From The Archives -- A Sad New Normal
Here we are again. That, as you'll see below, is how I started an article written five years ago, after the Las Vegas slaughter. Because I find I cannot write yet another one of these articles, when nothing has changed and nothing is likely to change any time soon.
Politico just put out some new poll numbers, from an insta-poll taken after the Uvalde, Texas school massacre. They show pretty much where the American public has stood for quite some time now: gun control measures are either popular or overwhelmingly popular. By the numbers:
- Requiring background checks on all gun sales [which 88 percent of people polled support, while 8 percent oppose]
- Preventing sales of all firearms to people reported as dangerous to law enforcement by a mental health provider [84-9]
- Making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks [81-11]
- Requiring all gun owners to store their guns in a safe storage unit [77-15]
- Creating a national database with info about each gun sale [75-18]
- Banning assault-style weapons [67-25]
That's where the public stands. Republican politicians, however, still stand with the National Rifle Association. Several of these GOP politicians will be making speeches at the N.R.A. national convention tomorrow, which will also be happening in Texas, not 300 miles from the site of the recent atrocity.
I'm sick of writing about this. It all seems so futile. So if you'd like, you can read my past columns -- like the one I wrote (on January 16th, 2013) about the massacre at another elementary school, in Newtown, Connecticut. That one starts out with a quote from (then-) Vice President Joe Biden: "There is no silver bullet." It dives deeply into the history of gun bans in this country and how any new legislation will likely take quite a while to have any real effect, due to the "grandfather clause" inserted into virtually all of these laws.
Or the one I wrote (on August 5th, 2019) after America had experienced not just two gun massacres within a very short time, but three -- in Dayton, Ohio, in El Paso Texas, and one literally very close to home for me at the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. It was only August, but as the title noted, it was the 250th such mass shooting that year.
We are now at over 200 mass shootings this year, and it is only May. That is more than one per day. Also this year alone, we've had 27 shootings happen in schools -- one of which employs a friend of mine as a school librarian.
The last time I wrote about gun massacres was last March (after back-to-back massacres in both Boulder and Denver, Colorado), when I was trying to be a little more optimistic about the chances for real change (it is titled: "Maybe This Time Will Be Different"). But it turned out it wasn't different -- and nothing changed.
So today, I had to revisit the column I wrote after the Las Vegas slaughter. It's tough to call it anything else, really, since 61 people were killed and 411 people were shot by one lone shooter with far too much firepower.
Because -- sadly -- until voters make this their primary issue when casting their ballots, I doubt if much of anything is going to change any time soon.
Originally published October 2, 2017
Here we are again. We all know the drill by now. We all know pretty much what the eyewitnesses will say, what the talking heads on the television will say, and what the politicians will say. None of it ever seems to change, and none of it seems to change anything going forward, either. We go through the cycle of "mass gun attack" and hear the same words over again. We go through the cycle of grief which will then fade, right up to the time when it happens anew all over again. This is, sadly, the new normal for America.
The gun control advocates will fight for change, but even when this change is (rarely) achieved, any new law will likely have a "grandfather clause" contained within it which allows anyone owning any weapon up to a certain date to continue to legally possess it. It's a little-known fact, but owning a fully-automatic Thompson submachine gun is still perfectly legal in this country. There are hoops to jump through to buy one, but they are usually not insurmountable. It will cost you a lot of money to buy a Tommy gun, because they are rare and historic. But there's no outright law banning you from buying one. Or any fully-automatic weapon made before the mid-1980s. And if you don't have the money or the time to deal with the red tape, you can just purchase a brand-new semiautomatic rifle and then buy a separate kit to transform it into a fully-automatic weapon (legal kits must also have been manufactured before the mid-1980s, but illegal kits are also available for a fraction of the price of a legal one).
I say all this because from the first (audio) reports, it seems the shooter in Las Vegas was using a fully-automatic weapon or weapons. And fully-automatic weapons are the most tightly regulated weapons around. But all the regulations didn't prevent him from what he did. Any law passed with a grandfather clause or other loopholes (like the conversion kits) means it is guaranteed not to be effective, in the end.
Profiling or other screening also didn't work in this case, at least from the little we now know about the shooter. He was far outside the age range that most law enforcement would even consider for a mass shooter, and he doesn't appear to have a recent history of mental illness (again, initial reports are always sketchy, so this could change). He may have just been a high-stakes gambler who hit a big losing streak -- we just don't know, at this point.
