Tag Archive: gun control

The Republican myth of “politicizing gun violence”

Political process in action

Once again, the cycle continues of a mass shooting in America, followed by a public outcry to do something, followed by Republican charges that Democrats are “politicizing gun violence.” It happened again this week, in the aftermath of the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, which involved an AR-style assault weapon and an AR-style pistol, and claimed the lives of three young school children and three adults. Reaction to the shooting included one mother who took over a Fox “News” live stream following a press conference at the scene, saying that she and her son had survived the shooting, and that:

How is this still happening? How are our children still dying and why are we failing them?

These shootings… will continue to happen until our lawmakers step up and pass gun safety legislation.

Democrats support and propose such gun safety legislation, and indeed, President Joe Biden and other Democrats called for a renewed Assault Weapons Ban after Monday’s Nashville school shooting. But the only response to the shooting from Republicans is to avoid talking about guns. On Monday, for example, Republican U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan postponed a committee meeting at which he and his Republican colleagues planned to nullify a recent rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives which defined firearms with stabilizing braces (allowing firing from the shoulder) as “rifles” subject to registration and other requirements. In postponing their action, Jordan stated that “Democrats were going to turn this tragic event into a political thing.” That charge is another Republican myth, and we will show why.

Sarah Palin loses gun scope court case as Republican shoots at Gabby Giffords’ husband in ad

The Palin/violence connection runs deep

As we have mentioned on multiple occasions, one of the lowest points in Republican Death Culture politics was Sarah Palin‘s 2010 ad which placed gun scope crosshairs on nearly a score of U.S. Congressional districts, one of which was Arizona’s 8th district, then served by Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. Palin introduced the ad to her Twitter followers with the gun analogy “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!” Several months later, Rep. Giffords was shot in the head, six others were killed, and another 12 were wounded at Giffords’ outdoor political event in Tuscon.

While it has not been proven that the Arizona shooter was directly prompted by Palin’s gun scope ad, many people made this connection, and felt that the shooting was a natural result of Palin’s ad. Of the numerous pieces written about this, one was a New York Times editorial which stated that “the link … was clear” between Palin’s gun scope ad and the subsequent shooting of Giffords. Palin sued the New York Times for defamation over the editorial, but on Tuesday, she lost her court case. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the Times after the judge in the case ruled that Palin had failed to prove that the Times had acted with the required element of “actual malice” towards her.

At the same time, however, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Lamon, who is running this year in Arizona against Gabby Giffords’ husband, Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, has been airing an ugly, violent TV and social media ad. The ad features Lamon shooting at lookalike actors portraying President Joe Biden, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Kelly. The dangers here are obvious and almost too ominous to think about.

President Biden delivers powerful message, executive orders on gun violence

March For Our Lives rally, Columbus, Ohio, 2018

President Joe Biden took several significant executive actions yesterday to combat gun violence. In a White House Rose Garden ceremony, Biden, along with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, announced that he is:

    • Directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to propose regulations to stop the proliferation of deadly, untraceable “ghost guns”;
    • Modifying federal grant programs to increase available funding for community violence intervention programs;
    • Publishing a model state “red flag” law (which would permit families or law enforcement to petition courts to remove guns from someone who poses a threat to themself or others);
    • Directing DOJ to issue a new, annual comprehensive report on firearms trafficking;
    • Directing DOJ to propose a regulation ensuring the stabilizing arm braces that circumvent the law on dangerous short-barrel rifles are subject to the National Firearms Act;
    • Nominating David Chipman, a former special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and longtime gun owner and gun safety expert, to be the director of the ATF.

After election defeats, will Republicans finally abandon Trump?

Virginia Beach voting sticker

Yesterday, Republicans suffered stunning election losses in Kentucky and Virginia. In Kentucky, Democratic state Attorney General Andy Beshear defeated incumbent Republican Governor Matt Bevin to become the new Governor-elect (Bevin thus far has refused to concede the election). Bevin’s defeat is a major embarrassment for Donald Trump, who, on Monday night, held a rally in Kentucky’s second-largest city, Lexington, and pleaded with the audience to prevent a Democratic win in the state, saying, “You can’t let that happen to me!”

