Tag: gun control

Don’t Surrender To Do-Somethingism On Guns

Before we even knew how the killer of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, had obtained his guns, Chris Murphy was engaging in his customary performative emotionalism on the Senate floor, literally begging Republicans to “compromise.”

Compromise on what exactly? Murphy has never once offered a single proposal that would have deterred any of these mass shooters. Literally minutes after his routine, Murphy was asked about the obvious mental illness prevalent among most of these shooters. “Spare me the bullsh-t about mental illness,” the Connecticut senator responded, “ripping” the GOP. “We don’t have any more mental illness than any other country in the world.” That’s how serious he is about compromise.

Whether America is more prone to mental illness or not, these incidents are almost exclusively perpetrated by young men who have exhibited serious anti-social behavior. All of them break a slew of existing laws. All of them have either obtained guns illegally, or legally before having any criminal record. In many, if not most, cases, the shooter is already on the cops’ radar because he has threatened others or written insane, violent manifestos. In a study of mass shootings from 2008 to 2017, the Secret Service found that “100 percent of perpetrators showed concerning behaviors, and in 77 percent of shootings, at least one person – most often a peer – knew about their plan.”

Rather than focusing on these tangible entry points for potentially useful legislation, instead of proposing ideas on better identifying shooters before they act, instead of thinking about how schools could be structurally safer, instead of debating the efficacy of putting more cops in schools — and none of these are panaceas, mind you — Senate Democrats were busy dunking on Republicans for failing to support bills that have absolutely zero to do with mass shootings.

Chuck Schumer planned to introduce H.R. 8, an expanded background check bill, and H.R. 1446, a bill that would close the alleged “Charleston Loophole” (before he realized it wouldn’t be politically expedient.) “Alleged” because Dylann Roof, who murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston in 2015, got a clean background check, not because of any “loophole,” but because local prosecutors had failed to respond to the FBI’s request for information. It was a case of human error, or negligence. So maybe Democrats should be promoting a “law-enforcement-should-do-its-job” bill. Because all “universal” background checks do is stop friends and families from gifting guns. Straw purchases are already illegal, as Schumer, Pelosi, and Murphy already know. And passing expanded background checks after a school shooting is tantamount to demanding stricter drivers tests after a hit and run.

Democrats, obsessed with largely irrelevant issues like AR-15s and “universal background checks,” are largely living in the early 1990s. Joe Biden’s address to the nation consisted of a litany of hackneyed talking points he’s been regurgitating for decades now — including that transcendently stupid joke about deer in Kevlar. “As a nation, we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” Biden said — again.

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Dem Legislation Could End Gun Sales to All Current Firearm Owners Forever, Require DOJ License

Do you want Merrick Garland to decide if you’re eligible to own a gun every time you acquire a new firearm?

Senate Democrats are pushing gun control in the run-up to the midterms, in the form of a bill introduced on Thursday.

They’re using the Buffalo mass shooting as a political tool, even though the gunman easily bypassed New York’s gun control laws to attack unarmed grocery shoppers.

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal and Bob Menendez are introducing the Federal Firearms Licensing Act, according to Politico.

The law would fundamentally revise gun ownership from a right enjoyed by American citizens to a privilege bestowed by the government at its own discretion.

Acquiring or buying a new gun would require a lengthy licensing process through the Department of Justice — every time you purchase a new firearm.

Buying a gun from a licensed firearms dealer already requires a NICS background check. Existing law prevents felons from buying or owning guns.

Booker’s bill would give the Attorney General discretion to approve or deny a federal firearms license, even if you’ve never been convicted of a crime.

The Attorney General would be able to deny a firearms license if they determined that the prospective gun owner “poses a significant danger of bodily injury to self or others” by owning a firearm.

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It Only Took About 180 Minutes For Democrats To Try To Capitalize On The Buffalo Shooting

Shortly over three hours after police were alerted to a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, Democratic politicians took to Twitter to call for gun control legislation.

“Two mass shootings in 24 hours, in Milwaukee and Buffalo — the latter killing ten people. I’m heartbroken. And I’m angry. Angry that the GOP continues to block even the most basic gun safety measures. We can stop this. We can save lives. Republicans just refuse to. Cowards.” said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California in a Twitter post.

The alleged shooter, later identified in court as 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron, reportedly traveled several hours from Conklin, New York to Buffalo where authorities said the gunman exited his vehicle with a firearm and shot four people in the parking lot, three of them were fatally wounded, the New York Times reported. A retired Buffalo police officer who was working as a security guard at the store was fatally shot by Gendron who continued firing upon customers and employees inside the store, the outlet noted.

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Supermarket Shooter’s Alleged Manifesto Says He Chose Buffalo, NY Because of Strict Gun Control Laws

The suspect who allegedly shot and killed 10 people and injured three more at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on Saturday may have planned the attack for months, officials said Sunday, while a manifesto that was apparently written by the man said he chose Buffalo because of the state’s stringent gun laws and used an illegally modified rifle to carry out the attack.

Authorities claimed the man, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, penned a 180-page manifesto, which was posted online. Officials told news outlets that the manifesto detailed his desire to attack the Tops Friendly Market and he drove there from several counties away.

“This defendant is accused of traveling to our area and targeting innocent people who were shopping for their groceries on a Saturday afternoon. I continue to pray for all affected by this horrific crime,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said in a statement. “I am committed to obtaining justice for the victims, their families, and this community.”

He added: “My office is working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement into potential terrorism and hate crimes. This is an active investigation and additional charges may be filed.”

In the alleged manifesto, the author appears to claim that he chose Buffalo, New York, because of the strict gun control laws, because it has a high “black population percentage,” and “isn’t that far away” from where he had lived. The Epoch Times could not confirm whether the manifesto was written by Gendron. The Epoch Times has contacted Flynn’s office for comment.

New York state, the author said, “has heavy gun laws so it would ease me if I knew that any legally armed civilian was limited to 10 round magazines or cucked firearms,” likely referring to New York laws restricting magazines to only 10 rounds and laws that limit the purchase of certain types of semi-automatic rifles. New York state residents also need to obtain a permit, which can take months if not years, to buy a pistol under the provisions of the SAFE Act.

“Won’t your attack result in calls for the removal of gun rights in the United States?” the author rhetorically asked himself. “Yes, that is the plan all along, you said you would fight to protect your rights and the constitution, soon will come the time.”

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