Category: Gun Control

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Rep Veronica Escobar Slams Gov Abbott For Creating “Wild West” Environment That Enabled Uvalde Shooting

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Rep Veronica Escobar(D-TX) appeared on MSNBC Reports w/Andrea Mitchell (07/18/22) to discuss the recently released report by the Texas Senate on the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Rep Escobar made a very important point on the show, telling host Andrea Mitchell that the deadly “wild west” environment created by Texas elected officials, beginning with Governor Greg Abbott, is partly to blame for the horrific shooting in Uvalde.

This point is largely missed by the mainstream media when reporting about the mass shooting in Uvalde, but it cannot be restated enough.

Rep Escobar(video at 1:00):“I think the report is important, but I also think we need to zoom out a little bit because the leadership void goes far beyond law enforcement. And what the report did not touch on[are]2 things, (1) the Governor, who is the highest ranking elected official, the chief elected official of the state and (2) the state legislature that makes open carry the law of the land in Texas so that anyone can get access to a gun without any training and really a loosening of gun laws that was historic. It is so important that these reports and that this analysis look at what happened on the ground that day, but we also have to look at the context in Texas, the environment that has been created by Republicans, who want to create a wild west sort of environment  in a state, that has led us to be…one of the most deadliest states for mass shootings.”

Rep Escobar went on to specifically address Gov Abbott’s failures:“He’s been pretty silent. He’s very eager to point the finger at others, really on any situation including Uvalde and he, as the highest-ranking elected official in the state of Texas, I have yet to hear the Governor accept any responsibility, or bring forward any ideas for meaningful change. He is literally someone who has only used his position to make Texas less safe for its citizens and uses our resources for political stunts.”

She went on to add that the political stunt Gov Abbott is pulling at the southern border aka “Operation Lone Star” has siphoned much needed funds away from mental health services and public schools, both of which are still poorly funded in Texas compared to other states.

Bottom line folks, Texas is, and has been a solid red state for quite some time now. It is important however for people who don’t live in the Lone Star state, or keep up with its politics, to know that none of Governor Abbott’s Republican predecessors created the deadly gun violence environment in the state like Gov Abbott and his allies have. Rep Escobar is absolutely spot on, that any meaningful discussion of gun violence in the Lone Star state has to take into account the “wild west” environment created by Gov Abbott and his Texas Republican allies.

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NY Governor Kathy Hochul Slams SCOTUS Decision Knocking Down Her State’s Gun Law

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In a fiery speech delivered minutes after the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision knocking down her state’s concealed gun law, New York Governor kathy Hochul slammed the decision, calling the high court, “a politicized Supreme Court.”

Governor Hochul specifically said:“We are not powerless in this situation. We are not going to cede our rights that easily, despite the best efforts of the politicized Supreme Court of the United States of America…Apparently, the Supreme Court has now decided, with this far-reaching decision, that the two step standard that had been in place since Heller vs McDonald, where they analyze the 2nd amendment where it combines history…but also means and scrutiny–does the means of the restriction justify the infringement, and most people would say, yes we have a right to protect people from gun violence…They[Supreme Court]have now said, that the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. That’s it. No longer can we strike the balance.”

Gov Hochul then read directly from the text of the Supreme Court decision:“Only if a firearm regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition, may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the 2nd amendment’s unqualified command”, to which she responded, “Shocking, absolutely shocking, that they have taken away our right to have reasonable restrictions. We can have restrictions on speech, you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater, but somehow there is no restrictions allowed on the 2nd amendment? This is New York, we don’t back down, we fight back…I’m sorry this dark day has come. We are supposed to go back to what was in place since 1788 when the constitution of the United States of America was ratified. And I would like to point out to Supreme Court Justices that the only weapons at that time were muskets. I’m prepared to go back to muskets. I don’t think they envisioned the high-capacity assault weapon magazines intended for battlefields, as being covered. I guess we’re just going to have to disagree.”

Governor Hochul has since convened an extraordinary session of the New York legislature to address issues raised by this Supreme Court decision–leadership matters, folks!!

Bottom line folks, given the recent horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, it’s not hard to understand Governor Hochul’s frustration with this Supreme Court decision, which reasonable people will agree, curtails efforts by states to institute common sense gun control measures.

