Lawmaker's e-mail campaign warns of bogus threat to gunowners

Misinformed state House member admonishes 'socialist leader Obama and his gang of thugs' and talks about Fort Hood shootings

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Richard Floyd

State Rep. Richard Floyd (R-Chattanooga) has blasted e-mails to constituents about congressional efforts to infringe on gunowners’ rights, but even the National Rifle Association has determined the threat is bogus.

Floyd’s e-mail, dated Wednesday, Nov. 11, argued that a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would tax guns, require fingerprints and mandate that gun owners "submit to a physical & mental evaluation at any time of their choosing."

Floyd wrote, "I pray all of us will take heed to what socialist leader Obama and his gang of thugs are trying to do to this country. We had better fear the government that fears our guns. Thanks to my friend Ed Warren and many others who are helping expose this bill. Please contact our Congressmen and Senators and demand they let Americans know what is going on behind closed doors. Blessings to all. Richard."

The original author of the e-mail that Floyd forwarded claims that the information in it has been verified by the Internet rumor-busting Web site Snopes.com. But a check of the bill on Snopes and other sites, including the U.S. Senate Web page, showed that the claims were wildly exaggerated.

Even the National Rifle Association rebutted the viral rumor on May 29 of this year stating, "In the last few weeks, NRA-ILA has received hundreds of e-mails warning us about ‘SB-2099,’ a bill that would supposedly require you to report all your guns on your income tax return every April 15. Like many rumors, there’s just a grain of truth to this one. Someone’s recycling an old alert, which wasn’t even very accurate when it was new. There actually was a U.S. Senate bill with that number that would have taxed handguns — nine years ago. It was introduced by anti-gun Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and it would have included handguns under the National Firearms Act’s tax and registration scheme. This has nothing to do with anyone’s Form 1040, of course. Fortunately, S. 2099 disappeared without any action by the Senate, back when Bill Clinton was still in the White House. We reported about it back then, just as we report about new anti-gun bills every week. Now, it’s time for gun owners to drop this old distraction and focus on the real threats at hand."

When contacted by NashvillePost.com and alerted to the NRA response, Floyd said, "Well, I guess you did more research than I did."

He then reiterated his characterization of President Barack Obama as a “socialist.”

“Look at who he surrounds himself with — Rahm Emanuel, Bill Ayers. He is taking over the auto industry, banks, health care. That is what he has surrounded himself with. Look up the definition of ‘socialism.’ It is taking private business and turning them into government-run and community property."

Floyd then referenced last week’s deadly shooting at a U.S. military base. "We are on a slippery slope going 90 miles an hour. I'll let what happened in Fort Hood be an example."

On Nov. 5, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of having opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Center of Fort Hood, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others.

Asked to explain, Floyd said, "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but so far all terrorists are Muslim."

When asked if he thought Hasan was a deranged person, Floyd responded, "You will never make me believe he was a deranged person. He did exactly what he intended to do."