Biden Calls Gun Violence In America An ‘International Embarrassment’ | Talking Points Memo

President Biden called the scourge of gun violence in America an “international embarrassment” on Thursday as he announced executive actions to address the vexing issue weeks after mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1368752
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about frigging time.

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It IS a national embarrassment…along with our infrastructure, voting, etc. The REPUBLICANS throw a hissy fit every time someone criticizes the US even when they are correct because the GOPpers deny money for everything. Yeah…we’re #1 in their brains but we have to beg, borrow and steal from others when a pandemic hits, or a hurricane, or a sewage leak, or a …

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Embarrassment is too weak a word, disgrace is more like it, and obscenity even closer. The USA the only country in the world with more guns than people,

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Americans have always been stupid when it comes to gun ownership. Getting shot and killed takes away every right an individual could ever have but we have to “protect” the rights of gun owners? Bullshit!

Your right to own a gun SHOULD NOT take away my right to live in peace and safety. Enough of this insanity!

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If they get weaselly on “what is an assault weapon” then fine: restrict everything with a removable magazine or internal capacity over single digits. A six-shooter or shotgun is plenty for “brandishing” and “home defense”.

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“They have offered plenty of thoughts and prayers, members of Congress, but they have passed not a single new law to reduce gun violence — enough prayers, time for some action,” Biden said.

I am reminded of the old saw my mother used to tell her high school Sunday School class about how G-d answers prayer.

The story goes about a man whose house was caught in an enormous flood. He prayed continually for G-d to save him from the flood. Several attempts to save him and his response was always, ‘I’ve prayed to G-d and He will save me’.

Of course, the man dies in the flood and, on his encounter with St. Peter, the man rails against G-d demanding to know why He didn’t save the man from the flood.

St Peter responds: " He sent a rowboat, a motor boat and a helicopter. What more did you want Him to do?"

Prayers only go so far, is the moral of the story. At some point, one has to take action to achieve anything.

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We can thank the late Justice Scalia for giving credence to the stupidity.

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Been too long in the woods… watched his announcement and, once again, marveled that Joe Biden is THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Build Back Better, thank goodness.

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I agree.

On the other hand he’s going to be criticized quite enough for embarrassment!

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Scalia was a highly cultured and intelligent moron.

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These are phony arguments suggesting these are Second Amendment rights at stake,” Biden said. “No amendment to the Constitution is absolute. You can’t yell fire in a crowded movie theater and call it freedom of speech.”

You tell 'em, Joe. In simple words everybody can understand: Their arguments are phony. NO right is absolute.

… oh, and that little bit about matching responsibilities? Time to lay that on Republicans, too, since they proclaim themselves “the party of Personal Responsibility.”

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The one I thought of was the old man who prayed to G-d every day that he might win the lottery. Finally, G-d appeared to him and said “Meet me halfway, Saul! Buy a ticket!”.

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Scalia was not a moron, but he was evil.

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There’s a thought-provoking op-ed in the Times this morning, which says “banning” certain weapons or weapon accessories won’t do much for the US’s gun violence problem, since very few shootings are mass murders; that more could be achieved by controlling who has access to any gun.

Of course, why not both? (And I reject the idea that we can never have either.)

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They’re right. Limiting magazine size and other stuff is feel-good window dressing that won’t actually stop anything, especially given the hundreds of millions of the things in circulation.

Some sort of training/testing/licensing regimen might get a bit more traction and actually do something to limit the impulse buys and shootings.

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Which boggles the mind. How can something so heinous be met with so much indifference?

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I envy you.

I think my mind came from the factory pre-boggled.

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This is one of the many reasons I was riding with Biden as soon as he announced his campaign. He’s extremely passionate about this issue and that’s what we need. Those in favor of gun reform need to be as passionate about reform as the NRA types are about thwarting reform. I’m thrilled he’s pursuing this and I greatly hope this will lead to a change in America’s gun culture because that’s the thing that desperately needs to happen. Entirely too many people treat guns like they’re a form of entertainment. They’re not. They’re deadly weapons with only one purpose and that purpose is to kill.

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Don’t think it’s indifference, it’s that the differing sides can’t come to any agreement because there’s a large contingent on the left who actively demands that everyone’s guns be taken away, which leads to the gun owners blocking any reforms because of the slippery slope argument.

Would get further along if the left acknowledged that some things, like taking away over 300 million guns, ain’t in the realm of “possible”.

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