Want to know why there is no ban on the sales of assault weapons? You're looking at itWhen David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced his sales ban on assault weapons, H.R. 1296 on February 15, dozens and dozens of Democrats-- but no Republicans-- signed on as cosponsors. And then Pelosi and Hoyer hung it out to dry-- too dangerous to the conservative freshmen who didn't want to be forced to vote yes or vote no on something so crucial and so important to their constituents, who overwhelmingly favor it. Pelosi's brain is mostly melted and she no longer understands that her flock needs to inspire Democratic and independent turnout instead of persuading Republicans who aren't going to vote for them anyway.Since the latest 3 NRA massacres, Cicilline's bill has come back to life with 11 new Democrats-- mostly conservatives in purple districts-- and one Republican (Peter King in a super-suburban Long Island district) have come on board. There are only 33 Democrats still refusing to sign one, almost all reactionary Blue Dogs and cowardly New Dems like Colin Allred (New Dem-TX), Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY), Cheri Bustos (New Dem-IL), Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX), Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS), Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC), Lizzie Fletcher (New Dem-TX), Josh Harder (New Dem-CA), Katie Hill (New Dem-CA), Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK), Ron Kind (New Dem-WI), Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT), Tom O'Halleran (Blue Dog-AZ), Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR), Kim Schrier (New Dem-WA), Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM), Jeff Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ), Filemon (Blue Dog-TX) and other congressional ne're-do-wells.Three Democrats signed on this week right after Republican Peter King did-- Haley Stevens (New Dem-MI), Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA) and Abby Finkenauer (IA). Just in time to not come under fire from March For Our Lives, the survivors of the Parkland Florida gun rampage. One of their top demands is "a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. It’s simple: weapons of war that enable more casualties during mass shootings should not be allowed on our streets and in our communities. We’ve debated this for decades and it’s time to get it done." And there's a lot more tp what they're doing:I'm hoping that when they go after Republican enablers they remember NRA enablers who might have a "D" next to his or her name. Remember, many of the worst offenders also have primary opponents. For example:
• Assault rifle and NRA lover Henry Cuellar will have to face Jessica Cisernos.• Assault rifle and NRA lover Tom O'Halleran will have to face Eva Putzover.• Assault rifle and NRA lover Kurt Schrader will have to face Mark Gamba.
This is, in part, what March For Our Lives is asking for. It makes sense and polling shows that a strong majority of Americans support their goals-- not Trump and not conservatives in Congress, but normal people. Meanwhile, please consider contributing to the progressive candidates taking on assault weapons and NRA champions. The NRA will spend immense amounts of money-- they took tens of millions from the Kremlin, which is hoping to sow anomie and discord in our country. Click on the thermometer on the right and contribute what you can.
1- CHANGE THE STANDARDS OF GUN OWNERSHIPAdvocate and pass legislation to raise the national standard for gun ownership: a national licensing and registry system that promotes responsible gun ownership; a ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other weapons of war; policies to disarm gun owners who pose a risk to themselves or others; and a national gun buy-back program to reduce the estimated 265-393 million firearms in circulation by at least 30%.2- HALVE THE RATE OF GUN DEATHS IN 10 YEARSMobilize an urgent and comprehensive federal response: declare a national emergency around gun violence and announce an audacious goal to reduce gun injuries and deaths by 50% in 10 years, thereby saving up to 200,000 American lives.3- ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE GUN LOBBY AND INDUSTRYHold the gun lobby and industry accountable for decades of illegal behavior and misguided policies intended to shield only themselves; reexamine the District of Columbia v. Heller interpretation of the Second Amendment; initiate both FEC and IRS investigations into the NRA, and fully repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.4- NAME A DIRECTOR OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTIONAppoint a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) who reports directly to the President, with the mandate to operationalize our federal goals and empower existing federal agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-- agencies that have all been structurally weakened by the gun lobby. The National Director of GVP would begin by overseeing a down payment of $250 million in annual funding for research by the CDC and other federal agencies on gun violence prevention.5- GENERATE COMMUNITY-BASED SOLUTIONSFully fund targeted interventions addressing the intersectional dimensions of gun violence, including community-based urban violence reduction programs, suicide prevention programs, domestic violence prevention programs, mental and behavioral health service programs, and programs to address police violence in our communities.6- EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATIONAutomatically register eligible voters and mail voter registration cards to all Americans when they turn 18. Create the “Safety Corps,” a Peace Corps for gun violence prevention. The younger generations are disproportionately affected by gun violence. They should have a say in how their country solves this epidemic.We don’t have to live like this: in fear for our lives and our families. The federal government has failed in its responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of the public with regard to the nation’s gun violence epidemic. The time for comprehensive and sweeping reform is now. We need ambitious leadership throughout the whole of government to stand in opposition to the gun lobby and industry in order to secure a peaceful America for generations to come.
