Last February David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced H.R. 1296, an assault weapons ban. He has 196 co-sponsors, including six who signed on Tuesday-- Marc Veasey (New Dem-TX), Katie Porter (D-CA), Susan Wild (New Dem-PA), Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ... incredible what a primary from the left will do with an asshole like him), and Chris Pappas (New Dem-NH). There are still no Republicans co-sponsoring Cicilline's bill. Only 40 Democrats are still refusing to co-sponsor it. And these are the Democrats who are still refusing to back banning military grade assault weapons:
• Collin Allred (New Dem-TX)• Cindy Axne (New Dem-IA)• Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)• Cheri Bustos (New Dem-IL)• Joaquin Castro (New Dem-TX)• Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)• T.J. Cox (D-CA)• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)• Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS)• Pete DeFazio (D-OR)• Abby Finkenauer (D-IA)• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)• Lizzie Fletcher (New Dem-TX)• Jared Golden (D-ME)• Vicente Gonzalez (Blue Dog-TX)• Josh Harder (New Dem-CA)• Katie Hill (New Dem-CA)• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)• Andy Kim (D-NJ)• Ron Kind (New Dem-WI)• Conor Lamb (D-PA)• Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA)• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)• Tom O'Halleran (Blue Dog-AZ)• Nancy Pelosi (Bad Leader-CA)• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)• Kim Schrier (New Dem-WA)• Terri Sewell (New Dem-AL)• Elissa Slotkin (New Dem-MI)• Greg Stanton (New Dem-AZ)• Bennie Thompson (D-MS)• Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)• Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA)• Haley Stevens (New Dem-MI)• Mike Thompson (Blue Dog-CA)• Lauren Underwood (D-IL)• Jeff Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ)• Filemon Vela (Blue Dog-TX)
During the 2018 cycle, I spoke to many of the freshmen on this last, one of whom-- Jared Golden-- we even endorsed (what a mistake and I apologize and will do my best to make up for it with him this cycle). But the rest of them couldn't fool me. I smelled the cowardice and deceit on them and Blue America refused to endorse any of the rest of them. Actually one we did endorse and then unendorsed very quickly. But yesterday I spoke with one of them. I asked her why she was not backing Cicilline's bill. I was very polite. She wasn't. Maybe she was having a bad day, but started screeching at me like a mad-women and accused me of pushing her too far towards the far left. (Banning assault weapons is "far left?" We'll get to that in a moment.) She seemed to indicate she will co-sponsor "the f**king bill" but that if she loses her election... it's my fault. She seemed so distraught that I didn't tell her what I was thinking, which was that if she couldn't help her constituents understand why banning assault rifles was good policy, she didn't belong in Congress anyway.Ever hear of Mike Turner? He's a Republican congressman who represents Montgomery County, Ohio. That's Dayton, a city where served as mayor from 1993 'til 2001. He was elected to Congress in 2003 and never has much of a problem being reelected in his R+4 district where Trump beat Hillary 51.3% to 44%. And he's been a gun-nut kind of guy. The NRA gives him money and graded him an A last year. Sunday, his daughter was across the street from the shooting mayhem in Dayton. Tuesday he said he will now back legislation that "prevents the sale of military-style weapons to civilians, a magazine limit, and red flag legislation." This is his full statement, further than what any of these 40 Democrats above seems to be willing to say:
I strongly support the Second Amendment, but we must prevent mentally unstable people from terrorizing our communities with military style weapons. I will support legislation that prevents the sale of military style weapons to civilians, a magazine limit, and red flag legislation. The carnage these military style weapons are able to produce when available to the wrong people is intolerable.We must pass red flag legislation to quickly identify people who are dangerous and remove their ability to harm others. Too often after mass shootings, we hear there were early warning signs that were ignored.I believe these are necessary steps forward in protecting our country and a testament to American values, which include protecting human life.I understand not every shooting can be prevented or stopped from these measures, but I do believe these steps are essential.This weekend, a shooter wearing body armor opened fire in downtown Dayton with a weapon he had modified to be able to hold 100 rounds of ammunition. Dayton Police ran towards the shooter and neutralized him in less than thirty seconds, saving countless lives. In those few seconds, the shooter was able to murder nine people, injure at least 27, and deeply impact the entire community. If the police had not been present and able to instantly respond, the casualties would have been astronomical.This tragedy must become a catalyst for a broader national conversation about what we can do to stop these mass shootings. I look forward to continuing this debate with my colleagues in Congress, as well as discussing these measures with the President during his trip to Dayton.
