But first a factoid….the year is not quite 180 days old and we have had 200+ mass shootings….now there is a stat to be proud of (sarcasm)……
The mass shooting in Texas that has left 21 people dead, mostly children, has ignited the debate on guns and what to do……and of course those idiots that say ‘thoughts and prayer’ are doing nothing to help only patronizing the people involved.
As usual after the fact the Congress has taken up the problem of guns and associated deaths…..The House tries to pass some form of solution and the senate as usual will do NOTHING!
At least 10 GOP senators would have to support gun control legislation for it to pass. The New York Times contacted all 50 Republicans to see whether they’ll back two measures that the House has approved to toughen background checks for people who want to buy guns. Most of them either wouldn’t say how they’d vote or said they’d oppose the House bills. Here are a sampling of their responses, which the Times ran along with their grades from the National Rifle Association and the amount of money the organization has contributed to the senators over their careers.
- Maine Sen. Susan Collins: A spokeswoman said “Senator Collins is one of two Republican senators currently serving who voted for Manchin-Toomey, which included background checks for all commercial transactions.” NRA rating: A. Funding: $18,000.
- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: The senator blamed Democrats “and a whole lot of folks in the media” for rushing to “try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.” NRA rating: A+. Funding: $176,000.
- South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham: “None of these things we’re talking about seems to change the outcome, before these most recent cases. I doubt if any Republicans vote for that.” NRA rating: A. Funding: $433,000.
- Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey: “My interest in doing something to improve and expand our background check system remains.” NRA rating: C. Funding: $1.5 million.
- Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell: No answer. NRA rating: A+. Funding: $1.3 million.
- Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville: “I’m willing to say that I’m very sorry it happened. But guns are not the problem, OK? People are the problem.” NRA rating: A. Funding: $10,000.
- Utah Sen. Mitt Romney: “I do believe that we will be looking at ways to improve our background checks. … And I do believe that red flag laws … are helpful.” NRA rating: A. Funding: $13.6 million.
- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio: No answer. NRA rating: A+. Funding: $3.3 million.
- Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe: “I hadn’t thought about it. You’re the first one to bring that to my attention.” NRA rating: A+. Funding: $82,000.
The usual track of this debate on guns will proceed at a usual tempo….blah, blah, blah and then it will fade for something else that will become more important….
After a racist shooting earlier this month at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and Tuesday’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, guns have — yet again — emerged as a political issue that has dominated headlines. Democrats have issued impassioned pleas for the government to more tightly regulate the sale of firearms, and if past shootings are any indication, we will soon get a fresh batch of polling data showing that solid majorities of Americans agree with them. But again, if past shootings are any indication, Congress will not pass any reforms, in large part because many Republicans oppose gun control reform. And as happened so many times before, the strong public support for gun control will fade away with our memories of the shootings.
FiveThirtyEight took a look at polling and media data to show how support for gun laws has increased amid intense media coverage of past school shootings, but then reverted back toward the previous mean as the media spotlight moved on to other issues. We examined the period around two school shootings in 2018 to see how coverage of those events corresponded with changes in support for increased gun control. Specifically, we examined data around the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the May 18, 2018, shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas.1 And as you can see in the chart below, there was an abrupt increase in the share of Americans who favored stricter gun laws right after each shooting, most especially Parkland, followed by a decline in support.
Support For Gun Control Will Likely Rise After Uvalde. But History Suggests It Will Fade.
I am a gun owner and I believe it is time, actually beyond the time, to have a real and honest debate without all the BS that some want to spread to deflect the attention from the fact that these killings were done with a gun….
Let’s take a look at the most manure that is spread….
If nothing else, mass shootings and school shootings always bring out the creative side of America’s worst human beings. Whether they’re desperate for the shooter to not be a white supremacist (for fear it would make other white supremacists look bad, because they look so good and normal otherwise) or for the usual reason that they just really, really don’t want gun control. They want it to be about literally anything else. Ideally, they’d especially like it to be about a thing they are mad about so that they can blame it on the Left. Because for them, it’s not about actually preventing these massacres or making people safer, it’s about who gets the political points.
To be fair, they also claim to believe that this is what we are doing. They believe the reason we look at mass shootings and say, “Wow, seems like we should perhaps be more careful about who gets guns and perhaps not sell guns that make it super easy to kill a whole bunch of people within a very short span of time” is not because this is the most obvious and logical conclusion to reach, but because it is part of our long game to take their guns and do tyranny to them. Granted, these are people who also really love Augusto Pinochet, Vladimir Putin, and Viktor Orbán so it’s not totally clear what they imagine “tyranny” is. It’s certainly not forcing everyone to adhere to one’s own religion or forcing them to give birth against their will or forcing them to conform to what you believe their gender identity or sexual orientation should be, because those are things they would enjoy. I’d say it’s “everyone having health care” but Russia and Hungary both, technically, have universal, publicly funded health care and even Pinochet couldn’t totally get rid of FONASA (Chile’s public healthcare program). It’s honestly hard to tell!
So in order to keep people from turning to that very logical conclusion, they have come up with umpteen entirely unreasonable conclusions in hopes of distracting us. Let’s take a look at some of the gems we’ve seen this go-round.
This issue is an excellent example of just what money can buy from the Senate…..
Sadly the debate will soon die off and NOTHING will be done to try and prevent this from happening.
Turn The Page!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
In Saner Thought 
The gun discussion will go on for a few more days just like it always does and then it will fade from memory without any progress being made … or some token kind of progress maybe …but Guns will still rule the lives of every American … no matter what …that is how it has always been and that is how it will always be because guns are an immovable part of America’s sexual drive. Gun nuts need guns in order to be able to get and sustain erections. Plain and simple! Guns have become part of the American male physiology and there is no escaping it. If you want to test my theorem here, just manage to take guns away from some folks and then watch as their paranoia and their psychotic episodes explode into epic proportions.
Sadly I agree…there is an answer…check out tomorrow’s blog post…..chuq
will do
I appreciate that…..chuq
I agree with John.
He is usual right these days…..chuq
I’ve always found it interesting that the NRA is so in bed with some GOP politicians, yet the NRA-ILA’s track record for litigative victories pales in comparison to many other 2A organizations.
Background checks (NICS) need to have access to juvenile criminal and mental health records, and states/localities need to actually report known individuals to that database. The sock puppets need to stop blathering about ‘universal background checks’ (which have no real enforcement mechanism), until the current system is actually functional.
I agree that to put all apples in that cart is just wasting time and energy. be well chuq
Reading the ‘excuses’ on the link only serves to make me more convinced that nothing is ever going to change, other than who they blame it on.
Best wishes, Pete.
AS it is today then you are correct…;tomorrow I have a post about a possible solution for this malaise….chuq
In the Netherlands owning a gun is seen asca privilege NOT a right.
A privilege that includes abiding to certain laws,rules an regulations.
If you do break these you could loose your right to own guns.
Other nations have had schoolshootings but in the aftermath changed gunlaws to make the country safer.
Children are the most vounarable in a society.
How can the US look at itself, let the NRA spread their poisinous message, and doen’t act.
Are American children not worth to be protected in law and practice.
If even children are exposed to gunviolance and no changes are made, what tells this about what the US values more?
Marie that is the question that many of us are asking…..the Congress is bribed into not caring….please check out tomorrow’s post on the dead…..chuq
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
AMERICAN REALITY — in real numbers!! … “This issue is an excellent example of just what money can buy from the Senate … Sadly the debate will soon die off and NOTHING will be done to try and prevent this from happening.”
Thanx again as always….be well chuq
Most welcome!! This has to be shared!! 🙏🏽
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