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Uvalde Police Enlisted A Biker Group To Harass Members Of The Media

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Members of a Texas biker group seemingly harassing a photojournalist covering the Uvalde school shooting incident

As if the senseless massacre of 19 innocent fourth graders, and two of their teachers in their classrooms in Uvalde Texas is not shocking enough, we now find out that the people whose job it was to keep the little kids safe, Uvalde police, are also caught up in a shocking story of their own–an attempted cover up. Norah Lopez, Executive Editor of the San Antonio Express-News, and President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, said on CNN’s Reliable  Sources(06/05/22) that police in Uvalde have apparently enlisted a biker group to harass and intimidate journalists trying to make sense of their(police)conflicting public statements regarding the shooting–a shocking development indeed. Needless to say, this Uvalde incident has also raised serious questions as to whether moving forward, the mainstream media should treat initial incident reports from police as Gospel truth, as it sadly happens often.

Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter opened the segment with these remarks:“The children had to hide from the attacker at Robb Elementary. They had to run, they had to jump, they had to hide so they would not be shot to pieces. And now it’s the police that are hiding. They are hiding from the press. They have to hide from what? The truth? The public getting the truth?”

Stelter continued:“I think everybody is pretty angry at this point, some truly shocking state of affairs in Texas, because at first the officials misled the public, shared incorrect information about the massacre, now they are not sharing much at all. In Uvalde this week, reporters have been stonewalled, doors shut in their faces, some even threatened with arrest just for standing on school property…Most outrageous of all, police apparently sent some bikers to intimidate journalists and prevent them from doing their jobs…”

Asked by host Stelter whether, given what has transpired thus far, the public can trust anything they are told by law enforcement in Uvalde, Norah Lopez responded(video at 1:31):“It’s become increasingly difficult for us to trust what authorities and what the police are telling us, and as a former police reporter, that’s just extraordinary to me that I’m actually saying that, because I’ve always trusted what the police was telling us, what the sergent on duty was telling you was happening. But every day it seems like we get one more little bit of information that directly contradicts what was initially told to us…They are trying to control the narrative, it looks like, keeping us away from talking to people who can help clarify the situation, and what’s happening on the ground.”

There’s no other way to interpret Norah Lopez’s statements on CNN(I’ll be happy to stand corrected of course) other than police in Uvalde are not only lying to the media about circumstances surrounding the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School, but they are shockingly, also preventing the media from getting the truth directly from the grieving families. The extent of the attempted cover up is so severe, that they’ve even enlisted a biker group to intimidate and harass journalists who try to talk directly to the grieving families. This is truly shocking, even by Texas standards, where reports of these proxy harassment tactics by law enforcement are prevalent. For law enforcement in Uvalde to engage in such despicable conduct towards the media, knowing full well that the eyes of the world are currently on the city, speaks to a much deeper problem with Uvalde Police Department specifically, and Texas law enforcement generally–a culture of impunity.

Put another way. It’s one thing for Texas law enforcement to enlist some biker gang to harass some local whistleblower who say, sued the department, or exposed some shady dealings within the department(quite common in Texas), but when you start pulling such moves on the mainstream media, covering a huge national story, then reasonable people will agree that something is seriously wrong with the police department.

Norah Lopez specifically said regarding the biker harassment(video at 3:21):“The bikers are the ones who told us that they were there on the invitation of the police…We’ve tried to reach out to the police chief to register these concerns about how they are treating the media out there. We’ve not gotten a response from them yet. It has just been a really incredible difficult situation the way they are trying to control access…Reporters are getting told ‘You can’t be here, this is private property’…”

According to Nora, the bikers are apparently also discouraging families who are willing to speak to the media, from doing so. So they are not just harassing members of the media, they are also actively discouraging  grieving families who wish to speak to the media from doing so. A sad state of affairs indeed.

Bottom line folks, proxy harassment and intimidation by Texas law enforcement, towards those who raise issues that cast them in negative light–lawsuits, grievances etc–is nothing new. Reasonable people will agree however, that when such despicable police tactics are directed towards members of the media, just trying to do their job covering a huge story of national/international significance–the senseless massacre of 19 elementary school children and two teachers in their classrooms–then the ethical breach is so flagrant, that it calls for an immediate dismissal of the officers involved. Simply put, a thorough investigation needs to be conducted into who in the Uvalde Police Department, brought in the bikers to harass journalists, after which the officers implicated need to be fired immediately.  

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Rep Mo Brooks Says Teaching Proper Moral Values Is The Solution To Our Gun Violence Problem

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Rep Mo Brooks(R-AL) on Fox News Sunday(05/29/22) with host Sandra Smith

Rep Mo Brooks(R-AL), who has an A rating from the National Rifle Association, appeared on Fox News Sunday(05/29/22) to discuss the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Asked by host Sandra Smith whether he would support stricter laws regarding the sale of firearms as a way of reducing gun violence, Rep Brooks gave an interesting response, saying the solution to our gun problems is to teach our young people proper moral values. Yup, lax Republican laws that make it easier for teens to acquire deadly weapons are not the problem, just teach the young ones proper moral values.

