U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1991 said, "The gun lobby's interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American people by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eya_k4P-iEo He goes on to explain if the militia can be regulated in its use of arms, so can 16 and 17-year-old boys. I had been thinking that an originalist interpretation of the Second Amendment where the militia is well-regulated implies that guns should also be well-regulated just as Chief Justice says. Nice to have that corroboration!
Should we pursue other remedies like repealing gun manufacturer immunity to civil lawsuits? Absolutely. That would quickly make safety a concern of the gun manufacturers. We also need to ban the ammunition that does so much more damage to the human body than an ordinary bullet.
With the right to own a gun comes the responsibility to use it safely and responsibly.
I loved hearing the Chaplain of the Senate in his prayer this morning say thoughts and prayers were not enough. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." “Lord, deliver our senators from the paralysis of analysis that waits for the miraculous. Use them to battle the demonic forces that seek to engulf us. We pray, in your powerful name, amen.” ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/28/us-senate-chaplain-tennessee-shooting
Mar 29, 2023·edited Mar 29, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Here's another idea. President Biden ordered US flags at half staff for the Nashville mass shooting. If we were really acknowledging all the mass shootings the flag would be permanently at half staff. So, my proposal to President Biden is to order the flag at half staff until assault weapons are banned by Congress and he has signed it into law!
"I will not go to any more mass shooting memorials. I will call the families, but I am not doing any more photo events to comfort the families, survivors and friends after a mass killing by our own citizens.
"Instead, the house and senate majority leaders and minority leaders should go to to those events, with the state senators and the specific congressional representative where the shooting occurred, within 24 hours of the event, and meet the families and survivors, and comfort them with whatever excuse they have for why THEY allowed another shooting. Also, those leaders must see the autopsy photos of the victims before they depart, and the leaders may not make any public statement until after they see those photos. I welcome a law being passed to require this.
"An Air Force jet will be available the morning after the event if they want to use it.
"The congressional leaders can tell the local traumatized people, to their face, at their peak grief, why they are willing to look at innocent dead people and the traumatized survivors and families yet still take no action, and tell them why congress seems to support killing innocent people, and why congress protects guns but not people. Because I am done doing this every few weeks and saying that congress should pass gun control laws and done being the 'comforter-in-chief' and the 'frustrated-in-chief' and the 'excusemaker-in-chief' for congressionally-approved mayhem."
Mar 29, 2023·edited Mar 29, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Of all I've read today, your words regarding the affect of these events on the transgender community finally brought things into focus for me. I have no desire to defend the shooter. They were clearly troubled, and we have no idea what they've experienced to lead to this tragic decision. But that is beside the point now. Innocent people - sweet children!! - are dead, and families and their community are suffering.
But this time, not only are conservatives hiding behind the 2nd amendment, they are GLEEFULLY attacking the trans community, vulnerable people who are already being offered up on the altar of political power!
The shooter’s transgender identity did not kill anyone. It was the bullets.
Almost all of the mass shooters at schools and elsewhere have been male. Maybe we should check testosterone levels before allowing the purchase of assault rifles? And check for suicidal thoughts, as that is often part of a shooters motive. Or, so as not to discriminate against anybody, keep it simple. We could ban all sales of such weapons to private citizens and buy back the ones already out there. And/or stop selling the ammunition.
Thank you for the saner version of events. How anyone can watch Carlson is beyond me. He is evil personified and is proof that Rupert’s machine would put Goebbels’s to shame. As to Green and her cadre of evil, there are no words. This was just what the goons needed to grab the narrative of self-righteous “Christian” bull Schitt. When working in jr high, I saw first hand the suffering of ”different” youngsters at the hands of jocks and those who smelled vulnerabilities. That they grow up with issues is no surprise, since many are rejected by families who may be worse than the jocks. Now is not the time to target them, unless you are a wannabe Hitler..
As to the gun issue, I would love to live in a world where no Republican would ever be allowed in the halls of congress again. The blood is on their hands…and there is plenty of blood to go around.
Excellent analysis of what is happening with the Days of Trump's legal woes, 😀 may they all be fruitful and multiply!!
Absolutely right about these school shootings should have ended with Sandy Hook, if not sooner. Unfortunately too many politicians are trying to keep the gun lobbyists cash cow 🐄 going at all costs 😕, regardless of how much it endangers innocent people and children. Joyce Vance has a picture of a little girl crying with a sign that says
"If I die in a school shooting, leave my body on the steps of Congress. " That needs to be on a nation wide billboard campaign, especially in the DC area. Same could be useful in banning assault weapons finally, which never should of been allowed to expire in 2004 after 10 years of proven success. 😉
Finally the nerve of these radical insurrectionists saying that it's the fault of the LBQT+ people as excuse for the latest shooting sounds just like the hateful rhetoric of Kristelnacht in Germany in 1938? as well as saying they're the enemy of Christians ✝️ 😒 Only a week or so ago, pope Francis said everyone is always welcome at God's table, no exceptions regardless. I think 🤔 I'll trust his ministry of mercy and acceptance more than their hateful propaganda. Wonder how they will explain their rationale to the good Lord Jesus 🤔, who never condemned sinners looking for God's love and mercy.
