. The convoy protests threaded together far-right extremists with the pandemic fatigued, disenchanted voters and QAnon enthusiasts in a weeks-long occupation of downtown Ottawa.

It is up to the Public Order Emergency Commission, led by Justice Paul Rouleau, to determine if the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act was appropriate and effective.

A damning report could elicit a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons, giving the New Democrats' deal to prop up the minority Liberals' until 2025 its first major stress test.

A Biden visit

Trudeau’s team has dined out on the prime minister’s friendship with former Preisdent Barack Obama to lift his progressive credibility in times of need. Biden’s first in-person visit to Canada as president will be a bromide for the prime minister on the heels of whatever the Rouleau's inquiry finds.

New economic and geopolitical challenges brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine have brought Canada’s challenge in building major infrastructure projects to the fore. Ottawa is under pressure to move fast and build liquefied natural gas and hydrogen facilities, develop its battery supply chain from critical minerals to electric vehicles, in order to create jobs, maintain gross domestic product growth and relevance to its allies.

Budget politics

Health care and the green energy transition will take center stage in Freeland’s 2023 budget which, she said, will take a “fiscally prudent” approach.

Freeland’s Fall Economic Statement introduced C$11.3 billion in new spending. A potential big price tag for her upcoming budget risks sinking her party’s fiscal credibility. Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine has put new demands on Freeland to increase military funding and shed the perception of Canada as a laggard in the NATO alliance.

A prudent spring budget won’t necessarily mean a thrifty Fall Economic Statement. In 2021, the Liberals campaigned on a platform that touted C$78 billion in new spending, a bulk of which remains unallocated.

Policy pressures

The Liberal’s proposed gun legislation (Bill C-21), prohibiting some hunting rifle and shotgun models, is a ripe opportunity for Conservatives to cast Liberals as an urban party.

Government House Leader Mark Holland has described it as an “emotionally charged” issue with no quick fix. A lack of consultation created blowback for the Liberals, irritating Trudeau-friendly premiers, Indigenous communities and compelled Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price to speak out against the bill.

On the energy front, details of the Liberals’ promised cap on oil and gas greenhouse gas emissions are expected this year — policy guaranteed to spark debate between Ottawa and Alberta.

There will be a provincial election in Alberta in May, which means United Progressive Conservative Premier Danielle Smith will use spring to squeeze in attacks against Trudeau, and specifically Ottawa’s imminent energy transition legislation, to shore votes in Canada’s oil and gas sector.

Bill C-11, the Liberals’ Online Streaming Act, is on the cusp of becoming law, much to the disappointment of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. If passed, the new law would require online streaming giants such as Netflix, Spotify and YouTube to pay up to support more Canadian content on their platforms or be hit with penalties if they don’t comply.

Tai has criticized the legislation as being discriminatory against American companies and has not ruled out potential retaliation.

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/nNJMw4r
via IFTTT

Read More

Europe is running out of medicines

Common medications including antibiotics and children's painkillers are in short supply across the bloc. Here's what's being done about it.

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/KsIyXbC
via IFTTT

Read More

Ukraine wants to join European Union within 2 years, prime minister says

Brussels says: "Not so fast."

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/CX0BJTm
via IFTTT

Read More

Drones reportedly attack convoy in east Syria coming from Iraq

BEIRUT — Drones attacked a convoy of trucks in eastern Syria Sunday night shortly after it crossed into the country from Iraq, Syrian opposition activists and a pro-government radio station said. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The strike comes amid heightening tension between Iran and its rivals in the region.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on the convoy in the Syrian border region of Boukamal, which is a stronghold of Iran-backed militias.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the drones appear to have been from the U.S.-led coalition, adding that they targeted six refrigerated trucks. The group said there were casualties and ambulances rushed to the area.

Another activist said the strike hit a convoy of trucks of Iran-backed militiamen. Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist from Deir el-Zour who runs a group that monitors developments, tweeted that there was no immediate word on casualties.

The pro-government Sham FM radio station also reported that six refrigerated trucks were hit.

In Baghdad, an official with an Iran-backed militia confirmed there was a strike saying it only targeted one truck. He gave no word on casualties.

The attack in eastern Syria came hours after bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan causing some damage at the plant.

Last month, Israel’s military chief of staff strongly suggested that Israel was behind a strike on a truck convoy in Syria in November, giving a rare glimpse of Israel’s shadow war against Iran and its proxies across the region.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, who finished his military service earlier this month, said Israeli military and intelligence capabilities made it possible to strike specific targets that pose a threat.