Because he's a white guy, he will be dismissed as a "lone wolf" or even "mentally ill." Nobody will suggest that we look at all mid-60s white guys harder, or that country music somehow "caused" this shooting. There are some things that change with each individual massacre, in other words, depending on how the media and politicians decide to pigeonhole the perpetrator. But none of that really changes the debate much, or the lack of any real outcome.
Short of repealing the Second Amendment and attempting to confiscate all guns, nothing much is ever going to change. And I doubt there's an American politician alive who would even advocate taking such radical steps. The gun lobby constantly fearmongers that some politicians "want to take away your guns," but I sure have never heard anyone espouse such views -- not even the most pro-gun-control Democrat around. The only laws that have ever changed this (that I am aware of) are new ones to prevent someone convicted of a violent crime or domestic violence from continuing to own guns. The justice system used to not link the two unless the person was in prison or on parole, but new laws (at least, in California) mean that the cops proactively confiscate weapons from dangerous felons. But other than that limited application, nobody's guns are in danger of being "taken away" any time soon, because there simply is not the political will to do so, from either the politicians or from a large portion of the public.
Expanding background checks, on the other hand, does have enormous public support -- above 90 percent of the public approves of mandating universal background checks. This includes almost 100 percent of Democrats, but it also includes 90-plus percent of both independents and Republicans. And yet, even with this overwhelming support, the National Rifle Association has been successful at blocking any attempts to legislate universal background checks. In fact, the only thing Republicans have been doing is making it easier to buy guns -- even for people who have been legally declared incompetent to manage their own affairs. Congress is currently considering making suppressors ("silencers") legal and making state-issued concealed-carry permits valid nationwide, rather than considering new gun control laws.
Which is why it feels futile even writing about the issue. There's not much to say, because I don't see much of any of this changing any time soon. Any new law which contains grandfather clauses or loopholes will wind up being ineffectual. No background check system will prevent every person from buying a gun that it should, because if you aren't "in the system" as officially being declared mentally unbalanced then the background check won't work. Meaning if somebody just snaps one day and decides to shoot up a crowd, they'll likely be able to legally buy the equipment to do so.
I refuse to engage in speculation about the Las Vegas shooter, because it is so early and so few facts are known. But no matter what we learn about him over the next few days, the outcome will be the same -- no action by anyone that could actually prevent such a thing from happening in the future. We have all made a tradeoff in this country: the Second Amendment (and how it is applied in the modern world) is so important to us that the price we all have to pay is enduring these mass shootings, with increasing frequency. Until that changes, welcome (sadly) to the new normal.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
The Boston Globe did the same thing today. It published an editorial that was simply a review of editorials printed after previous shootings, adding that there was nothing new to say.
Russ,
SRO programs are not touched by cuts to police departments general budget because they are mostly funded by the school systems, not the police departments who may only cover 25% of the officers pay at MOST!
Not factually accurate..
SROs were removed from schools by the tens of thousands.. Some of it was funding related.. MOST of it was because of the cop-hate attitude that YOUR Democrat Party had fostered...
? Best chances to achieve that would be with (1) universal medical coverage for all citizens which might have gotten the shooter the mental health care that he needed
Yea, that was Train Wreck Care.. How did that work out?? :eyeroll:
a national registry of gun ownership which would allow officers to remove firearms from homes
There already IS a national registry of gun ownership.
ATF Form 4473
The kind of National Registry that YOU are talking about is nothing more than the prelude to a National Confiscation Order...
Guess what, russ?? NOT going to happen..
Do you know how many Constitutional Amendments you and your Democrats will have to eviscerate to put your WOULDN'T IT BE NICE plans into motion??
A gun registry is REACTIVE.. It allows LEOs to solve gun crimes AFTER the fact...
It will do NOTHING to prevent or help prevent Crowd Base Mass Shootings..
Requiring background checks on all gun sales [which 88 percent of people polled support, while 8 percent oppose]
Preventing sales of all firearms to people reported as dangerous to law enforcement by a mental health provider [84-9]
Making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks [81-11]
Requiring all gun owners to store their guns in a safe storage unit [77-15]
Creating a national database with info about each gun sale [75-18]
Banning assault-style weapons [67-25]
All of those are either already laws, unconstitutional or will do nothing to prevent or help prevent Crowd Based Mass Shootings.
The "assault rifle" ban is ESPECIALLY laughable..
mfccfl.us/AssaultRifle.jpg
Which is the "assault rifle" ya'all would ban??
The wood stock hunting rifle looking one?? Or the tricked out mod'ed one??
Guess what?? THEY ARE ALL THE SAME EXACT GUN!! Those are ALL Mini 14 Rugers..