Progressive Democrat Kara Eastman is campaigning on several planks that she feels will help her neighbors in Omaha and one is sane gun policies. The Republican incumbent in her district comes from a very different mindset. "Donald J Bacon," she told me yesterday, "believes 'GUN CONTROL IS A RECIPE FOR ONLY THE CRIMINALS HAVING GUNS.' He is a member of the NRA and has taken thousands of dollars from the gun lobby. Once again, rather than representing the residents of the Nebraska Second, Bacon aligns himself with special interest groups. He has more interest in protecting them, than in protecting our children."Eva Putzova-- a progressive Democrat like Kara-- is running against an "ex"-Republican, Blue Dog Tom O'Halleran. He's one of the handful of Democrats opposed to banning assault weapons, a good enough reason by itself to help Eva replace him in Congress. She made it clear that she and O'Halleran are on different planets when it comes to gun safety. "I support Representative David Cicilline's legislation banning the sale and possession of military-style assault weapons. How many innocent people must be slaughtered by these weapons of war that have no place in civilian society? Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton, are just the latest in a long series of attacks on civilians by hate-filled individuals, including white supremacists, with easy access to assault weapons. No other nation in the civilized world experiences this mayhem on a regular basis like we do because citizens in those countries do not have access to these deadly weapons. In addition to a ban, we need a federal buy-back program that can take existing weapons off the street."The next congressional election is the NC-09 election to fill the seat that the GOP was caught trying to steal last November. It's in a month. It's a lesser of two evils choice between a generally reactionary Blue Dog, Dan McCready and an especially vile Trump-supporting neo-fascist, Dan Bishop. They both suck, but Bishop is worse. When it comes to this assault weapon ban, though... neither would back it. On Monday, the Charlotte Observer observed that "neither Democrat Dan McCready nor Republican Dan Bishop would ban the kind of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines used in the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio."
“The fact is that the gun violence is new, the prevalence of guns in America is not,” Bishop told the Observer Monday. “Which means its not the guns that caused it. It is societal ills . . . and the problem must be approached comprehensively.” ...Some Democrats-- including Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte-- have called for a ban or moratorium on the sales of assault-style weapons. McCready does not.“I think the best way to deal with assault weapons is to implement comprehensive background checks,” he said Monday.One in five gun buyers avoids a background check, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. McCready favors ending exceptions such as the “gun show loophole” that allows buyers to purchase weapons from a private seller without a background check.Bishop, who was recently endorsed by the National Rifle Association, wouldn’t go that far.“I’ve not heard of any proposal around that subject that has any explicable purpose other than leading to the creation of a national gun registry, which is anathema,” he said.McCready said Trump’s tweets and rhetoric have fueled the acrimony in the country. The president’s recent comments about four Democratic congresswomen helped trigger the Charlotte City Council’s resolution last month to “strongly condemn” his “racist and xenophobic comments.”“It clearly does,” contribute to divisiveness, McCready said.Bishop said he doesn’t believe “the president deserves any particular blame for coarsening the debate or precipitating gun violence.” He points to comments like those of New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez likening border facilities to “concentration camps.”He said the president’s language is no better or worse than that of his critics.Bishop launched a new TV ad Monday describing McCready and congressional Democrats as “crazy liberal clowns.” It was a theme he turned to in responding to tweets about the shootings by some of those same Democrats.When Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan tweeted that Trump incites violence with his own tweets, Bishop retweeted it, saying, “Crazy clown show continues.” When Ocasio-Cortez responded to Trump’s address by tweeting that white supremacy, not video games, caused mass shootings, he tweeted, “More crazy clowns. CRAAAZYYY.”Adams, who just returned to Charlotte from a trip to the border near El Paso, said she wants a moratorium on the sale of assault-style weapons.“Why do we need assault weapons on the street anyway?” she said. “Those are weapons of war.”Adams said it’s time for Congress to do something.“We can’t continue to just sit around and say, ‘We’re going to pray about it,’” she said. “The Lord expects us to do something.”