Here we go again. Another tragedy leads to politicians clamoring for stricter gun control. First, my heart goes out to the victims and their families. If you don’t like how politicians are acting, vote them out. Second, a big salute to wounded officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey, and all of the other officers on the scene. They are the reason the assault was ended. They are heroes. Now, everything else in this post will be laced with my own political opinion, so here it comes.
Synopsis of the assault: 66-year-old unnamed gunman (I refuse to put his name in my post. We should never immortalize mass murderers, as it only furthers their cause.) opened fire on the Republican baseball team practice. He was subdued by Capitol Police, after wounding 5, and then died in the hospital from his wounds. As of writing this, both wounded officers are reported to be in good condition, Griner is out of surgery and Bailey has been released, Staffer Zach Barth has also been released, former staffer Matt Mika is out of surgery and in critical condition, and Steve Scalise is still in and out of surgery.
CNBC Report from the President:
So, there you have it, an extremist (politically speaking) went beyond the point of sanity and attempted to murder people. For the record, he was politically a liberal, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, the self-proclaimed socialist, and angry letter writer. The current slant is that he had a history of violence, but when I reviewed his court documents, I could only find one case of assault and it was dismissed. That doesn’t really equal a “history of violence”.
Already, mainstream media is jumping on the chance to further polarize America. This article from the ever unbiased CNN has Nancy Pelosi verbally assaulting all conservatives, blaming them for all the threats she has received. The article then ends with a survey showing 50% of each political party supporter fear the other’s policy. Using some maths, if 95% of the US identifies with one party or the other (for the sake of argument, let’s just leave it at 95%), and 50% of each side fears the other’s policy, then 47.5% of all people fear the collective government’s policies. That just sounds bad to me. The real issue here is that the government is no longer representing the common majority, and the sticking point issues are being used by major media outlets to cause conflict between the groups. But we have checks and balances, right? I mean, our politicians are looking out for us and know what’s going on. Let’s see what Mr Terry McAuliffe has to say:
“Obviously, this man should never have been in possession of a firearm.” (Courtesy of CNN.com)
Well, yes Mister Governor, it is obvious in retrospect, but nothing in his history suggested he would use a legally obtained firearm to commit murder. The same is true with the other “93 million” victims a day. Also said in the same speech. Once again, an ignorant politician is attempting to undermine the rights of American citizens. Shame on you Governor McAuliffe (D – Va), for using any shooting to further your political career by hollering for more gun control. He even goes further by saying that now isn’t the time to talk about gun control. Good job, attempting the reverse psychology. Too bad your facts are so off base you (hopefully) just ended your political career.
Further, his criminal record was filled only with traffic violations and dismissed misdemeanor assaults (two). What in this would indicate that he should have his gun rights revoked? He already lives in Illinois, a state with more restrictive gun laws. (https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/illinois/) Mr McAuliffe wishes to get rid of as many guns as possible. His definition of “stricter” gun laws seems to be prohibition. That plan worked so well with alcohol.
My conclusion for all of this is that our politicians refuse to see the violence is only a symptom of a deeper problem. They want to treat the symptom by removing the offending tool. This would equate to trying to treat an autoimmune problem by removing all the person’s T-cells. It is just ridiculous.
For further reading:
Terry McAuliffe calls for gun control after baseball shooting
By Dylan Stafford, CNN
‘It’s time to destroy Trump & Co.’: Scalise shooter raged on Facebook
Kevin Johnson, Ray Locker, Brad Heath and Aamer Madhani , USA TODAY
Gunman shoots Rep. Steve Scalise at congressional ball game practice (Photo Gallery)
Nancy Pelosi just went off on Republicans attacking Democrats over the Scalise shooting
By Chris Cillizza
After Alexandria Shooting, Congress Members Differ on Tackling Gun Control
By Matt Laslo
Congressional Baseball Game Information