Gerrymanderturd Wrote:
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> Last week, America woke to what has become an
> all-too-common nightmare. A man as predictable as
> it is disappointing. We offer our thoughts and
> prayers. We hold a moment of silence; anything to
> distract from the central cause, and common
> instrument, of these crimes. How many more must
> die before Congress acts?
>
> This is a problem for which there are solutions.
> Expand universal background checks to keep guns
> out of the hands of dangerous people. Reinstate
> the assault weapons ban. Close the gun show
> loophole.
>
> But the gun lobby and the Republican Majority it
> controls stand in the way of each of these
> reforms. For example, the NRA opposes expanded
> background checks for gun purchases even though
> majorities of gun owners and NRA members support
> them. The NRA even opposes the CDC funding for
> research on gun violence and its effect on public
> health despite the fact that more than 30,000
> people die in gun-related deaths annually.
>
> In 1994, Congress passed the Assault Weapons Ban,
> restricting certain types of weapons and capping
> the size of ammunition magazines. However, in the
> time since the ban has been allowed to lapse,
> these weapons of war have become a common tool for
> the mayhem unleashed in these mass shootings. Do I
> think an assault weapons ban would prevent all
> crimes? Of course not; but certainly our Founding
> Fathers did not envision AR-15 semi-automatic
> rifles when they drafted the Second Amendment.
>
> In a shocking video, Virginia Tech survivor Colin
> Goddard demonstrated just how easy it is to skirt
> background checks. Without even a photo ID or
> background check, Goddard was able to purchase an
> AK-47. Closing the gun show loophole, which allows
> private dealers to forego background checks
> required of licensed dealers, would stem the flow
> of illegal weapons.
>
> When we marked the three-year anniversary of Sandy
> Hook, I said if more politicians viewed the safety
> of the American people as more important than
> pleasing the NRA, reason would prevail and the
> club of gun violence victims and their families
> would not continue its unrelenting growth.
> Instead, our ever-driven by hate and armed with
> assault weapons carried out our nation’s worst
> mass shooting. In its aftermath 49 were dead, 53
> injured, and communities across our country were
> left violated, vulnerable and wondering how this
> could happen again?
>
> It’s a scene repeated too often in our country.
> 49 murdered in Orlando. In December, 14 were
> killed in San Bernardino. A year ago, nine were
> murdered during Bible study in South Carolina.
> Twenty innocent children and six teachers were
> gunned down inside a school at Sandy Hook.
> Thirty-three were lost at Virginia Tech —
> including five bright, young, talented students
> from our community. Twelve were killed in an
> Aurora movie theater. The list goes on.
>
> We must have an honest conversation about the hate
> that is brewing. This time a man stole the lives
> of 49 people, many of whom identified as LGBT, and
> all of whom were celebrating and supporting
> inclusion, progress, and freedom. The attacker’s
> homophobic intent has been lost in the media
> coverage. Some have painted this as an issue of
> terror, but we must be reminded that so much of
> the blood shed to gun violence has been at the
> hands of those who claim no allegiance to Islam or
> ISIS. America’s dark history of mass killings
> has come from problems of mental illness to
> proclamations of white supremacy, and it’s a
> fallacy to attribute the continuous violence to
> “Radical Islam.”
>
> In the wake of these almost weekly tragedies, the
> response from Congress is more-frequent moments of
> silence and inaction speak volumes.
I just purchased one of these.
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