In Virginia, Democrats won the majority in the State House of Delegates and the State Senate, to go along with their Democratic Governor. This marks the first time in 26 years that Virginia has had a unified Democratic state government, which may well be a continuation of the “Blue Wave” that swept Democrats into the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. One of the issues for Virginia voters yesterday was gun violence, after 12 people were killed in a mass shooting in Virginia Beach last May. Republican lawmakers in Virginia, as well as nationally, have dragged their feet on or even blocked taking common-sense steps proposed by Democrats to reduce gun violence. The voters may have signaled that they have had enough.

Is the tide finally turning on gun violence?

Vigil for shooting victims (Dayton, OH)

Colt Firearms recently announced that it will suspend production and civilian sales of its AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle. Due to their design enabling shooters to kill so many people in so little time, the AR-15 (the most popular rifle in America) and similar assault weapons, such as the AK-47, are the top choices in a large number of America’s deadliest mass shootings, and the vast majority of mass shooting deaths, including:

Aurora, CO; Sandy Hook Elementary School (CT); Poway, California synagogue; New Zealand mosques; El Paso, TX; Dayton, OH (9 people killed in 30 seconds); Las Vegas, NV concert; Sutherland Springs, TX church; Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, FL); Santa Monica, CA; San Bernardino, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Geneva County, AL; Chattanooga, TN; Carson City, NV; and more.

In addition to Colt’s discontinuation of the AR-15, moreover, several other actions might be considered early signals that the tide of public opinion, and legislative action, may be starting to turn against gun violence. These actions include:

Responding to right wing talking points on guns

Right wing New York Post now calls for Assault Weapons Ban

In the wake of last weekend’s back-to-back deadly mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the arguments are flying from pro-gun right wingers who don’t want to take any action to reduce gun violence, and many Democrats (joined by others) who say that America needs common-sense gun laws. The right wing talking points have been around for years, and typically emanate from the top, meaning the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is now reduced to a pro-terrorist gun manufacturers’ trade group, as well as Republican Party professional phrase makers. So now, let’s go through some of these Republican pro-gun violence talking points, and come up with good, short responses to them. In some cases, responses have been given in recent days, and are cited here:

Democratic Party video shows “a mission and a message”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), the governing committee and voice of the Democratic Party, has a video up at its website, as well as on YouTube, which shows the party’s “mission” and “message.” Here is the video:

Not surprisingly, the DNC video stands in stark contrast to the mission and message expressed by Donald Trump and the Republicans:

Democratic majority House has accomplished a lot in 100 days

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

It seems like both mainstream and social news media are obsessed with Donald Trump and his latest Outrage of the Day. But under our Constitution, we have three co-equal branches of the federal government, and half of one of those branches — Congress — is in Democratic hands. The Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, just marked their first 100 days back in control of the House of Representatives, with some fanfare, including the Twitter hashtag #100DaysForThePeople. Pelosi also appeared on CBS60 Minutes program last Sunday to talk about what the Democrats have accomplished thus far this year, and what further actions they plan to take. Given that the House majority is the Democrats’ only foothold in the federal government at this time, they have done quite a lot:

Could Elizabeth Warren win the Democratic presidential nomination?

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren appeared at a CNN town hall at Jackson State University in Mississippi this past Monday night, moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper. By numerous accounts, Warren “nailed” her performance. Warren exhibited traits shared by Democrats who have won the presidency: intelligence, empathy, passion and energy.