Host Sandra Smith(2:40):“Gallup research does find that a majority of Americans, 52% of them, are in favor of stricter gun laws when it comes to the sale of firearms. So to the majority of Americans who feel that way, you say what?”

Rep Mo Brooks:“Back when I was growing up we didn’t have these mass killings, okay, they weren’t there, they didn’t occur, or if they did, I certainly was not cognisant of them, and they were very very very rare, so rare, that I cannot recall a single instant in which one of those things occured during my youth. Today they are much more common. What’s the big difference between when I was growing up and today? The big difference is a decline in the moral values, a decline in the respect for human life. If we teach proper moral values, if we teach respect for human life, if we properly address mental health issues that may somehow or another be associated with all these things, then that is the way to fix the problem.”

Now, folks, one doesn’t have to be a Havard educated genius to realize that the kind of fix Rep Brooks is recommending(moral values reset) for our clear and present gun violence problem, will take generations to materialize, if it ever materializes. It this is the GOP’s position(moral values reset), even after the horrific Uvalde shooting, where we witnessed innocent 4th graders getting slaughtered in their classroom, then I hate to say it folks, get ready for more mass shooting horrors. There is no solution coming from Congress.

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Was Race A Factor In The Lax Law Enforcement Response To Uvalde Shooting?

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Rhonda Hart speaking to guest host Paola Ramos on MSNBC’s Zerlina show(05/28/22)

Rhonda Hart, a Texas mother who lost her daughter in the horrific Santa Fe school shooting 4 years ago, appeared on MSNBC’s Zerlina show(Paola Ramos subbing 05/28/22) to discuss the latest horrific Texas school shooting in Uvalde. She made a startling claim during her appearance on MSNBC, telling host Paula Ramos that the slow response from law enforcement in Uvalde was because these were predominantly Brown kids. She added, “We know how Texas leadership feels about Black and Brown children.” 


Rhonda Hart (video at 1:30): “I remember I was a parent and also a school district employee that day when our[Santa Fe]school shooting happened, and at some point I went down closer to the building and I did talk to officers. They were adamant that I couldn’t get in there because stuff was going on, but at no point did they ever put their hands on me or push me down or anything like that. I mean, I’m a typical White lady you know, that garners a little bit of respect, I think…privilege, that’s what it is, it’s privilege. These, let’s be honest, these are Black and Brown children, and we know how Texas leadership feels about Black and Brown children.” 


There’s no other way to interpret Rhonda Hart’s remarks other than(I’ll be happy to stand corrected of course), the lax, even incompetent response by law enforcement authorities to the school shooting in Uvalde, had a lot to do with the fact that they were not being called upon to save White school children. Put another way, the shooter in Uvalde would have been neutralized much sooner, had it been White parents like Rhonda Hart, begging authorities to go in and stop him.

Rhonda Hart also slammed Governor Abbott and Texas leadership for lying about shoring up school safety after the Santa Fe school shooting 4 years ago. As she correctly pointed out, the lax law enforcement response to the Uvalde massacre proves that nothing was done to shore up school safety after Sante Fe.

Bottom line folks, reasonable people will agree that the law enforcement response to the shooting in Uvalde did not meet the public’s expectations. The conflicting messages given to the media by the said law enforcement officials also suggest that there was some attempt at a cover up, which needs to be thoroughly investigated. Also worth looking into, is Rhonda Hart’s bombshell claim on MSNBC, that the slow response by law enforcement was because the school in Uvalde is a predominantly Brown school. There are legitimate concerns as to whether there was something more than law enforcement incompetence at play here–a lack of desire to rescue Brown kids.


Oh, and Paula Ramos, thank you very much for being the only MSMer who gets the pronunciation of Uvalde right. It’s not “You-valde”. Get it together, the rest of MSM!!