So your MORONIC Democrats want to ban a rifle SOLELY because it "looks scary"..
BBBBBBBWWWHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA
THIS is EXACTLY why your Democrats can't get diddley squat accomplished on their gun hate gun ban agenda..
Because they are COMPLETELY and UTTERLY IGNORANT of what it's all about..
Go ahead, Democrats.. COME FOR MY GUNS... I double dog dare you...
"The next time you're late on your payments, the missiles will be delivered considerable faster..."
-Klau, AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON
Anyone that uses the term "assault rifle" right off the bat you know yer dealing with a moron..
"Assault Rifle" is a media/political creation that has absolutely NOTHING to do with actual firearm nomenclature..
Until your Democrats can't actually grow some more brain cells (2 just doesn't cut it) and speak INTELLIGENTLY with regards to firearms....???
They're just flappin' their lips and showing everyone how ignorant they really are..
The ONLY thing that is going to prevent these Crowd Based Mass Shootings are mental health laws..
But, as we saw with Democrat Moron Chris Murphy, Democrats don't even want to HEAR about mental health when it comes to CBMSs.... Democrats don't believe that there is ANY connection between mental health and CBMSs...
THAT is how completely and utterly moronic Democrats are on this issue.. THAT is how enamored and enslaved Democrats are in their own hysterical gun hate agenda..
Take it from someone who has been there..
Parkland shooting victim's father says focus on gun control, not solutions, is why this 'happens'
Pollack told Fox News Digital that blaming guns isn't the answer
https://www.foxnews.com/us/parkland-shooting-father-gun-control-solutions-happens
This is EXACTLY what happens when Democrats ignore REAL WORLD workable solutions in favor of pushing their hate cops hate guns hate America agenda..
These school shootings and Crowd Based Mass Shootings will continue to occur...
Because Democrats can't see past their own hates and their own agendas.
Uvalde, Sandy Hook, Buffalo, etc etc etc..
It's *ALL* on Democrats... Period End Trans
Here's the Anatomy of a Democrats who is using guns SOLELY as a political prop..
Beto O'Rourke shifts position on AR-15s once again, quietly edits campaign website
Beto O'Rourke has repeatedly changed his position on AR-15s
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-beto-orourke-ar-15-position-campaign-website
Beto is the quintessential moronic Democrats trying to sound smart on a subject he is COMPLETELY ignorant of..
You people have a lot of those..
OK Kiddies, let's lay some FBI stats on ya'all..
FACT: More people are killed every year by arms and hands and feet than are killed by rifles..
Should we start banning "assault feet"??? Feet that "look" scary?? :eyeroll:
FACT: More people are killed every year by knives than are killing by rifles.
Should we start banning "assault knives"?? Knives that "look" scary??? :eyeroll:
FACT: More people are killed every year by baseball bats/blunt objects than are killed by rifles.
Should we start banning "assault baseball bats"?? Baseball bats that "look" scary?? :eyeroll:
Do ya'all see the utterly LAUGHABLE position your Democrats have taken??
And, consider this.. The NUMBER ONE GO TO firearm for your basic crowd-based mass shooter is not even a rifle at all..
It's a handgun..
So, if Democrats want to be so STOOPID as to pick on the most prevalent tool used in Crowd Based Mass Shootings, they need to ignore the scary looking rifle and go after the ordinary handgun...
Maybe Democrats should make up another word.. "Assault handgun" "Assault pistol" :eyeroll:
There ya have it people.. A litany of FACTS that prove beyond ANY doubt how completely and utter full of KAA-KAA your Democrats are when it comes to their hysterical fixture/hate on guns..
I'll leave you where we started..
http://mfccfl.us/AssaultRifle.jpg
Which is the Assault Rifle that should be banned?? :^/
Putin joke
Putin dies and goes to hell, but after a while, he is given a day off for good behavior.
So he goes to Moscow, enters a bar, orders a drink, and asks the bartender:
-Is Crimea ours?
-Yes, it is.
-And the Donbas?
-Also ours.
-And Kyiv?
-We got that too.
Satisfied, Putin drinks, and asks:
-Thanks, how much do I owe you?
-5 euros.
Baa daa ding...
The NRA is a Russian asset. Hence, we must immediately institute a guns for pie program to reduce Russian influence and increase tasty goodness.
The NRA is a Russian asset.
"That's a new one"
-Molotov Girl, FREE GUY
How long until Democrats actually make that a thing?? :eyeroll:
Texas school shooting: Could Israeli school security methods serve as model for US schools?