Israeli leaders have in the past acknowledged striking hundreds of targets in Syria and elsewhere in what it says is a campaign to thwart Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to proxies like Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group or to destroy weapons caches.

The November strike hit tanker trucks carrying fuel and other trucks carrying weapons for the militias in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the Observatory reported at the time. It said at least 14 people, most of them militiamen, were killed in the strike.

The strike, along the border with Iraq, targeted Iran-backed militiamen, Syrian opposition activists said at the time. Some of those killed in the attack were Iranian nationals, according to two paramilitary officers in Iraq.

At the time, Israel declined to comment on the strike.

Iran is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to help Syrian troops during the country’s 11-year civil war. Both Iran and Assad’s government are also allied with Hezbollah, which has fought alongside Assad’s forces in the war.

Israel consider Iran to be its chief enemy and has warned against what it views as its hostile activities in the region.

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/6N1iKLC
via IFTTT

Read More

Germany's Scholz doubles down on refusal of fighter jets for Ukraine

"The question of combat aircraft does not arise at all," German chancellor tells Tagesspiegel.

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/wFPepOa
via IFTTT

Read More

Memphis pastor prays for continued peace after video release

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Members of Mt. Olive Cathedral Church in Memphis gathered for worship on Sunday, two days after Tyre Nichols’ parents spoke from the sanctuary and called for peace following the release of video showing their son’s fatal beating at the hands of police.

“We’ve had calm so far, which is what we have been praying for,” Pastor Kenneth Thomas said before the service. “And, of course, we hope that continues.”

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations after body camera footage was released Friday showing Memphis officers beating 29-year-old Nichols, who died of his injuries three days later. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, but the protests have been scattered and non-violent.

During the church service, Thomas offered a prayer for Nichols’ family, asking God to “shower them with your blessings.”

The loss is “still very emotional” for the family, a lawyer representing them said Sunday, but they are using all their energy to advocate for reforms both in Memphis and on the federal level.

“His mother is having problems sleeping but she continues to pray with the understanding, as she believes in her heart, that Tyre was sent here for an assignment, and that there will be a greater good that comes from this tragedy,” Attorney Ben Crump said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Crump welcomed disbanding the city’s so-called Scorpion unit, which Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis announced Saturday, citing a “cloud of dishonor” from the newly released video.

Davis acted a day after the harrowing video was released, saying she listened to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision. Her announcement came as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also Black. The video renewed outrage over repeated fatal encounters with law enforcement that keep happening despite nationwide demands for change.

Crump told “This Week” that Nichols’ case points to a systemic problem in how people of color are treated regardless of whether officers are white, Black or any other race.

The “implicit, biased police” culture that exists in America is just as responsible for Nichols’ death as the five Black officers who killed him, Crump said.

“I believe it’s part of the institutionalized police culture that makes it somehow allowed that they can use this type of excessive force and brutality against people of color,” Crump told “This Week.” “It is not the race of the police officer that is the determinant factor whether they’re going to engage in excessive use of force, but it is the race of the citizen.”

He alleged other members of the Memphis community have been assaulted by the now shuttered Scorpion unit, which was composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim was to target violent offenders in high-crime areas. The unit had been inactive since Nichols’ Jan. 7 arrest.

Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods.

The five officers involved in Nichols’ beating — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols’ death. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Video images of Nichols’ encounter with police show officers savagely beating the FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

Brenda Goss Andrews, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, told The Associated Press she was struck by the immediate aggression from officers as soon as they got out of the car: “It just went to 100. ... This was never a matter of de-escalation,” she said, adding, “The young man never had a chance.”

On a phone call with President Joe Biden, Crump and Nichols parents discussed the need federal reform like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would prohibit racial profiling, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, limit the transfer of military equipment to police departments, and make it easier to bring charges against offending officers.

Biden said he told Nichols’ mother he would be “making a case” to Congress to pass the Floyd Act “to get this under control.”

Memphis Police had already implemented reforms after Floyd’s killing, including a requirement to de-escalate or intervene if they saw others using excessive force.

Speaking on “This Week,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said Congress can pass additional measures like “screening, training, accreditation, to up the game so that the people who have this responsibility to keep us safe really are stable and approaching this in a professional manner.”

The fact that law enforcement is primarily a state and local responsibility “does not absolve us. Under the federal Constitution we have standards, due process standards and others, that we are responsible for,” Durbin said.

“What we saw on the streets of Memphis was just inhumane and horrible,” he continued. “I don’t know what created this — this rage in these police officers that they would congratulate themselves for beating a man to death. But that is literally what happened.”

from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/gHnlWuQ
via IFTTT

Read More