Republicans in Congress and in legislatures around the country are sacrificing our children on the altar of firearms ownership, based on pure, unadulterated GREED.
I think it’s important for everyone to know how much money the conservative republicans have prostituted themselves to the NRA pimp machine. They are not going to “fix” anything because they have sold their souls to their pimp. The information is public. We know that Mitt Romney who sends his prayers and condolences after each murderous rampage, apparently has sold himself out for over 13 million dollars…Are you able to put links in your column. I’d love for there to be a national campaign to put billboards all across the country with the lawmakers’ photos, the amount of money they have been given by the NRA , and a memorial to all the men, women, and children who have died because of their greed and the evil greed of the NRA. It’s appalling.
Pence's gelatinous spine endangers our democracy. Pence cowers before Trump. He cowered January 5 and 6th. The plethora of experts Pence consulted before January 6 all told him he had no choice but to do the right thing. If just one of them had given Pence some legal "wiggle room," I predict the cowardly Pence would have done the bidding of the craven Trump. Pence could do the right thing now and testify, and hide behind the court order to defend his actions. But he will continue to cower. Pence is so deluded, that he actually thinks Trump's "base," will support his candidacy.
When the facts about the transgender identity of the shooter emerged, I had this flash of awareness that this kid would have been viciously victimized in this religious school environment from the day she first entered the place. And I’m sure it was no accident that she started with the administrators. Nothing can excuse the violence, but understanding the years of mental violence that preceded it is being ignored, completely on purpose.
Guns are why I will NEVER vote for a Republican for any office - even one I like personally and with whom I might agree on every single other issue. We must change laws in this country to conform with overwhelming public support. These laws must be FEDERAL because there is too much of a chance that someone who wants to buy a gun can just travel to a lenient gun state. If necessary, we must repeal the Second Amendment or add justices to the Supreme Court until there is a majority willing to interpret it properly to allow limits on gun ownership - the way it was interpreted for most of US history.
I, too, have vowed to not vote for any Republican at any level. In my case it is the loss of women's rights that triggered that. However, Republicans doing nothing about gun violence augments my resolve!
That tfg made the obvious statement that the investigations and pending indictments are "election interference" and Dems "cheating" is the ultimate in the irony-rich, fact-free word salad that he serves with relish. If it weren't for his obstruction of and weaponization of the justice system, he'd be on trial and/or incarcerated by now. I hope Jack Smith is designing a bulletproof prosecution.
Wow! One of the best’s Newsletter today! So many good talking points, they are Oozing out of every other sentence. These newsletters help me get out of bed every morning and keep my resolve to work keeping our rights as humans.👏👏👏👏
There is a lot going on and the volume of the number of issues and challenges is overwhelming. I have come to the conclusion that as an informed citizen I and others must decide the type of country I want to live in and the people and institutions I can trust. Everything else is noise. Our world has actually been turned upside down since the famous escalator decent in June of 2015. As a country Democracy has been challenged like it has never been before and we survived and become stronger. The Republican Party has clearly defined who they are and what they believe and stand for and many Americans have paid attention and have soundly rejected their approach to government. The Majorie Taylor Greene’s of the world think they are feeding their base when in reality they are turning off the American voters. Republicans want to take away legalized abortion, gun controls, social security and debt management and exclude badly needed services to support all Americans. The real question is if we are going to let them ?
Thank you so much for your comments about the war on transgender people. I worry for the people in my life and all others targeted as “enemies of Christianity.” It’s scarily like Nazi philosophy.
" We constitute the strong majority; they constitute a small and shrinking minority." Which shows that democracy works only if your views are the same as your person in Congress. However, with gerrymandering we mostly have "Un-Representatives". Gun issues should be something that we all vote for on Election Day, not leave it to the Un-Representatives and the lobbyists.
It's unbelievable what kind of info is easily Googleable to our AR-15 loving countrymen, protected as they are by the GOP and FOX. Banning the sale of a weapon of mass destruction to buyers outside the military is obviously sensible and the only real and compassionate solution.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1991 said, "The gun lobby's interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American people by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eya_k4P-iEo He goes on to explain if the militia can be regulated in its use of arms, so can 16 and 17-year-old boys. I had been thinking that an originalist interpretation of the Second Amendment where the militia is well-regulated implies that guns should also be well-regulated just as Chief Justice says. Nice to have that corroboration!