Israel uses a multi-layered approach to school security and goes to great lengths to identify potential assailants through behavioral profiling
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/uvalde-shooting-israel-school-security-methods-model-us
If we REALLY want to secure our schools we should turn to the experts..
The Israelis have been successfully protecting their schools for DECADES...
But Democrats will shoot down this great and effective idea because it's mainstay is profiling..
And Democrats would rather see a thousands dead children before they will agree to any form of profiling..
Democrats love their ideology more than they love their children... :eyeroll:
In conjunction with the Israeli plans above, I would say there is a 10-thousand strong force of retired LEOs and SOs that would LOVE to be part of a School Security Force.
These guys would likely work for minimum wage, they are already trained and vetted and are already licensed to carry...
It's simply moronic that local governments do not take advantage of this large work pool and security force...
But Democrats don't want plans that work.. Democrats want to bitch and moan and push their agenda.. If the price of that agenda is dead children.... Well, we know Democrats don't have a problem with dead babies, so dead children is simply a logical extension of that.. :^/
It's all about the agenda.. The ideology...
Georgia election turnout proves media wrong again
Atlanta lost the 2021 MLB All-Star Game due to voting laws, unlikely to get a 'do-over'
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/may/26/georgia-election-turnouts-prove-media-wrong-again/
The recent Georgia Election ALSO proved Weigantian Administration completely and utterly wrong as well..
"The Republican Party is now engaged in a massive effort to make it harder for everyone -- Democrats in particular -- to cast their ballot in every election. I've taken to calling this 'Jim Crow 2.0,' because that's precisely what it is."
WEIGANTIA TALKING POINT
Is there a 'Mea Culpa' in our future from said Administration???
50,000 quatloos says... NOPE.. :^/
MSNBC, The View goes off on blood-drenched Republicans, calls for 2nd Amendment repeal: 'Barbarians'
Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Moore, and others said the Texas shooting should spark heavy gun restrictions
https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-view-blood-drenched-republicans-2nd-amendment-repeal-barbarians
Repeal the 2nd Amendment??
"Yea, well.. Good luck with THAT..."
-Jim Carrey, BRUCE ALMIGHTY
BBBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
OK Let's get funny for now..
When Humans Date Robots
And ta think.. Democrats AS A PARTY POLICY Demonize and Demoralize Cops....
I can't think of ANY reason why those who are cops and cops supporters would support the Democrat Party...
That to me is a disqualifying factor... A ONE ISSUE issue..
NO ONE who supports cops should support the Democrat Party.. PERIOD...
AndyGaus,
The Boston Globe did the same thing today. It published an editorial that was simply a review of editorials printed after previous shootings, adding that there was nothing new to say.
Which doesn't stop Democrats from spewing their same old factless and ignorant bullshit...
If Democrats don't have anything new to say, why don't they shut the frak up???
Parkland dad devastated after Schumer blocks GOP school safety bill named after son: 'It's heartbreaking’
Parkland dad tells Fox News: 'I was naive to think that a horrible mass shooting would make people do the right thing'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/parkland-dad-schumer-blocks-gop-school-safety-bill
Democrats just declared that they are against school safety that would help PREVENT a Parkland, a Columbine, a Sandy Hook or a Uvalde....
Why would *ANYONE* who is sane and rational want to vote Democrat???
Well, I guess no one is interested in FACTS today, eh? :^/
A Face Search Engine Anyone Can Use Is Alarmingly Accurate
https://dnyuz.com/2022/05/26/a-face-search-engine-anyone-can-use-is-alarmingly-accurate/
It's becoming increasingly easy to compare facial photographs with a high degree of accuracy..
That is how I was able to confirm that the factually documented pictures of the Uvalde scumbag had a better than 90% match to the trans photograph that has yet to be identified..
Add that documented fact to the FACT that the mother of the scumbag relayed the scumbag's living arrangement that matched the trans photo and there was factual documentation that scumbag used women's makeup and wore women's clothes...
The facts are overwhelmingly conclusive..
The Uvalde scumbag was a trans.. Or, at the very least, a cross dresser... Either way, the mental health problems are readily and factually identified in the shooter...
Looks like the Ukraine/Russo war is going better and better for Russia...
Are Russia's gains in eastern Ukraine turning the tide of its war?
Not all victories are created equal
https://theweek.com/instant-opinion/1013888/are-russias-gains-in-eastern-ukraine-turning-the-tide-of-its-war
Another failure for the Biden Administration...
Wish I could say I was surprised..
But I'm not..
When yer a hammer, everything looks like a nail..
When yer a racist, everything looks like racism..
