Free Republic

The weekend mass shooting at the Colorado Springs gay bar has reignited the debate over whether anti-LGBTQ political rhetoric encourages such attacks or otherwise helps create a hostile environment given the widespread access to high-powered weapons used in similar assaults. "This comes amidst a rise of violent rhetoric and threats against the LGBTQ+ people across the country. What we don't know yet -- while we don't know yet for certain the motive of this attack, hate has no place in this country, and neither do military style assault rifles, which is why we will continue to push for an assault...

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) plans to introduce legislation that is meant to prevent Donald Trump from holding office again. He sent a letter to his Democrat colleagues in Congress on Tuesday night, the night that Trump announced his candidacy for President in 2024. Cicilline’s letter previewed the bill for his colleagues but didn’t say when he plans to introduce it. He listed a deadline of Thursday at noon for lawmakers who wish to cosponsor the bill.Cicilline is not exactly an impartial observer. He was a House impeachment manager for Trump’s second impeachment trial. He is citing the 14th Amendment to...

A group of House Democrats on Tuesday announced they would move to codify federal protections for transgender people. The proposal, dubbed the “Transgender Bill of Rights,” would codify the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision that protects employees against discrimination for being gay or transgender. The proposal would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly include protections for gender identity and sex characteristics, expand access to gender-affirming care and ban conversion therapy. It would also require the attorney general to designate a liaison dedicated to overseeing enforcement of civil rights for transgender people and invest in...

The Rhode Island representative refused to yield his time during the outburst, while discussing legislation related to “red flag” laws, that would allow the government and law enforcement to confiscate firearms from anyone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. Florida congressman Matt Gaetz attempted to insert an amendment to the legislation stating “Congress disfavors the enactment of laws that authorize a court to issue an extreme risk protection order, also known as Red Flag laws, in the States because such laws trample on an individual’s due process and Second Amendment rights.” That prompted Cicilline to call the...

Two top House Republicans among big tech's thorniest adversaries in Washington remain starkly divided on the right approach to rein in Silicon Valley.Two top House Republicans among big tech’s thorniest adversaries in Washington remain starkly divided on how to rein in Silicon Valley’s empire. Earlier this month, a group of bipartisan lawmakers led by Rhode Island Democrat Rep. David Cicilline and Colorado Republican Ken Buck — who serve as chair and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, respectively — unveiled a broad package of antitrust legislation to break up corporate tech monopolies....

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) said that he sees “no evidence whatsoever in the Democratic caucus or in the Democratic Party of antisemitism at all. In fact, the strongest voices that have condemned acts of antisemitism and this rise in antisemitic violence have been members of the Democratic caucus.”

Facebook refused to remove an attack ad falsely linking Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar to Hamas, even after her aides said similar claims had resulted in death threats to the lawmaker in the past. The ad was produced by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group, and showed the face of the Minnesota lawmaker, who is Muslim, superimposed onto rockets fired by Gaza militants toward Israel. "When Israel targets Hamas, Rep. Omar calls it an act of terrorism," the caption said. The ad is still live on Facebook. The ad seemed to be based on a tweet by...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol an “insurrection against the Constitution” as some GOP lawmakers sought to minimize the violence this week. The comment came as several Republicans, including Reps. Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Jody Hice (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.), downplayed or made false claims about the attack. Clyde asserted during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday that calling the events of Jan. 6 an "insurrection" was a “boldfaced lie.” Speaking to HuffPost on Thursday, Romney noted that the mob attack resulted in severe property damage and death. “I was...

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) on Friday began asking Democratic colleagues to sign onto a resolution to censure three House Republicans who tried to minimize the severity of the Jan. 6 insurrection this week. In a letter to fellow House Democrats, Cicilline said that a resolution will be forthcoming to specifically censure Republican Reps. Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Jody Hice (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) for their remarks at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday downplaying and making false claims about the violent attack on the Capitol.

A hearing of the House Subcommittee focused on anti-trust and monopoly abuses examines the role of the corporate media in these growing pathologies. There are not many Congressional committees regularly engaged in substantive and serious work — most are performative — but the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law is an exception. Led by its chairman Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and ranking member Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), it is, with a few exceptions, composed of lawmakers whose knowledge of tech monopolies and anti-trust law is impressive. In October, the Committee, after a sixteen-month investigation, produced one of...