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Judge Lina Hidalgo: You Cannot Discuss Public Safety Without Discussing The Role Of Guns

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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on MSNBC’s Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell(05/24/22)

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo appeared on MSNBC’s Last Word w/Lawrence O’Donnell show(05/24/22) to push for gun reform in Texas, following the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Judge Hidalgo(video at 4:11): “The Houston Chronicle just published an oped and they ask in this context of law and order frenzy that’s taking over the country: What kind of a law and order state does so little to prevent the massacre of 18 babies in their own school? That’s what we need to call out. You cannot have a discussion about public safety without discussing the role of guns, of these weapons of mass destruction…”

This is a point that cannot be reiterated enough. Republicans in Texas and elsewhere, cannot have it both ways. They cannot go around screaming about “rising violent crime under Biden/Democrats” while at the same time seemingly totally oblivious to their/NRA’s huge role in the proliferation of such guns. As Judge Hidalgo stated, citing a report from the Harris County Medical Examiner, there’s a direct correlation between rising crime and the lax GOP gun laws(video at 2:05): “Our Medical Examiner just released data that the percentage of homicides related to guns has only increased in Texas and here in Harris County since the state has relaxed gun safety laws more and more.”

There’s no other way to interpret this other than Governor Abbott and his Texas Republicans have made the state a dangerous place because of their lax gun laws meant to placate the NRA.

Bottom line folks, Republicans, and especially Texas Republicans, should not be allowed to continue with their faux outrage over “rising crime under Democrats.” Democrats need to do a better job in reminding voters as we approach the 2022 midterms, that lax gun laws passed by Republicans, have a lot to do with the rising crime, especially homicides.

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Rep Gaetz Says Republicans Have An Obligation To Use Second Amendment For An Armed Rebellion

Just four months after the horrific January 6th insurrection in Washington DC by violent Trump supporters, Congressman Matt Gaetz(R-FL) was in Dalton, Georgia (5/27/21) telling a crowd of supporters that the second amendment was meant for armed rebellion and importantly, that they(Republicans), “have an obligation to use it”. If this is not a direct incitement to violent insurrection by the sitting Congressman, I don’t know what is.

In the clip which was played on CNN’s NewDay with Brianna Keilar, Rep Gaetz can be heard telling the crowd, “We have a second amendment in this country, and I think we have an obligation to use it…The second amendment is not about hunting, it’s not about recreation, it’s not about sports. The second amendment is about maintaining within the citizenry, the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary.” There’s absolutely no other way any reasonable person can interpret this, other than a direct incitement to an armed rebellion against the government by Rep Gaetz.

This is a very serious issue, and must be treated as such by the powers that be, given the fact that it comes only four months after DC insurrection, an armed rebellion that came shockingly close to success. Rep Gaetz’s comments also deserve further scrutiny because unlike many other Republicans who initially distanced themselves from former President Trump after DC insurrection, he and Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, in whose district Gaetz was speaking, fully embraced Trump even after the incident, and have since projected themselves as Trump’s trusted lieutenants nationally. As a result, Trump’s supporters regard public statements by Reps Gaetz and Greene as direct messages from the former President–a call to action if you will.

Any reasonable person looking at the GOP’s reaction to the events that transpired on January 6th, and since then, is left with a very troubling picture as to where the party, and quite frankly the country, is headed. Trump’s lies about election fraud led to an armed insurrection on Jan 6th. Congressional Republicans chose not to impeach him for that. Trump is still pushing the same dangerous lies. Some Republican members of Congress have since conjured up revisionist theories as to what really happened on January 6th(just a bunch of tourists etc), to excuse their continued support for Trump.

Republican-controlled state legislatures have embarked on voter suppression laws targeting areas/voters they deem anti-Trump and importantly, made it possible for state legislatures to overturn elections in case of unfavorable outcomes. All this is being done against the backdrop of Trump teasing another run for President in 2024, meaning the said state legislatures are setting the stage for overturning the elections in case Trump loses. The sham election recount in Arizona is also setting the stage to overturn future election results that don’t go in Trump’s favor. States like Texas are passing reckless gun laws that make it possible for just about anybody to bear arms. Hmm, coincidence? How does this fit into Rep Gaetz’s rebellion rhetoric? Remember, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is a super Trumper too.

Republican Senators, at the urging of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell(KY), are today(05/28/21) set to kill an effort to establish a bipartisan commission to look into what led to the January 6th DC insurrection, and coming up with ways to prevent it from ever happening again. Is Senator McConnell afraid that the commission will show that DC insurrection was not as “fringe” as establishment Republicans want the public to believe? Was he personally involved behind the scenes? These are questions the public needs to start asking, and asking loudly, because something is off-kilter with the current GOP, and it’s continued dalliance with insurrectionist Trump. Simply put, “fringe” Reps Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene may not be that fringe after all, as CNN host Brianna Keilar pointed out.

Bottom line folks, we must never forget the fact that we simply got lucky on January 6th. Everything that has happened with Trump’s GOP since January 6th, leads any reasonable person to conclude that Jan 6th was just a trial run, and if we don’t remain vigilant, we are definitely headed towards another one, this time, successful .

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