That has been the Democrat Party way since it was founded and created the KKK and Jim Crow...
@m,
The Democratic party was founded in 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson. The klan didn't exist yet. Might as well blame slave owner George Washington while you're at it.
I watched that video over and over again, and I don't even think AOC knew what she was trying to say. I've worked 20 years in law enforcement and the investigation is not complete. And here she is making characterizations and accusations and tying them to a class in our society. It's the rhetoric from politicians like AOC that continue to divide this country. In fact, what she's saying is quite sexist and discriminatory. And politicians have a platform, and they have to use that platform, and they have to be careful how they use it. Last I checked, the motive of this shooting is still under investigation, meaning that we don't know why this murderer decided to go into a school and wreak havoc and kill kids. Let's call it what it is and deal with whatever it is when the investigation is complete. Instead of sitting down and having conversations to try to come up with viable solutions, what does she do? She takes to social media, improvises rhetoric that neither brings people together nor provides viable solutions.
-La'ron Singletary
Former Rochester New York police chief
What IS it about Democrats that they are so divisive???
The Democratic party was founded in 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson. The klan didn't exist yet.
And yet, the racist roots of Democrats via Jim Crow and the KKK are undeniable...
Might as well blame slave owner George Washington while you're at it.
That's what your Democrats do.. CONSTANTLY...
It should also be noted that it was the Democrat Party who tried to hold onto slavery.. So much so that the Democrat Party went to war so they can continue to having slaves. Long after the rest of the country passed the Democrat Party by...
Democrats should run on a REPEAL THE 2ND platform!! :D
So, MC...
'God Bless the USA' singer Lee Greenwood on why he pulled out of NRA convention: 'I just couldn't go'
NRA convention to begin Friday in Houston, days after Uvalde school shooting
https://www.foxnews.com/media/lee-greenwood-pulls-out-nra-convention-god-bless-usa
What ya think??
Greenwood made a committment to appear at the NRA rally...
But then cancelled...
You OK with that???
Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children
https://news.yahoo.com/guns-now-leading-cause-death-190042943.html
Well, we have had 63 MILLION deaths of babies from baby killing AKA abortion..
Wonder what the gun deaths compare to THAT... :eyeroll:
It's still true that NO ONE has ever "BEEN KILLED by a gun"
iT'S also still true that the U.S. places with the most restrictive gun laws have the HIGHEST MURDER RATES!
And it's also still true that Switzerland, with the higest rate of gun ownership (due tu universal military service), has NEVER HAD A MASS KILLING!
Draw your own conclusions.
CRS..
Exactly....
‘Try To Take Our Guns And You’ll Learn,’ Florida Lawmaker Tweets At President Biden
“I have news for the embarrassment that claims to be our President—try to take our guns and you’ll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place,” Fine said in a tweet.
https://miami.cbslocal.com/2022/05/25/florida-lawmaker-tweets-at-biden/
Anyone who tries to illegally take my guns better be prepared to accept them.. One bullet at a time..
Stucki-
iT'S also still true that the U.S. places with the most restrictive gun laws have the HIGHEST MURDER RATES!
That is not true if you are going by per capita murder rates.
And it's also still true that Switzerland, with the higest rate of gun ownership (due tu universal military service), has NEVER HAD A MASS KILLING!
Neither points in this are true. The US has by far the highest rate of gun ownership, no other country even comes close.
Look up the Zug massacre...
Draw your own conclusions.
You don't know what you are talking about?
That is not true if you are going by per capita murder rates.
On a Tuesday with a full moon in a month ending in 'Y'..
Neither points in this are true. The US has by far the highest rate of gun ownership
Not per capita.... Funny how you pick and choose the stats you want to follow..
You don't know what you are talking about?
Translation: Your facts don't follow my Democrat Party agenda so pffffftttttttttt
EVERY Swiss household has at least one fully automatic weapon..
Look up the Zug massacre...
And notice how the Swiss did not go ape shit BAN GUNS crazy???
Not per capita.... Funny how you pick and choose the stats you want to follow..
Per capita and percentage of household that own guns USA #1...
And notice how the Swiss did not go ape shit BAN GUNS crazy???
Do you support parity with Swiss gun laws?
EVERY Swiss household has at least one fully automatic weapon..
Also not true. Once one finishes their mandatory military service, they have the option to purchase the gun that was issued to them after it has been converted to semi-automatic...
Do you support parity with Swiss gun laws?
Are they compatible with the 2nd Amendment??
There's yer answer.. :D
Get rid of the 2nd, Bashi.. Then you can have yer gun ban...