By: Gina Morelli
Gun control is seemingly everywhere, and Republicans are starting to wake up.
This Democrat program was a major threat to people’s gun freedoms.
But it was discovered by a smart Republican who immediately took action.
The Second Amendment is for everybody, whether someone lives on a farm in rural Kentucky, a suburb in Massachusetts, or inner-city Los Angeles.
Not everyone who owns a gun fits the profile of a stereotypical gun owner, but they still have the same freedoms guaranteed to them by the Constitution of the United States.
That’s why it is so concerning to see Medicaid funds potentially being used to threaten people’s gun rights who live in urban areas.
Whether that is the intent or not, it does seem to be what is happening, which may come as a surprise to people who pay taxes to fund Medicaid.
Thankfully, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia is taking action to stop it.
Clyde, who has been serving in Congress since 2020 when he beat former State Rep. Matt Gurtler in a hard-fought primary, took quick legislative action to stop this program in its tracks.
According to Newsweek, “A Republican-led effort is underway to stop federal Medicaid funds from being used to support gun violence prevention programs.
“The push comes as several states have begun utilizing Medicaid to finance community-based violence intervention programs. These efforts gained traction after the Biden administration issued executive orders enabling Medicaid to cover services like firearm safety counseling.”
“Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia, a Republican, introduced the Medicaid Funds Integrity Act on December 5, which aims to prohibit the use of Medicaid dollars for these programs.”
Clyde is adamant that this program represents an attempt at gun control, although the people involved deny it.
And Clyde also has the help of a few other prominent members of Congress who are equally concerned about the program.
The article continues, “The bill, co-sponsored by House Republicans Dan Crenshaw and Chip Roy, both from Texas, and Mary Miller of Illinois, has gained backing from gun rights advocacy groups, including Gun Owners of America and the National Association for Gun Rights. Commenting on the bill, Hunter King, Director of Government Relations for the National Association for Gun Rights, said, ‘Medicaid’s purpose is to provide vital healthcare, not to fund programs that infringe on Second Amendment rights.’”
With groups like NAGR pushing to get this bill passed through Congress, the heat is going to increase on the Biden administration to do something to stop this program.
And Donald Trump will likely face pressure to put a stop to it once he takes office in January, something that is uncertain as he has a mixed record on gun control issues.
Whether the program was created as an attack on the Second Amendment or not, that does seem to be the effect of it.
And it’s good that members of Congress like Rep. Clyde are vigilant enough to find things like this that other Republicans who weren’t looking as closely might have missed.