Same Horrible Republican Response Over Latest Horrible School Killings
I love the way it looked when I strapped on a holster and gun and a belt of bullets, kind of how it made me feel like a man when I was 8 and put on my toy holster and gun. As far as I can see, that about sums up today’s perverse, ghoulish fascination with guns and the battle against gun controls. Except I never killed anyone with my plastic gun and plastic bullets and I grew up and outgrew the fascination.
Remember that only Yemen has fewer guns per capita than the U.S. and Yemen is not exactly a place you would want to go for summer vacation. Yemen, the U.S. and the NRA, perfect together and isn’t it swell that trump leads the list of speakers at the NRA’s annual orgy of weaponry and destruction in Texas this weekend, just four hours from the latest school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. And Don McLean will entertain, really, Mr. American Pie, but I guess nothing is more American than guns and violence.
At least the Republicans are taking it to the evil LGBTQ community and working really hard to keep the pedophile enablers away from the school children that aren’t killed in a mass shooting. The Grand Old Party also is feverishly toiling to stop any instruction about systemic racism in the schools and thank god for that. And they are just as intent on keeping out of school libraries and schools those books that will pollute the kids’ tiny minds. And of course, they will fight to the bitter end to protect the unborn and screw the already born, excuse the pun.
And yes, it is easier to get a gun than to get a driver’s license, where you have to submit proof of your identity, pass vision and written tests, drive around a few weeks on a learner’s permit and then pass the driving test. Some states also have a probationary period before the license is permanent.
To get a gun, you don’t need knowledge or pass a proficiency test and usually you don’t need a license or permit to buy a gun in most states and there is no probationary period after you get the gun.
And yes, it is easier to get a gun than a passport where you must prove citizenship, submit paperwork and a photo and wait around six weeks for your first U.S. passport.
When you go to a gun store, the store runs your name through the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System; you pay your money and voila, you leave with your gun. If you’re buying from a private seller, you don’t even have to go through a background check in most states.
Yes, it’s easier to get a gun than to buy cold medicine, which is usually limited in the amount that can be purchased each month because the active ingredient is pseudoephedrine, an important component in making meth.
With guns, there is no federal law that limits how many you buy.
Yes, it’s easier to get a gun than a divorce and in some states, waiting for a divorce to be final will take up to six months.
And when you buy a gun online or in person, there are no waiting periods unless you live in the nine states that require a waiting period and then, just for a few days.
Yes, it’s easier to get a gun than a pet as the pet buyer must usually be 21, show ID and possibly provide personal references and sometimes, the adoption agency checks the home before giving up the pet.
To get a gun, no personal references and no home visits. Simple as pie.
A good place to start is to simply take semi-automatic rifles with large magazines off the market. The crazed killer at the Texas school could not have killed as many kids if he had a weapon that he had to reload numerous times and one that was not as deadly as a semi-automatic rifle. For that matter, he wore body armor and why should anyone be allowed to buy body armor unless the person can proves it’s necessary for work or self-protection. I don’t have body armor.
It’s like a gruesome replay of Groundhog Day. I was having an argument with door knob yesterday and I got nowhere and then I was having this argument with a Republican from Wyoming and I got nowhere because there are door knobs everywhere.
Republicans won’t support proposed legislation as mainstream as expanded background checks and so-called “red-flag” procedures to take guns away from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others. And any movement to ban assault-style rifles or to prohibit high-capacity magazines are already dead in the water, again sorry for the pun.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said the solution would be to codify a federal clearinghouse for school safety best practices. That is radical stuff. Not.
The latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows that a large majority of people want much tougher gun control laws. The poll showed that 88 percent strongly support requiring background checks on all gun sales; and 8 percent strongly or somewhat oppose.
On the subject of creating a national database on each gun sale, 75 percent strongly or somewhat support; 18 percent strongly or somewhat oppose.
About banning assault-style weapons, 67 percent strongly or somewhat support; 25 percent strongly or somewhat oppose.
There was large support for preventing sales of all firearms to people reported as dangerous to law enforcement by a mental health provider. A total of 84 percent strongly or somewhat support; 9 percent strongly or somewhat oppose.
Similar support was noted for making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks. That would be 81 percent strongly or somewhat support; 11 percent strongly or somewhat oppose.
And finally, most people want laws requiring storage of guns in a safe storage unit, with 77 percent strongly or somewhat support; 15 percent strongly or somewhat oppose.
The New York Times contacted the 50 Republicans in the Senate about their thoughts on two House-passed measures to strengthen background checks for gun buyers.
Only four said they were “open or undecided,” including Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa.
Those who were either opposed, leaning no, or didn’t respond all received ratings of “A” or “A-plus” from the National Rifle Association.
None of the Senators was more succinct than Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who said most voters “would probably throw me out of office,” if he were to support any significant form of gun control legislation.
The reactions of those “opposed or leaning no” on the proposed bills included Sen. John John Barrasso, R- Wyo., who said, “We don’t want to take away the rights of law-abiding citizens.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, criticized Democrats and much of the media for rushing to “try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said neither Democratic plan “will make us safer.”
“To be clear: Using this horror to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens before we even know what might have prevented this tragedy and accusing anyone who disagrees of being complicit in this abhorrent crime is not a solution that will make us safer,” Hagerty said.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said the Democratic plan would “criminalize common exchanges of firearms and strip away the rights of millions of people while doing nothing to reduce gun violence.”
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., was certain that expanding background checks “would not be acceptable for the state of Wyoming.”
Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., was equally against the bills.
“I’m a Second Amendment person, period,” Shelby said.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., reflected a common sentiment when he said “guns are not the problem, OK? People are the problem. That’s where it starts — and we’ve had guns forever. And we’re going to continue to have guns.”
Among those who declined or didn’t answer, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said the solution isn’t in regulating guns
“Schools should have secured, limited entry points, and increased funding for school resource officers. School officials with prior military or law enforcement experience should be allowed to carry firearms. Finally, mental health must be taken seriously. We should improve access to resources and treatment for those suffering from mental illness,” Blackburn said.
Sen. Richard M. Burr, R-N.C., said he’d be willing to talk about a solution but he said that none has been put forth.
“If somebody’s got a solution to this, by all means, let’s talk about it. But nobody’s proposed that they’ve got one,” Burr said.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was flat out uncooperative when he said, simply, “I have no comment on that.”
Sen. Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho, was sorry for what happened and will mourn.
“What happened in Uvalde is a horrific tragedy, and I condemn all violence. I’m personally devastated to hear of the young lives lost and I will mourn for the loss of these precious lives,” Crapo said.
And then there was Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., who said he hadn’t considered the Democratic proposals.
“I hadn’t thought about it. You’re the first one to bring that to my attention,” Inhofe said.
And of course, the conspiracy rumor mill ratcheted quickly into high gear with online platforms such as Twitter, Gab, 4chan and Reddit.
They included claims that the shooting was a staged “false flag” operation to draw law enforcement away from the border and permit criminals and drugs to cross into the U.S. The conspiracists say the parents in news interviews were crisis actors paid to play a role. There is no proof of any of it.
Another conspiracy is the killer was transgender and the shooting came about because of hormone therapy gone awry. No evidence here but that didn’t stop Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., from repeating the transgender lie.
And there’s the conspiracy theory that the gunman was an undocumented immigrant. Wrong, he was born in North Dakota. Gosar also said the killer was in the country illegally.