Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee was not amused when Florida Representative Greg Steube whipped out and loaded a handgun live on camera at a hearing on gun violence on Thursday. Watch:
“End the filibuster, expand the court, take away your constitutional rights under the Second Amendment,” Steube said. “Well, we just heard that that’s exactly what the Democrats want to do here today and in the House in this coming week.”
“On Monday, Biden stated ‘a nine-millimeter bullet blows the lung out of the body’,” he added. “And I quote, ‘so the idea of these high caliber weapons is of there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of thinking about self protection.’ So you can’t protect yourself with a nine mill — I guess, according to Biden, only a 22 round ammunition would be sufficient. Then the White House walked back that statement and said ‘he supports a ban on the sale of assault weapons’ — which there’s no such thing — ‘and high capacity magazines.’ High capacity magazines. I’m going to come back to that in a second.”
“Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi, speaking at an anti-gun rally in San Francisco, stated, ‘we will have a hearing markup on an assault weapon ban’,” he added. “Their plans and their intentions are clear.”
“They want to take away law-abiding citizen’s ability to purchase the firearm of their choice,” Steube went on. “And don’t let them fool you that they are not attempting to take away your ability to purchase handguns. They’re using the magazine ban to do it.”
“Last year in 2020, and 2021, the Glock 19 was the highest sold handgun in the United States,” he said. “It comes with a 15-round magazine. That gun would be banned.”
“Right here in front of me,” Steube added and then reached for a firearm and held it in front of him. “I have a Sig Sauer P226, comes with a 21-round magazine. This gun would be banned. Here’s a 12 round magazine. This magazine would be banned under this current bill. It doesn’t fit because this gun was made for a 20 round, 21 round magazine. This gun would be banned under this bill.”
“Here’s a SIG Sauer 320. It takes a 20 round magazine, takes a 20 round magazine,” he went on. “Here’s a 12 round magazine that would be banned. It doesn’t fit because it would be banned. This gun would be banned under this bill.”
“Here’s a gun I carry every single day to protect myself, my family, my wife, my home,” he added. “This is an Excel Sig Sauer P365, comes with a 15 round magazine. Here’s a seven round magazine, which would be less than what would be lawful under this bill. If this bill were to come off, it doesn’t fit. So this gun would be banned.”
“I hope that is not loaded,” Jackson Lee remarked.
“I’m at my house,” Steube fired back. “I can do whatever I want with my guns.”
“There’s a point of order,” Jackson Lee claimed.
After debate over the purported ‘point of order,’ Rep. Steube made another point about the Democrats’ attempt to restrict law-abiding firearms owners from possessing certain gun magazines.
“Now, let me start back over and I hope you give me my 10 or 15 seconds back that you just took,” he continued. “Jacksonville, Florida, the largest city by area in my state. The murder rate was more than half, HALF of DC or Chicago in 2021… And it was four times lower than in Baltimore, Maryland. All jurisdictions that have a magazine ban,” he pointed out.”
You’re safer in the State of Florida where we don’t have it, Steube said. “If you live in Tampa, Florida, near my district or in Orange County, where Orlando is located, in 2021 you are roughly three times less likely to be murdered here in Florida in Orange County or in Tampa than in Chicago or DC, where they both have magazine bans. And you are whopping five times less likely to be murdered than in Baltimore, Maryland than in Tampa, Florida or in Orange County.”
“Additionally, the State of West Virginia is instructive on this point,” he went on. “West Virginia has some of the most gun friendly laws in the country, including permitless carry no magazine restrictions.”
“For purposes of comparing apples to apples, West Virginia also faces some struggles and has poverty levels comparable to nearby Baltimore and Washington DC,” he added. “Yet someone is nine times less likely to be murdered in West Virginia than in Baltimore and approximately five times less than in DC. According to the most recent numbers in those jurisdictions, these anti-gun cities, particularly ones with magazine bans, have some of the highest crime rates in the country and they are growing worse.”
“These laws do nothing to stop crime and no one here thinks they will actually stop mass shootings,” he remarked. “This is a push to take away your right to carry whatever firearm you please to defend yourself.”
Enough said.
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