Meanwhile, in an alternative universe...He's one flip-floppin' piece of dung, that "president" of yours. Politico reported yesterday that he "offered what appeared to be another pivot in his views on gun control measures, saying the nation’s background check system is 'already strong' but that he has 'an appetite' for plugging loopholes in the federal process. In the wake of shootings in California, Texas and Ohio, the president spoke with Democratic lawmakers about the issue, declaring he was open to hearing a number of solutions. But Trump also denied that he had been influenced by recent talks with NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre after reports that the president had spoken by phone with LaPierre onTuesday to inform him that so-called universal background checks touted by advocates were off the table."
“We have background checks, but there are loopholes in the background checks. That’s what I spoke to the NRA about yesterday,” he argued. “They want to get rid of the loopholes as well as I do. At the same time, I don’t want to take away people’s Second Amendment rights.”In the weeks since back-to-back mass shootings, Trump has waffled on strengthening background checks, at first offering gun control advocates hope that he would ignore the protests of the gun lobby and push the issue before apparently retreating over the weekend.On Aug. 7, he told reporters that he was “all in favor” of pushing background check legislation, calling the issue “important.” And as recently as a week ago, Trump professed that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who’d been blocking the chamber from bringing up House-passed background check bills, was on board.“I believe that Mitch-- and I can tell you, from my standpoint, I would like to see meaningful background checks. And I think something will happen,” the president said, adding that he had also talked with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), one of the leading gun control advocates in the chamber.Trump began to back off publicly late last week, parroting talking points often offered by groups like the National Rifle Association and providing an opening that Republican lawmakers seized on.“We are working very hard to make sure we keep guns out of the hands of insane people and those who are mentally sick and shouldn’t have guns,” he said Thursday at a campaign rally in New Hampshire. “But people have to remember, however, that there is a mental illness problem that has to be dealt with. It’s not the gun that pulls the trigger. It’s the person holding the gun.”Before the rally, he suggested to reporters that he was looking at reopening mental institutions, as well.On Sunday, as he returned to Washington from his New Jersey club, Trump told the media that “I don’t want people to forget that this is a mental health problem. People don't realize we have very strong background checks right now.”Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the president claimed there are “very strong” background checks in place currently, but that there are “missing areas and areas that don’t complete the whole circle-- and we’re looking at different things.”On Wednesday he reiterated that position, saying that “I have an appetite for background checks-- we’ll be doing background checks. We’re working with Democrats, we’re working with Republicans, and we already have very strong background checks.”While denying that his position had changed, he asserted that, though he thought Congress had room to “close up the gaps” and enact “meaningful” fixes to the existing background check process, “we cannot let that slope go so easy.”Trump rejected a reporter’s suggestion that his references to a “slippery slope” of gun control laws were plucked from NRA talking points, claiming his rhetoric was “a Trump talking point. You approve one thing, and then another thing, then another thing. Then all of a sudden you're on that slope and then all of a sudden nobody has any legal protection.”He allowed that “there are certain weaknesses” in current law, which he predicted lawmakers would be able to address. But, he said, “I'm concerned that no matter what we agreed to, when we get there, I'm concerned that Democrats will say, ‘Oh, well, we now want this.’ It's a slippery slope.”
The slippery slope is how many people have been killed with guns since Putin put Trump into the White House to screw up our country and generally disrupt the West. That will go down as the most successful Russian foreign policy initiative since hordes of Cossacks rode into Paris and deposed Napoleon. Trump still isn't giving up on Greenland though.
