Parkland | Messaging Matters

Law enforcement failure in Uvalde shooting demonstrates need for Assault Weapons Ban

Written on July 20, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Good Government, Republican Messaging

Protest by Teens for Gun Reform

Last Sunday, the Texas House of Representatives released an Investigative Committee Interim Report indicating that 376 law enforcement officers arrived at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX to confront an active shooter on May 24, 2022, but none of them acted to rescue the students and teachers. As a result, 19 children and two teachers were killed. The report in particular faults a lack of leadership and command, especially by school district police chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who claimed to be in charge on the scene but did not act or order his officers to try to take down the gunman. Arredondo has since resigned.

The failure of so many officers in Uvalde to confront the shooter and try to save the children and teachers belies the Republicans’ frequently used “good guy with a gun” talking point, or the Republican idea that teachers should be armed in the classroom, as demonstrated by this sampling of tweets on the subject:

https://twitter.com/richardhine/status/1549039660596228096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I know no better arguments for banning AR-15 type semiautomatic rifles
Than 400 cops being afraid to take on an 18 year old with one

— William Buecker (@wcbuecker) July 17, 2022

ALMOST 400?!

If 400 “good guys with guns” are too scared to confront ONE bad guy with a gun? And let 19 people die?? Our children and their teachers?

What does that tell you?? IT’S THE GUNS. Ban assault weapons now https://t.co/TOx5bydoY9

— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) July 17, 2022

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tags: AR-15, Assault Weapons Ban, Congress, filibuster, guns, mass shootings, Parkland, Pete Arredondo, President Joe Biden, Texas, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, Uvalde

President Biden delivers powerful message, executive orders on gun violence

Written on April 9, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging

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.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tags: Assault Weapons Ban, ATF, Congress, David Chipman, Everytown for Gun Safety, filibuster, Fred Guttenberg, Gabby Giffords, gun control, gun safety, gun violence, Merrick Garland, Parkland, President Joe Biden, Senate, universal background checks, Vice President Kamala Harris

Democrats hit Trump and Republicans hard at National Convention

Written on August 21, 2020 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Former President Barack Obama, one of the key speakers at the Democratic convention.

The 2020 Democratic National Convention has ended, and it was a skillfully run, hard-hitting success During their mostly virtual event, the Democrats covered several important bases, including party unity (for example, by featuring Bernie Sanders strongly supporting the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris presidential ticket) and party appeal, by having prominent Republicans such as John Kasich, Christine Todd Whitman and others speak in support of Biden and against the reelection of Donald Trump. The Democratic convention also highlighted some stars and several stunning speeches:

Effective phrases to use instead of ‘gun control’

Written on April 2, 2018 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch

March For Our Lives protester, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2018

Recently, in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shootings, we called upon advocates of universal gun background checks, a renewed Assault Weapons Ban and other such steps to apply a powerful label to their efforts. We pointed out that the traditional label “gun control” is outdated and inaccurate, because, for example, steps like universal background checks don’t literally “control” guns, and in any case, “gun control” sounds like a Big Government Nanny State that many people don’t like. We like to use the phrase “gun violence” to point out the problem America faces, and to include it in descriptions of the measures needed to solve it, such as “gun violence legislation.” However, there are plenty of other good terms to use. The following is an evergreen list of effective-sounding replacement phrases for “gun control” that are being used in the current debate, including our sources of such phrases where known. We will be adding new terms to the list as they come up, and we encourage commenters to provide suggestions:

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tags: Assault Weapons Ban, gun conrol, gun safety, gun violence, guns, Parkland, school shootings, Second Amendment, Senator Dianne Feinstein, universal background checks

Rallying at Ground Zero in Parkland

Written on March 24, 2018 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch

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.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tags: AR-15, Assault Weapons Ban, gun control, gun violence, guns, Mar-a-Lago, Nikolas Cruz, Parkland, universal background checks

Using language as a weapon to oppose the NRA

Written on February 27, 2018 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

High school students march against gun violence in Minneapolis, MN.

The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has led to a renewed movement against the “guns everywhere” policy pushed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Republican Party members who receive so much NRA funding. Led initially by surviving students from Douglas High School, but now joined by many other individuals and groups, there are marches, protests, school walkouts, phone calls, emails, campaigns on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and other efforts taking place to safeguard America’s children and adults. The momentum appears to be building and the tide may be turning in favor of steps such as Universal Background Checks for all firearm purchases, a renewed Assault Weapons Ban, and more. But as with all movements, the goals of this movement need to be articulated in a simple and powerful way in order to win over hearts and minds. So the question becomes, what is the best way to describe what this movement is fighting for?

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the gun violence goat

Written on February 19, 2018 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida

After the Parkland, Florida school shootings last Wednesday that left 17 dead, most of them schoolchildren, one of the people who comes off looking the worst is Florida’s Republican U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio. Let’s look at Rubio’s responses to the Parkland shooting:

First, Rubio offered prayers, as Republicans typically do. However, Rubio’s version was to admit that his previous prayers did not work:

Just spoke to Broward School Superintendent. Today is that terrible day you pray never comes.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 14, 2018

When it comes to gun violence, think, pray, vote

Written on February 15, 2018 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Good Government, Republican Messaging

Republicans’ dream? Lady Liberty holding a gun instead of a torch.

After another deadly school shooting involving an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, this time in Parkland, Florida, Republicans responded with their usual calls for “thoughts and prayers.” Perhaps the worst offender was Florida’s own U.S. Senator, Republican Marco Rubio, who proved that his previous prayers didn’t work:

Just spoke to Broward School Superintendent. Today is that terrible day you pray never comes.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 14, 2018

However, when Rubio and other Republicans want something on any other issue, from tax cuts to taking away a woman’s freedom over her own body to military spending to taking away our affordable healthcare, they don’t pray, they vote. That’s just what Americans should do here.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Tags: AR-15, Assault Weapons Ban, Congress, Democrats, Florida, gun conrol, Marco Rubio, Nancy Pelosi, National Rifle Association, NRA, Parkland, Republicans, school shooting

Tag Archive: Parkland