What have we come to?

There’s an account on Twitter that recently posted the most horrifying video.  What’s horrifying is that it had to be made at all.  The comments that follow are enough to make you weep, if they haven’t already made you rage beyond belief.

You can find it here https://twitter.com/sandyhook/status/1174291982857883653

Despite what the NRA and Republican lawmakers would have you believe, proposed laws don’t destroy the protections afforded under the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution.  They are sensible laws that will go some way towards addressing the epidemic of mass-shootings that engulfs the United States today.  No civilian should have any cause to own military grade assault weapons.  Outside of military conflict, I find it difficult to imagine a credible scenario that warrants the use of an assault rifle.

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has voted to approve three measures: a ‘red-flag’ bill (a law that permits police or family members to petition a court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person presenting a danger to themselves or others), a ban on high-capacity magazines, and legislation to prohibit people convicted of violent hate crimes from possessing firearms.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are urging the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, to bring background checks to the Senate floor.  They have also written to the President asking him to support universal background checks for all gun sales.

For his part, McConnell has stated in recent weeks that he will not allow a vote on any gun bill until President Trump has indicated what kind of legislation he is willing to sign, adding that he “wants to pass bills that will become law and that any push for gun control without Trump’s backing is theatrics”. 

Trump hasn’t been forthcoming with the details on what will be acceptable.  He has, however, stressed the need to protect gun owner rights.  

It’s time that Trump and McConnell pause in their politics to offer some bi-partisan leadership that begins to address the gun control crisis that exists in the United States today.  America’s children shouldn’t be learning gun drills, surely there are more important things for them to do, like being kids.

Twitter: @GOMinTraining
Copyright © Craig Brown, 2019
20 September 2019