It's the situation that this episode of "The West Wing" starts with; a shooting in a church. Unfortunately, it hardly feels like you're watching fiction.
Having woken up yesterday morning to read about the shooting in an Orlando LBGTQ club that has killed 50 and injured far more, it is amazing how much of this all seems too familiar. President Obama's statement to the nation and the predictable response.
1- "Guns don't kill people. People kill people."
2- "Thoughts and prayers to the families impacted by this tragedy."
3- "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!"
Ok, that last one wasn't at all predictable, that was the GOP nominee for the office of the President of the United States, Donald Trump; whose single greatest accomplishment in life surely is testing the human limits of both financial and moral bankruptcy.
Response to #1- Yes. But People use guns to kill people, and it becomes a lot easier when they do.
Compare the gun control laws in those countries. To quote Toby's sarcastic statement from S2e13, "Do you think it's because Americans are more homicidal by nature?"
Response to #2- Here's my favorite:
Simple:
McConnell has voted for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, against adding sexual orientation to the definition of a "hate crime," and for allowing employers to continue to discriminate against LGBTQ employees. He made it clear he disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage, but the GOP was out of options to fight the new policy. He also received $9,900 in his 2014 election campaign from the NRA. Notice that his statement never mentions the community most affected by this senseless act of violence, or the weapons used in the tragic shooting.
What's my point? Thoughts and prayers are all we will get from Mitch McConnell and so many other members of the NRA's constituency (i.e. recipients of campaign donations). They know that if they support any type of gun control measure that the NRA will draft primary challenger and provide them with huge amounts of money to unseat the traitor.
What's the NRA saying about the shooting in Orlando??
Nothing.
But what is an NRA response worth, anyways?
In 1999, days after two high school students named Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed twelve of their peers and one teacher at Columbine High School, Wayne LaPierre said the following:
"First, we believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. That means no guns in America's schools, period... with the rare exception of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel."
On December 21st, 2012, one week after Adam Lanza shot 20 six and seven year olds and 6 staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School and his mother with a semi-automatic rifle and 30-round magazine that were legally purchased by his mother, the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said that gun free zones attract killers, and the NRA proposed funding to put an armed police officer in every school.
The truth is that whether it is Mental Illness, Cliques, Goth clothing, Video games, ISIL or Gun Free Zones (or the lack thereof), the NRA and the politicians who they support will always find something else to blame besides the weapons used.
Yes, we need more love and acceptance in this world. Yes, our culture is far too accepting of violence. Yes, the toxic nature of political rhetoric only feeds the fear and hatred that far too many people act on.
Unfortunately, there's no way to legislate most of what I just listed (despite racist plans to deport entire citizen groups and build walls).
What can we legislate? A ban on assault weapons. A ban on high-volume magazines. Stricter background checks, including at gun shows.
17 years after the shooting in Columbine, isn't it time to actually try to stop this cycle? With more than just social media thoughts and prayers, that is.
