My sloth thanks you.
On second thought, Iâm not so sure it would be a loss. I believe the majority of the citizens of this country want tighter gun controls. Itâs just that the NRA has a louder voice. The dems are afraid to stand up to them.
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Do you really think so?
I respect your opinion and you may be right but I think that weâve reached a tipping point.
Women, especially, seem to be carrying the water on this because they see their children being affected whereas men are more divided.
A Pew poll last year reported that 37% of Americans said that they or someone in their household owned guns.
Theyâre vocal and organized but outnumbered and Americans are just tired of this shit.
Disclosure: I own a shotgun so that 37% includes people like me.
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Can you just imagine if he did that. This President does have the latitude to speak his mind and act like a cowboy like GWB did. I wish it were not the case but it is.
And so are many more Republicans!
Instead of treating the symptoms of a corrupt, money-hungry, every-voteâs-for-sale Congress, we need to treat the cause. Campaign finance reform first, then everything else gets easier.
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âIf public opinion does not demand change in Congress, it will not change,â he said."
It was public opinion, and their votes, that put you in the WH Mr. President, but when you had majorities in the House and Senate why didnât you push for repeal of Bushâs 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which insulated gun manufacturers from the types of civil liability which every other industry in this country is subject to. It got no play in the press when passed but you missed an opportunity to fight to repeal it.
And what is your administration doing in WI defending a gun shop whoâs being sued by a police officers injured by firearms illegally purchased from the store?
Once again leading from behind. Not my fault. Iâm only the POTUS.
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I would like to think they could be good citizens. But, they are outlaws, just like Bonnie and Clyde. They think the rules donât apply to them, and they get encouragement from the lunatic rightwing news media.
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Iâm not talking about reason, Iâm talking about time. Time as in centuries, maybe, before America grows up and stops loving guns and being so violent and stupid.
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The really scary thing is that there are people who have the view that the Second Amendment takes precedence over most other rights. They feel that because ownership of firearms is specifically mentioned in the Constitution that it is in someway above other rights and laws that follow after it.
I am also tired of the attitude that mental illness is the reason behind all mass shootings. It may be the case in most incidents but these two who targeted police officers to me were a product of an attitude or belief system that can be found in the sovereign citizen movement and even in elements of the Tea Party. It is more than coincidence that this happened in the same state that Cliven Bundy lives in.
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Yeah, yeah we know Darcy. Everything is Obamaâs fault in your world.
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Yeah, right in the middle of the biggest depression since the 20s and that was the first thing on his plate and you know damned well that he may have had the house and senate in numbers but there were a lot of conservadems who were against his agenda from day one. Yeah, that would have gone over real well.
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And of course the âSecond Amendmentâ youâre referring to is the imaginary version that Justice Scalia, et al. forced on us. I think the majority of the Supreme Court intentionally fucked our country by legitimizing the NRA/Tea Party/Sovereign Citizen insanity and enshrining it in the highest law of the land.
TPM deserves credit for continuing to cover gun stories, especially the daily onslaught of accidental slaughter by rubes with guns in their pants or in their childrenâs hands. Itâs telling that other national media donât see these stories for the real treasure that they are, according to the tenets of conventional journalism. Real news that also offers up compelling narrative.
In many ways, the MSMâs performance is more shameful than that of politicians who cower at the NRA, because these so-called news organization self-censor based on their fetish for âbalance.â Balancism requires that âjournalistsâ not embarrass one side more than another by reporting facts that reveal that side to be corrupt and bloodthirsty.
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No, itâs just that he misses so many opportunities to lead. He canât say âIf public opinion does not demand change in Congress, it will not change,â. My God, itâs as if thereâs some kind of public killing everyday and changing public opinion is the only way out? He canât say that. I mean he could go after the gun makers but that would require going to war against the manufacturers. Itâs about time. Itâs known as an activist government.
And which polls would be cited, Darcy? And how would the media cover it?
How much power does a president have?
as long as elected officials are afraid of the NRA,fox news and talk radio, this will keep escalating and gun makers will keep making money off the lives of americans.
your answer:
You make good points but thatâs why itâs called leadership. As for an example of presidential power just consider what President Kennedy did when Big Steel tried to raise their world monopolized prizes back in the early sixties. Itâs worth a look and shows what presidents can do. He actually abused his power and even sent his brother, then the top cop, to lead the FBI in knocking on the door - with a search warrant in the middle of the night - on the personal residence of one of Big Steelâs CEOâs who doubled crossed the president after agreeing not to raise prices. For me that kind of commitment is whatâs necessary now. Go to war with the gun manufacturers.
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Many of us have been tipped a long time ago!
But the large national majority of Americans who want more sane and effective gun laws are still an unorganized political force that hasnât impacted elections for state officials and Congressional members - YET.
It requires a general membership, national organization, with state and local chapters, focused on this issue. The members should pay dues (to strengthen commitment and build a war-chest) and organize themselves to perform the necessary grassroots tasks: re-educate and motivate voters, support law enforcement/other safety first-responders, âinfluenceâ elected/appointed officials to support reasonable gun laws, cooperate with likeminded individuals and groups. (Nationally, cooperate with Bloombergâs mayoral group and individual philanthropists, to effectively direct money and GOTV.) Such an organization will never out-demagog the NRA and its minions, but it may out-GOTV them in critical elections.
Given the public perception to how the feds reacted to the Ruby Ridge, Waco and Elio Gonzalez situations (and since then nefariously mythologized), any large-scale, and necessarily public response to Bundy and his on-site supporters will be a firestorm of opinion against the Obama and Democrats in general, to be continuously fanned through the 2016 election (and probably beyond).
As long as its only Americans killing other Americans, all the incidents seem localized affairs and not an attack against America. It takes an outsider, foreign âenemyâ attacking a recognized American âsymbolâ (Pearl Harbor, 9-11)to arouse a generalized public fear of being attacked.
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