Center for the American Future

Science shouldn’t be selective. TPPF is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the EPA’s decision to tighten national air quality standards after the agency ignored peer-reviewed research that challenged its conclusions. Our new amicus brief argues the EPA’s rushed process wasn’t just bad science — it violated the Clean Air Act.

Attorney Nathan Seltzer from @LitigateLiberty breaks down the explosive allegations involving the Highland Park ISD Seay Tennis Center.

In this episode of Taxpayer Empowerment, @JoseMelendezTX sits down with @LitigateLiberty's Nathan Seltzer to discuss allegations involving the Highland Park ISD Shea Tennis Center, including: Missing taxpayer funds tied to a $1.1 million revenue discrepancy and whistleblower claims of kickbacks and misconduct.

TEXAS GUN CLUB CHALLENGES FEDERAL OVERREACH Shooting has always been a part of Jeff Howard’s life. “I had a .22 rifle in my hands at the age of 9, doing what kids did back then,” says Howard, a board member at the Temple Gun Club. “Shooting squirrels, gophers and anything else.” Those early days of plinking led to a career in the U.S. Army; Howard served 26 years active duty, including time in the 1st Ranger Battalion and the Old Guard, the Army’s honor guard. “For me, the appeal is the discipline of shooting,” he says. “It’s a discipline of the mind and the body. Plus, it’s a great stress reliever, putting a few rounds downrange.” Many of the weapons Howard is familiar with and fired professionally are automatic—what the civilian world often refers to as “machine guns,” more accurately described as automatic weapons. Those guns are heavily regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA), and a separate law bans all automatic weapons manufactured after an arbitrary 1986 cutoff date. The Temple Gun Club is suing the federal government over the post-1986 gun ban, and being represented by attorneys with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. But it’s not a Second Amendment lawsuit; instead, it challenges the very foundation of the law—the U.S. Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause. “The Commerce Clause does not give Congress unlimited power to regulate mere possession of anything,” says TPPF attorney Laura Beth Latimer. “This case is a first step toward reclaiming rights that Congress never had the power to take away.” Howard agrees. “The Commerce Clause makes up the 16 most abused words in the English language,” the former Sergeant Major says. “Those words have allowed the federal government to get its hand into everything we do.” Government power should be limited—and appropriate, Howard contends. “I believe in a ‘layer cake’ government, where each layer has its own duties,” he explains. “But the Commerce Clause had made it a marble cake government—with the top layer seeping down.” Jason Armstrong, another Temple Gun Club member, also served in the U.S. Army. He’s also a gunsmith, a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder and a retired paramedic. After his Army service, Armstrong got into shooting, and eventually found match shooting—competitions for accuracy and speed. “I got the bug after that,” Armstrong says. “And 20-something years later, I’m still doing it.” Only now, he’s organizing the matches and larger competitions. Armstrong grew up shooting with his father and brother—a brother he recently lost. Aaron Armstrong, 51, was a Caldwell County deputy constable working an off-duty security job at a Travis County bar, when he was shot and killed on Jan. 4. The alleged gunman, Thomas Vences, has been indicted on charges including capital murder of a peace officer. “People ask me why I still shoot, when my brother was a victim of gun violence,” Jason says. “Just because someone misuses something, doesn’t mean it should be prohibited for everyone.” That applies to automatic weapons, as well, he contends. “It’s the principle of the thing,” he says. “The government shouldn’t be telling us what we can and can’t use to defend ourselves. Self-defense is our prerogative. If we think we need a ‘machine gun,’ the Constitution protects that. This challenge to the NFA is long overdue, and it’s time it’s struck down.”