Why On Earth Are Some MAGA Republicans Wearing AR-15 Pins?

TPM Illustration/Getty Images
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Over the past couple of days, some MAGA Republicans were spotted on Capitol Hill going about their business wearing AR-15 pins on their lapels, in the spot where members of Congress traditionally wear the American flag or congressional seal pins. 

Yes, you read that right. AR-15 pins.

As tone deaf as that sounds, freshman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos (R-NY) were both photographed wearing these pins on their lapels this week.

Naturally, just like me and the rest of Twitter, you might have some questions about these rifle pins. So did some members of Congress.

“Where are these assault weapon pins coming from? Who is passing these out?” Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) asked on Wednesday. 

To try and answer some of these questions, TPM reached out to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL) office.

“The pin is about sponsoring a gun bill and has nothing to do with whatever blueanon conspiracy theories are being floated on Capitol Hill,” Rep. Luna told TPM through her spokesperson Edie Heipel.

Per a quick Google search, apparently “blueanon,” which is a play on the name QAnon, is a term coined by MAGA Republicans to go after people they think are pushing “left-wing conspiracy theories.” 

Now that that’s cleared up — what gun bill is Luna talking about?

The gun bill in question appears to be Rep. Andrew Clyde’s (R-GA) Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act, which was reintroduced on Tuesday. The SHORT act is aimed at preventing a new Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule from taking effect. The rule would recategorize some firearms with stabilizing braces, requiring them to be registered and subject to taxes. 

Luna’s spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question asking for more information about the conspiracy theories that, per her statement, were “being floated on Capitol Hill.”

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. ‘Bluanon’??? How cute. So now if you are FOR gun control or any other disagreement with these ‘people’ you are a conspiracy group?

  2. And these idiots don’t realize that “the Left” didn’t give QANON it’s name, the crazy bastards adopted it themselves.

  3. Why On Earth Are Some MAGA Republicans Wearing AR-15 Pins?

    “I’m a fascist and this is what I want to do to our domestic enemies.”

  4. Ammosexuals showing their love and wishing their innards will be shredded by the bullets in one of these weapons.

    In the better news department, there’s this. Hunter’s gone on the offensive about the laptop follies.

  5. Easy. They are pro gun, pro murder and pro crime.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

233 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ealleniii Avatar for josephebacon Avatar for jnbenson Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for jep07 Avatar for becca656 Avatar for inversion Avatar for thebigragu Avatar for psudawnc Avatar for tacoma Avatar for hoagie Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for pshah Avatar for primergray Avatar for hahagoodman Avatar for justruss Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for glowgirl Avatar for zenicetus Avatar for trustywoods Avatar for mrbill30560 Avatar for cantaresf Avatar for digital_primitive Avatar for iafixture

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: