GUNS, GUNS, GUNS - AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN

I really have said all I have to say on guns* and hunting** before.

First there was the murder of two African Americans by police (in St. Paul, MN, and New Orleans, LA) and then the murder of five police officers in Dallas, TX.  But while the news media stopped reporting on everything else to dwell on these murders, two bailiffs in Michigan were murdered and, in another community, several in Bristol, TN along with an average of 25-30 gun murders a day in the U.S.  So the drum beat of murders continues.  The saturation coverage by the news media on certain mass murders might be worth it if it led to some sort of action, but no.  Even a mild gun law that will supposedly be voted on in the House keeps being put off.

I'm indebted to the Daily Kos for publishing the following piece.  Though the reference title is long, it works.

Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt thought that cherry-picking some mass killings and saying “radical Islam” would be enough to undo any argument in favor of stronger gun laws and devastate his Democratic challenger, Jason Kander. Not so much. Kander had this response to Blunt’s accusation that “Despite Ft. Hood, Boston & Orlando,@JasonKander won’t acknowledge the root of threats we face: radical Islam

The argument about semantics is a stupid one—Republicans running around screaming “SAY RADICAL ISLAM” while the reality is that, between 2001 and 2013, 3,380 Americans were killed by terrorism while 406,496 were killed by guns—but Blunt shouldn’t have wanted any part of this argument. Does he really believe that the “R” beside his name makes him the winner any time terrorism is invoked? And does Blunt really want to give Kander a chance to highlight his time in Afghanistan in comparison to Blunt’s three Vietnam-era draft deferments? Way to give Kander an opening there, genius.*

* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2015/06/guns-and-illegal-terrorists-in-america.html
http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/01/death-and-injuries-by-guns-in-us.html;
http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/01/us-has-most-of-everything-including.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2014/04/prey-animals-and-predator-animals.html
*** http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/6/21/1540931/-Sen-Roy-Blunt-gets-a-lesson-in-why-he-should-think-before-you-tweet?detail=email&link_id=3&can_id=af3794f2758d0c72ac0763afb2350d28&source=email-church-whose-pastor-praised-orlando-shootings-is-being-asked-to-leave-by-landlord&email_referrer=church-whose-pastor-praised-orlando-shootings-is-being-asked-to-leave-by-landlord&email_subject=church-whose-pastor-praised-orlando-shootings-is-being-asked-to-leave-by-landlord