Showing posts with label Jay Carney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jay Carney. Show all posts

Thursday, September 6, 2012

GOP Party Platform the height of arrogance on gun rights

When you think you have reached the epitome of gun rights demands by the gun nuts—they, along with the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), have gutted gun control laws for the last few years—here comes an election and the Republicans are demanding even broader gun rights.  I can’t imagine what is left to gain other than the possibility that we establish an open air market where anyone can go, 24/7, and purchase a gun, taking it anywhere they want to.

Romney VP, Paul Ryan "packing"
I can see it now.  On the front row of displays will be an assortment of assault weapons and magazine clips that hold 100 or more rounds.  Behind that an array of handguns designed to kill with just one shot.  All for self-defense, of course.  Gun vendors would exclaim how the NRA has finally won its battle for gun rights and from now on everyone from Paul Ryan to a James Holmes can own the weapon of his or her choice and do with it as they choose.  NRA Nirvana.

To hell with human life like the lives lost in gun carnage from Columbine to the Wisconsin Sikh Temple.  And these are just the ones that get the attention.  Look at Chicago recently; hardly a day goes by without multiple killings.  Since March I have documented shootings in the U.S. with results of 1,056 shootings leaving 432 dead; these figures are very conservative coming only from the media.  The CDC reports 31,347 gun deaths annually, 10.2 per 100,000 population.

The above alone is reason enough to re-elect Barack Obama, even though he hasn’t come out forcefully enough for gun control, while at the same time knowing we will get nothing, zero, from the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan gang.

Gun control advocates call it an “audacious” answer to those calling for more regulation after the mass shootings.  I call it pure disdain for those killed and wounded at the mercy of loose guns, and a highly insulting slap in the face to one of their own, Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Representative from Arizona who was severely wounded in the 2011 Tucson massacre where 6 died and 13 more injured.  By guns.  It is this kind of Bizarre thinking that kills Americans daily.

NY Sen. Chuck Schumer on Democrats and gun control:

Dan Gross, Pres. Of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence laments that by pushing this gun rights platform, The GOP have, "put themselves farther out of touch with their constituents."  In a Pew Research Poll following the Aurora, Colo. movie shooting, 47% of Americans favored more gun control compared to 46% who don’t.  With those figures, and considering the firearms bloodbaths in 2012 alone, any thinking individual knows that something must be done.

Does that mean the NRA and its members and supporters don’t think?  Their ability in this area is questionable, but the real reason is they just don’t care.  These gun fanatics value their arsenals over human life and this is despicable.

On July 24, 4 days after the Aurora, Colo. shooting, The White House hinted that President Obama might address the gun control issue.  His spokesman Jay Carney even recapped Obama’s support for an assault weapons ban.  But just 2 days before this Jay Carney was reported as saying the President doesn’t believe new gun control laws are needed.  And in a later statement in August, Carney insisted the problem isn’t guns, it’s violence.

Where the hell does Carney and the President think the violence comes from?  This bullshit about guns don’t kill, people do, is just that, bullshit.  It takes a person to pull the trigger and the reason there are so many triggers to pull is the GOP conservatives, prodded with money from the NRA, repeatedly loosen gun laws.

The Democratic convention started this week and the platform does have some mention of gun control, as follows: “Guns: We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms.”  See the whole platform here.

But a headline in the Charlotte Observer on Monday read, “Don’t wimp out on gun-control platform,” with a subhead of “Democrats, let’s see a platform that pushes for more limits.”  In other words, they didn’t do enough. 

The author questions why the NRA thinks the President is the “most anti-gun president in modern times,” followed by a quote from the article saying, “Obama hasn’t proposed any anti-gun legislation during his first term, and his talk about gun control has been almost non-existent these last four years.”  I think we would be elated to hear something from Obama on gun control in his address tonight.  But we all will be satisfied if he just does something about it in his 2nd term.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Obama’s reaction to Sikh Temple massacre entirely unacceptable

Sikh Temple - Site of massacre
I am picking on the President because I am confident he will win reelection in November, thus, making Mitt Romney’s response irrelevant.  Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a release Monday, “I have nothing new to announce,” following the latest carnage at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.  Seven were killed, including the gunman, three injured; a police officer is in critical condition.  This just over two weeks after the Aurora, Colorado gun slaughter.

If Obama does support renewing the assault weapons ban and new legislation to restrict the sales of high capacity gun magazines, as Carney says he does, why not come out for this forcefully.  Make a stand and challenge Congress, including his own Democrats, to support him in this fight before November.  Gallup does report a change in public opinion banning these firearms: 53% for banning, 43% against, in 1996; reversed in October of 2011, 42% for, 57% against.

These figures do reflect results after the Jared Loughner bloodbath in Tucson in January of 2011, which killed six and injured 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.  But not after the July 20, 2012 Aurora, Colo. movie shootings and the August 5 butchery at the Sikh Temple.  If this doesn’t change America’s outlook on these weapons, we have become a hopeless nation of gun worshippers.

In a recent Aug. Reuters article: “The semiautomatic handgun used in the deadly attack on a Wisconsin Sikh temple is the same type used in other recent U.S. mass shootings, including one at a theater in Colorado, and the attack on a congresswoman in Arizona, gun experts said.”  Three major gun massacres in the last 20 months should be enough to convince any rational person that something must be done, and soon to prevent more of the same.

See "Tucson Survivors Demand a Plan" video:

The timing is right and the President should begin now to lay the groundwork for major legislation after he is reelected to office.  I did two posts back in July to prove why the Democrats shouldn’t be concerned over National Rifle Assn. (NRA) influence in the 2012 elections.  “It’s all fiction: NRA has no effectual control over elections,” Part 1 and Part 2, illustrate how the NRA has little, if any control over elections.  Yes, there are solid facts to back up this assertion.

Shooter - Wade Michael Page
Reuters says the gun used on the Sikhs, a Springfield 9mm semiautomatic, is the “weapon of choice” for “mass murderers” like in Tucson, Aurora and the Sikh Temple.  And in the latter incident, it was reported that Wade Michael Page emptied several magazines in the shooting.  James Holmes used a .40-caliber Glock handgun in Aurora and Jared Loughner used a Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a 30-round magazine in Tucson.  All bought easily right off the shelf.

And returning to the White House, Carney added that Obama believes there are broader issues with violence in the country that need to be addressed, one of which was rescuing children from gangs.  With Chicago as the primary example, my take is that if something isn’t done to limit the availability of certain types of guns, there won’t be any children left to rescue.  Mr. President, this is a critical issue and requires your immediate attention now and during your second term.

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