Six people are dead and dozens injured following a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park on Monday morning, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and numerous local reports.
At some point this has got to stop.
Mental health funding is nice but it’s the goddamned easy access to deadly weapons that is the problem. That and our gun crazed culture… I live 15 minutes from a gun store. Inside of an hour I could acquire an arsenal that should scare the pants off a cop. And I can legally open carry a gun into a bar or onto a college campus. To me it is utterly irrational but it is legal.
So far, we only know that the gunman is still in large, people were asked to shelter in place. He is described by Highland Park police as a white man between 18 and 20 years old with a small build and “longer” black hair. He is wearing a white or blue T-shirt, according to Highland Park Police Cmdr. Chris O’Neill.
His high powered rifle was recovered at the scene.
Young white man 18-20. Maybe we should bring back the draft and lock all 18 year old males up on an army base until they are 21? They can play war games until they are sick of guns. Maybe we should put an age limit on gun purchases? Nah, wouldn’t want to inconvenience the gun industry.
Win in November, add two Senate seats, end the filibuster (simple majority vote), pass new legislation, ban automatic weapons, etc. Let them scream. At this point in time, it is the only way. .
I think I’m going to ask my Congresswoman for some parity in this. When mental health access and professionals are as readily available as ammo and guns…well which should be easier?
One of the ancillary benefits of the WWII era draft was it forced people from different regions of the country to understand each other. The farm boy from Iowa and urban guy from Brooklyn found that they had more in common than expected.
White is black, up is down, wrong is right. It is fitting to celebrate the beginnings of our country. However, it is not fitting to celebrate defending the rights of someone to own and use a gun as they wish over the right of any person to be able to live out their childhood and make old bones. It is not fitting to celebrate that a ten year old (10) child will be expected to carry to term a rapists attack. It makes me physically ill to hear another woman say things like “but we have to protect the life of the unborn” rather than protect the life of a child. They think they have a moral compass. They do. It is so screwed up they couldn’t find a pole if it was up their ass. I’m so old I remember picnics on the 4th of July at my grandfathers, playing ball with my cousins, watermelon seed spitting contests, great delicious food (mostly German type cuz that’s our heritage). Laughter, hugs, celebrating. No one was worried about someone ambushing us. I live in a constant state of hoping my children and grandchildren and friends make it through a day safely. Why, in this so-called “greatest country on earth”, should anyone have to fear for their lives while just living a normal life? (trying to live a normal life) and celebrating a national holiday! They, the conservative, evangelical, mostly republican, citizens have shown us who they are. They have told us how they see this country and how they will do everything they can to see their ideas dominate. We cannot have the days again where someone can tell a young woman, even a young married woman, that she cannot have access to something she deems necessary for her health. ( In 1968 I was a young (21) married woman asking my dr for a prescription for birth control pills and because he knew our “Catholic family” and he himself was Catholic, wouldn’t prescribe them for me. Student clinics are wonderful…got a prescription from one.) If the idiots spewing their doctrines from the bench have their way, we’ll have more of this. We’ll also see the gun lovers with more rights than the rest of us. And we’ll see more “decisions” handed down to restrict the basic right of any citizen to vote. We’ll see people told they cannot love the people they love because “it offends” the religious nuts in this country. Not going to say Happy 4th. Doesn’t seem like a reason to today. We must not let this be our future. Vote for people who will take the oath of their office and mean it. All right, I’ll quiet down for awhile. But, I will be back. Not going to give up or give in to the fools.
As I understand it automatic weapons have been illegal for civilians to possess since 1934.
I think you were referring to assault style rifles which to me have no reason to be possessed by civilians. They were designed for military use.