The question is whether Warren can gain momentum in these early stages of the 2020 Democratic presidential process, to catapult her into the lead, and eventually, to win the Party’s nomination. Currently, Warren sits in about fifth place in the polls (if Joe Biden, who has yet to enter the race, is included). Warren’s principal competition is thought to be Bernie Sanders, as both of them are considered to occupy the left lane of the Democratic field. Sanders, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2016 and lost to Hillary Clinton, benefits from name recognition. However, Sanders suffers from some heavy baggage, including his 2016 negative attacks on Clinton and the Democratic Party, questionable votes on guns and Russia, a “woman problem,” and old age. Indeed, Warren appeared to distinguish herself from Sanders when she suggested at the CNN town hall that all candidates for federal office release their tax returns. This comes as Sanders, having been asked since at least 2016 to release multiple prior years of tax returns as other presidential candidates do, still has not done so. In short, Warren can be seen as a safe liberal alternative if Sanders stumbles or gets dragged down by his baggage.

At the same time, Warren may be carving out her own, more moderate lane next to Sanders. This could help her in a general election. In this regard, Warren notably gave tempered yet clear answers on several issues at Monday’s town hall:

On reparations for slavery, Warren was asked by an audience member specifically about what “public apology” should be made to African-Americans. Warren responded:

Warren: I believe it’s time to start the national, full-blown conversation about reparations. And that means I support the bill in the House to appoint a Congressional panel of experts, of people who are studying this, to talk about different ways we may be able to do it, and to make a report back to Congress, so that we can, as a nation, do what’s right and begin to heal.

Tapper: Senator, if I could just follow up on Georgia’s question, you said you’re open to a conversation about reparations to the descendants of slaves, and also to native Americans, you also said. Might that include direct payments, direct financial transfer of money?

Warren: So, there are a lot of ways to think about how reparations should be formed, and I noticed, Georgia’s question actually started with just the frame of an apology, right? With the frame of a national recognition. We have a lot of experts around the country, a lot of activists, who have a whole lot of different approaches to it. And I think the best we can do right now, I love the idea of this Congressional commission. Let’s bring people together, and let’s open that conversation as Americans. Let’s see what ideas people want to put on the table, and let’s talk them through. Because I gotta tell you, ignoring the problem is not working.

Likewise, Warren was asked about universal healthcare coverage. She responded:

Healthcare is a basic human right…. Right now, Democrats are trying to figure out how to expand healthcare coverage, at the lowest possible cost so everybody is covered. Republicans right this minute are out there trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they’ve got a lawsuit pending down in Texas where they’re trying to roll it back, what they couldn’t do with a vote, they’re trying to do with the courts. HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] every day is doing what they can to undermine the Affordable Care Act…. The first thing we need to be talking about is defend the Affordable Care Act…. Then part two …. For example, let’s bring down the cost of prescription drugs all across the country…. And then when we talk about Medicare For All, there are a lot of different pathways. What we’re all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure everybody gets covered.

Finally, on the question of whether Warren and some other Democratic candidates are “Socialists,” Warren also portrayed herself as more moderate:

I believe in markets, and I believe in the value that we get out of markets. But, it’s got to be markets with rules. You know, a market without rules is theft. But a market with rules, a market with a cop on the beat to enforce those rules, that’s how it is that small businesses can get a chance to start and grow…. That’s how it is that we get new products.

The trick for presidential candidates in both parties is that, while most of the country on average might be considered moderate, the primary process comes first, and it energizes activists who are more to the left on the Democratic side, and more to the right on the Republican side. It’s possible that Warren as well as other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates could successfully straddle this line. Warren’s responses at the CNN town hall were attention-getting both for not sounding too “Socialist,” and also for sounding like she’s open to great ideas, as a winning Democratic candidate should be.

Photo by ElizabethForMA, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/uKNPIy

Rallying at Ground Zero in Parkland

Protesters carrying signs at March For Our Lives rally in Parkland, FL

Today, Parkland, Florida was once again Ground Zero in the fight against gun violence. While the March For Our Lives protests took place around the country and, indeed, around the world, and the event in Washington, D.C. was the largest, Parkland (specifically, the February 14, 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School) is the reason why the marches happened. Moreover, Parkland is Ground Zero today because Donald Trump is hiding out at his Mar-a-Lago private club a mere 40 miles away in Palm Beach.