Should we pursue other remedies like repealing gun manufacturer immunity to civil lawsuits? Absolutely. That would quickly make safety a concern of the gun manufacturers. We also need to ban the ammunition that does so much more damage to the human body than an ordinary bullet.
With the right to own a gun comes the responsibility to use it safely and responsibly.
I loved hearing the Chaplain of the Senate in his prayer this morning say thoughts and prayers were not enough. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." “Lord, deliver our senators from the paralysis of analysis that waits for the miraculous. Use them to battle the demonic forces that seek to engulf us. We pray, in your powerful name, amen.” ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/28/us-senate-chaplain-tennessee-shooting
Here's another idea. President Biden ordered US flags at half staff for the Nashville mass shooting. If we were really acknowledging all the mass shootings the flag would be permanently at half staff. So, my proposal to President Biden is to order the flag at half staff until assault weapons are banned by Congress and he has signed it into law!
I just sent an email to President Biden making this suggestion. What a great way to keep gun violence visible and get beyond thoughts and prayers!
Really good, Cathy. Thank you!
President Biden should say:
"I will not go to any more mass shooting memorials. I will call the families, but I am not doing any more photo events to comfort the families, survivors and friends after a mass killing by our own citizens.
"Instead, the house and senate majority leaders and minority leaders should go to to those events, with the state senators and the specific congressional representative where the shooting occurred, within 24 hours of the event, and meet the families and survivors, and comfort them with whatever excuse they have for why THEY allowed another shooting. Also, those leaders must see the autopsy photos of the victims before they depart, and the leaders may not make any public statement until after they see those photos. I welcome a law being passed to require this.
"An Air Force jet will be available the morning after the event if they want to use it.
"The congressional leaders can tell the local traumatized people, to their face, at their peak grief, why they are willing to look at innocent dead people and the traumatized survivors and families yet still take no action, and tell them why congress seems to support killing innocent people, and why congress protects guns but not people. Because I am done doing this every few weeks and saying that congress should pass gun control laws and done being the 'comforter-in-chief' and the 'frustrated-in-chief' and the 'excusemaker-in-chief' for congressionally-approved mayhem."
✅✅✅👏👏👏
Of all I've read today, your words regarding the affect of these events on the transgender community finally brought things into focus for me. I have no desire to defend the shooter. They were clearly troubled, and we have no idea what they've experienced to lead to this tragic decision. But that is beside the point now. Innocent people - sweet children!! - are dead, and families and their community are suffering.
But this time, not only are conservatives hiding behind the 2nd amendment, they are GLEEFULLY attacking the trans community, vulnerable people who are already being offered up on the altar of political power!
How. Much. More. How many more...?
The shooter’s transgender identity did not kill anyone. It was the bullets.
Almost all of the mass shooters at schools and elsewhere have been male. Maybe we should check testosterone levels before allowing the purchase of assault rifles? And check for suicidal thoughts, as that is often part of a shooters motive. Or, so as not to discriminate against anybody, keep it simple. We could ban all sales of such weapons to private citizens and buy back the ones already out there. And/or stop selling the ammunition.
Thank you for the saner version of events. How anyone can watch Carlson is beyond me. He is evil personified and is proof that Rupert’s machine would put Goebbels’s to shame. As to Green and her cadre of evil, there are no words. This was just what the goons needed to grab the narrative of self-righteous “Christian” bull Schitt. When working in jr high, I saw first hand the suffering of ”different” youngsters at the hands of jocks and those who smelled vulnerabilities. That they grow up with issues is no surprise, since many are rejected by families who may be worse than the jocks. Now is not the time to target them, unless you are a wannabe Hitler..
As to the gun issue, I would love to live in a world where no Republican would ever be allowed in the halls of congress again. The blood is on their hands…and there is plenty of blood to go around.
Amen, Jeri! AMEN
Excellent analysis of what is happening with the Days of Trump's legal woes, 😀 may they all be fruitful and multiply!!
Absolutely right about these school shootings should have ended with Sandy Hook, if not sooner. Unfortunately too many politicians are trying to keep the gun lobbyists cash cow 🐄 going at all costs 😕, regardless of how much it endangers innocent people and children. Joyce Vance has a picture of a little girl crying with a sign that says
"If I die in a school shooting, leave my body on the steps of Congress. " That needs to be on a nation wide billboard campaign, especially in the DC area. Same could be useful in banning assault weapons finally, which never should of been allowed to expire in 2004 after 10 years of proven success. 😉
Finally the nerve of these radical insurrectionists saying that it's the fault of the LBQT+ people as excuse for the latest shooting sounds just like the hateful rhetoric of Kristelnacht in Germany in 1938? as well as saying they're the enemy of Christians ✝️ 😒 Only a week or so ago, pope Francis said everyone is always welcome at God's table, no exceptions regardless. I think 🤔 I'll trust his ministry of mercy and acceptance more than their hateful propaganda. Wonder how they will explain their rationale to the good Lord Jesus 🤔, who never condemned sinners looking for God's love and mercy.