The only way remaining to truly protect freedom of expression and, in turn, our democracy, is by building free and open internet.In a meeting of a House antitrust subcomittee last week, members took turns lamenting the market supremacy of Big Tech — and making pledges to curtail it. Bipartisan consensus on this is refreshing, and it is in fact the charge of government to ensure free markets by breaking up monopolies.Americans, however, should not put their trust in princes. While these hearings make for good campaign ads, Congress has a bad track record of helping Americans, and American innovators can...

[The "Equality Act "reads (in part)] (1) Discrimination can occur on the basis of the sex, sexual orientation, gender identity... (2) discrimination against a married same-sex couple could be based on the sex stereotype that marriage should only be between heterosexual couples, the sexual orientation of the two individuals in the couple, or both.... (3) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (referred to as “LGBTQ”) people commonly experience discrimination in securing access to public accommodations...providers including adoption and foster care providers...Forms of discrimination include...unequal or unfair treatment... (7) The discredited practice known as “conversion therapy” is a form of discrimination...

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke said Sunday that he believes President Donald Trump has committed crimes when he was asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent comment that she would prefer to see Trump "in prison" than "see him impeached." "He did," O'Rourke, a former House member from Texas, told ABC's "This Week" when asked about Pelosi's remark and whether he thought Trump had committed crimes that could be prosecuted. "I think that's clear from what we have learned from [special counsel Robert Mueller's] report, but I think those crimes might extend beyond what we've seen in the Mueller report."...

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., said it is time for impeachment inquiries to be opened if former White House Counsel Don McGahn is a no-show to Tuesday's scheduled congressional hearing. Cicilline, a member of the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee, appeared on MSNBC and offered his reaction that the White House is instructing McGahn to refuse to comply with a subpoena to appear on Capitol Hill and the assurance from the Department of Justice that McGahn has "immunity" which does not legally require him to testify before Congress, something Cicilline believed was "legally incorrect." "Let me be clear; if Don McGahn doesn't...

Two Democratic legislators introduced the “Disarm Hate Act” this week, which calls for the permanent revocation of 2A rights for any misdemeanor offense deemed to be a hate crime. The bill was brought to both chambers, via Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) in the House and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) in the Senate. Sponsors believe the bill closes the “Hate Crimes Loophole” by banning the sale and possession of firearms for anyone convicted of committing a crime on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. “Over and over again we have seen what happens when a...

House Democrats exploded in anger Wednesday over Attorney General William Barr’s plans to roll out special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, accusing the Justice Department of trying to spin the report’s contents and protect President Donald Trump. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning to review the report, which may be heavily redacted. Reports that DOJ officials have already discussed Mueller’s findings with the White House only further inflamed tensions. “I’m deeply troubled by reports that the WH is being briefed on the Mueller report AHEAD of its release,” tweeted House...

LEESBURG, Va. (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Democrats are accusing Republican President Donald Trump of aggravating a crisis situation at the southern U.S. border, saying he has not used funds available to help deal with a surge of migrants and exacerbated the problem with his attempts to crack down.

WASHINGTON — Leading congressional Democrats were still largely steering clear of impeachment chatter a day after President Donald Trump’s former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, alleged in public testimony that Trump had violated campaign finance laws and lied to the American public. “I’m not going into that, I’m not going into that,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, said at her weekly news conference Thursday, quickly dismissing talk of impeachment...(snip) ... the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., like Pelosi, downplayed the idea that his panel's seven-hour hearing had represented a significant leap forward on that front...(snip) The...

The Democrats swept to power in Congress by campaigning in a way that has been successful for Democrats for generations. “Republicans will take away your health care,” they said, after having focus-grouped it. Now we are preparing for a 2020 campaign in which Donald Trump and Republicans can as easily advertise to the public: “Democrats will take away cows, and your car.” What happened to Democrats? Back in November, it looked like Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic House caucus had found the perfect plan for their party in the era of Trump: Avoid talking about impeachment and stick to simple...

Democrats this week approved legislation to require background checks for essentially all sales and transfers of firearms -- but rejected GOP-led efforts to amend the legislation to alert law enforcement authorities when gun buyers, including illegal immigrants, fail those background checks. The House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the bill 23-15, in a strict party-line vote, sending it to the House floor. If approved by the full House, the bill would be the most significant gun-control legislation approved by either chamber of Congress in at least a decade -- although it stands little chance of passage in the Senate, where Republicans command a...