Rep. Nancy Mace Calls Out Fellow Republicans On Gun Violence, Abortion
By: HuffPost
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Sunday called out her fellow Republican lawmakers for their "silence" on gun violence and "extreme" stances on abortion.
"Every mass shooting, there's just silence. Prayers are offered, Easter baskets are offered, but no real solutions," the lawmaker said on "Fox News Sunday" in the wake of a string of mass shootings across the country.
Mace suggested implementing stronger background checks and other measures to protect against gun violence, but stopped short of calling for gun control beyond tightening background checks for gun purchasers.
"Republicans can no longer be silent on this issue," she said. "And it's not about the Second Amendment. There are plenty of things that we can be doing besides offering prayers and silence. Some sort of Amber Alert, for example, to let the community know there's been a shooting."
"Strengthening our background checks is something that the vast majority of Americans support. Hardening our schools, churches and synagogues so that there is deterrence."
"Every time there's a mass shooting ― and they're increasing every year ― every week, we don't say anything. We want to bury our heads in the sand and hope that it goes away. But guess what? It's not going away," she added.
Noting that she represents a purple district, Mace continued: "We've not learned anything from the midterm elections if we're going to sit here on our hands silently, not offering any type of solution to reduce gun violence in our country."
"And it's not about gun control," she added.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (SC) on where the "gun conversation" goes with so many mass shootings:
"Republicans can no longer be silent on this issue. And it's not about the Second Amendment — there are plenty of things that we can be doing besides offering prayers and silence." pic.twitter.com/lffJzZCsd2
— The Recount (@therecount) April 16, 2023
On abortion, Mace said some of the stances Republicans had taken ― particularly in cases involving rape and incest or where the mother's life is at risk ― were "so extreme" that independent voters and those in the middle of the political spectrum "cannot support us."
"If we're gonna ban abortion, what are we doing to make sure women have access to birth control?" she said.
Though Mace describes herself as "pro-life," she argued that there are many avenues for Republicans to "protect life and not alienate the independent voter," like improving access to contraception, improving adoption services and the foster care system and strengthening OBGYN access and care.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, Republican-led state legislatures across the country have banned or severely restricted access to abortions. In 13 states, most abortions are now banned, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
"We've got 14 counties in South Carolina that don't have a single OB/GYN doctor — so if we're gonna ban abortion, what are we doing to make sure women have access to birth control? "
— Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) talks about representing a purple district and finding middle ground pic.twitter.com/AQrnU01ixj
— The Recount (@therecount) April 16, 2023
Mace, a self-described fiscal and constitutional conservative, defeated a Donald Trump-backed primary challenger last year. She has been critical of the former president's role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, though she did not vote to impeach him for it. She did, however, vote to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 election win.
She has also expressed disapproval with members of the extremist faction of her party, such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
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Nancy Mace has "crossed the rubicon". She is now an enemy of Maga. Good luck with that.
So you don't want repubs to challenge Trump?
Nancy sounds like the Republicans should mimic the Democrats. It doesn't matter what's done, or not done, the only thing that's important is giving the impression and optics that they're really, really, doing "something" about gun violence.
Biggest start would be to enforce the existing gun laws as well as stricter background checks, instead of trying to make a plethora of useless new laws that won't work
Republicans need to accept that abortion restrictions will loose more elections than it will win. Restricting abortion is not worth the fight
Agreed. But it doesn't sound like the leadership has learned that lesson from '22 so the elections in 24 will not be to their liking.
It will be no surprise if she is ostracized like Liz Cheney was - either lose your dignity and integrity and toe the line or else begone.
Cheney brought a lot of her being ostracized upon herself. I have no sympathy for her.
How so, Ed? She stood up to Trump's lies. Her voting record is pretty much straight GOP platform (such as it is). But she had the courage and integrity to call out Trump and those supporting his lies.
Couldn't stand her father Darth Cheney- damn well can't stand her. Like father, like daughter.
Neither deserved the power they gained in the Republican party. Both need to be kept the hell away from it.
I thought she had an important position in the Republican Party, and I never saw any criticism of her until she became critical of Trump.