Republicans in Congress and in legislatures around the country are sacrificing our children on the altar of firearms ownership, based on pure, unadulterated GREED.
As Jim Wright said, if we are going to argue over gun nomenclature, let's ban them all and stop arguing.
AMEN!!!
Second Amendment fans could join a musket club and be part of a well-regulated militia.
I think it’s important for everyone to know how much money the conservative republicans have prostituted themselves to the NRA pimp machine. They are not going to “fix” anything because they have sold their souls to their pimp. The information is public. We know that Mitt Romney who sends his prayers and condolences after each murderous rampage, apparently has sold himself out for over 13 million dollars…Are you able to put links in your column. I’d love for there to be a national campaign to put billboards all across the country with the lawmakers’ photos, the amount of money they have been given by the NRA , and a memorial to all the men, women, and children who have died because of their greed and the evil greed of the NRA. It’s appalling.
I saw those figures and you’re right about Romney. Made me ill.
Pence's gelatinous spine endangers our democracy. Pence cowers before Trump. He cowered January 5 and 6th. The plethora of experts Pence consulted before January 6 all told him he had no choice but to do the right thing. If just one of them had given Pence some legal "wiggle room," I predict the cowardly Pence would have done the bidding of the craven Trump. Pence could do the right thing now and testify, and hide behind the court order to defend his actions. But he will continue to cower. Pence is so deluded, that he actually thinks Trump's "base," will support his candidacy.
When the facts about the transgender identity of the shooter emerged, I had this flash of awareness that this kid would have been viciously victimized in this religious school environment from the day she first entered the place. And I’m sure it was no accident that she started with the administrators. Nothing can excuse the violence, but understanding the years of mental violence that preceded it is being ignored, completely on purpose.
Guns are why I will NEVER vote for a Republican for any office - even one I like personally and with whom I might agree on every single other issue. We must change laws in this country to conform with overwhelming public support. These laws must be FEDERAL because there is too much of a chance that someone who wants to buy a gun can just travel to a lenient gun state. If necessary, we must repeal the Second Amendment or add justices to the Supreme Court until there is a majority willing to interpret it properly to allow limits on gun ownership - the way it was interpreted for most of US history.
I, too, have vowed to not vote for any Republican at any level. In my case it is the loss of women's rights that triggered that. However, Republicans doing nothing about gun violence augments my resolve!
I have never ever voted for a Repub and I sure as hell, am not going to start now.
That tfg made the obvious statement that the investigations and pending indictments are "election interference" and Dems "cheating" is the ultimate in the irony-rich, fact-free word salad that he serves with relish. If it weren't for his obstruction of and weaponization of the justice system, he'd be on trial and/or incarcerated by now. I hope Jack Smith is designing a bulletproof prosecution.
Wow! One of the best’s Newsletter today! So many good talking points, they are Oozing out of every other sentence. These newsletters help me get out of bed every morning and keep my resolve to work keeping our rights as humans.👏👏👏👏
There is a lot going on and the volume of the number of issues and challenges is overwhelming. I have come to the conclusion that as an informed citizen I and others must decide the type of country I want to live in and the people and institutions I can trust. Everything else is noise. Our world has actually been turned upside down since the famous escalator decent in June of 2015. As a country Democracy has been challenged like it has never been before and we survived and become stronger. The Republican Party has clearly defined who they are and what they believe and stand for and many Americans have paid attention and have soundly rejected their approach to government. The Majorie Taylor Greene’s of the world think they are feeding their base when in reality they are turning off the American voters. Republicans want to take away legalized abortion, gun controls, social security and debt management and exclude badly needed services to support all Americans. The real question is if we are going to let them ?
Thank you so much for your comments about the war on transgender people. I worry for the people in my life and all others targeted as “enemies of Christianity.” It’s scarily like Nazi philosophy.
" We constitute the strong majority; they constitute a small and shrinking minority." Which shows that democracy works only if your views are the same as your person in Congress. However, with gerrymandering we mostly have "Un-Representatives". Gun issues should be something that we all vote for on Election Day, not leave it to the Un-Representatives and the lobbyists.
It's unbelievable what kind of info is easily Googleable to our AR-15 loving countrymen, protected as they are by the GOP and FOX. Banning the sale of a weapon of mass destruction to buyers outside the military is obviously sensible and the only real and compassionate solution.