Tag: gun violence

Last weekends mass shootings, and GOP’s unwillingness to address them, leaves Minnesotans exasperated and angry

Last weekend, the U.S. suffered two separate horrific mass shootings, one in El Paso and one in Dayton. Despite calls from millions of Americans, Donald Trump and the GOP refuse to take any actions to address the lax gun laws that enable these mass shooters from acquiring these weapons that, in the case of the Dayton, Ohio shooter, gave the killer the ability to kill nine people and injure 27 in less than 30 seconds. 

The shootings in El Paso and Dayton are horrifying, vile, and absolutely heartbreaking. It’s time to stop mincing words: these shootings happen because Republicans refuse to enact common-sense gun safety reforms. These shootings will continue to happen unless Republicans change their minds or are voted out of office. Since the former is highly unlikely, the Minnesota DFL and the Democratic Party will be working damn hard to unseat every Republican standing in the way of the gun safety laws we desperately need.

VIA DFL Chairman Ken Martin’s Facebook page:

“I wish I was shocked by what happened in El Paso and Dayton yesterday. These actions happen so frequently now in America that we have become desensitized to these horrific murders. We quickly condemn, we send our thoughts and prayers and then NOTHING happens. We go back to our lives and then the cycle repeats.

Continue reading “Last weekends mass shootings, and GOP’s unwillingness to address them, leaves Minnesotans exasperated and angry”

‘Be honest about this’: Democratic senator shoots down reporter who suggests ‘both parties’ are to blame for mass shootings

AlterNet logoSen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) shot down a question from a reporter on Wednesday that suggested Democrats and Republican carry equal blame for the failure of Congress to address mass shooting in the United States.

“Don’t both parties take blame in the inability to find a solution to these mass shootings?” the reporter asked.

“No, no,” Brown responded while addressing the press in Dayton, Ohio, the site of just one of the weekend’s mass shootings.

View the complete August 7 article by Cody Fenwick on the AlterNet website here.

Hundreds rally against gun violence; Gov. Tim Walz calls Minnesota Republicans ‘island of resistance’ in debate

The crowd in St. Paul cheered calls to action by the governor as well as U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, others.

Gov. Tim Walz branded Minnesota Republicans on Wednesday as an “island of resistance” to increased gun safety in the state.

Speaking to reporters at the State Capitol, Walz said that GOP leaders in Florida, Ohio and other states have supported versions of expanded background checks and “red flag” laws. But there have been few cracks in the GOP’s longstanding opposition to new gun restrictions in Minnesota.

“There has been one island of resistance, and that is the Minnesota Republican Senate, on having a conversation,” Walz said.

View the complete August 8 article by Liz Sawyer and Jessie Van Berkel on The Star Tribune website here.

Several countries warn citizens about traveling to the US, amid back-to-back shootings

One country, Mexico, has even threatened to take legal action after eight of its citizens died in El Paso this weekend.

Two Latin American countries have issued travel warnings to its citizens regarding traveling to the United States, following the back-to-back shootings last weekend that claimed the lives of over 30 people.

In a statement announcing the advisory, the foreign ministry of Uruguay cited “growing violence” fueled by “racism and discrimination,” adding that American “authorities are unable to prevent” due to “indiscriminate” gun ownership that has ultimately “taken the lives of over 250 people in the first seven months of the year.”

When in the United States, Uruguay warned its citizens to avoid areas with large concentrations of people like theme parks, shopping centers, art festivals, religious events, food festivals, and any kind of cultural or sporting gathering.

View the complete August 6 article by Rebekah Entralgo on the ThinkProgress website here.

The facts on the US children and teens killed by firearms

Injury is the leading cause of death for U.S. children and adolescents, accounting for over 60% of all deaths in this group.

Many of these deaths occur during fun, everyday activities, like swimming in the backyard pool or during a family car ride. But a disproportionate and disturbing number of these deaths in the U.S. occur as a result of firearms.

Firearms are the second leading cause of death among U.S. children and adolescents, after car crashes. Firearm deaths occur at a rate over three times higher than drownings.

View the complete August 6 article by Marc Z, Zimmerman, Professor of Public Health, University of Michigan; Patrick Carter, Assistance Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan and Rebecca Cunningham, Interim Vice President Research, University of Michigan, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Injury Research Center, University of Michigan on the Conversation website here.

Mass shootings test power of an NRA in turmoil

The Hill logoMass shootings in Texas and Ohio that left 31 people dead over the weekend are raising new calls for background checks on gun sales, testing the power of a National Rifle Association plagued by months of internal turmoil.

Gun reformers on Capitol Hill, long frustrated by the gun lobby’s power to block tougher laws, believe they have a new opportunity given the NRA’s perceived weakened state.

The NRA is “not as powerful” as it was, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), who co-authored a bipartisan background checks bill with Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), said in a phone interview with The Hill on Monday.

View the complete August 5 article by Scott Wong and Mike Lillis on The Hill website here.

The El Paso and Dayton shootings weren’t an aberration. They were a statistical certainty.

The United States has been averaging more than one mass shooting per day for almost four years now.

On Saturday, millions of Americans went to bed mourning the latest deadly mass shooting — this one in El Paso, Texas — and woke up the next day to news of a second, in Dayton, Ohio. The weekend carnage left at least 29 people dead, and plenty of indignation about Republican lawmakers who refuse to take up any meaningful gun reform, continuing to take money from pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association.

In truth, however, there was nothing particularly remarkable about the close timing of these two attacks: the United States has been averaging more than one mass shooting per day for at least the past three and a half years.

According to the definition established by the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks every mass shooting in the country, a mass shooting is any incident in which at least four people were shot. And so far in 2019, there have been 255 such incidents. Monday, August 5 is just the 217th day of the year.

View the complete August 5 article by Adam Peck on the ThinkProgress website here.

Video games. Homelessness. Social media. After shootings, Republicans have avoided talking about Trump and white nationalism.

Washington Post logoTrump and Republican leaders are largely focusing their talking points following two mass shootings — including one in El Paso in which the suspect may be charged with a hate crime — on everything but the obvious factors: They discussed video games, homelessness and social media. Largely left out: guns; and the rise of white nationalism and whether Trump’s racially divisive language factors into that.

President Trump’s own FBI director has indicated that white supremacy-related domestic terrorism is on the rise. That rise has been frequently noted in the past few weeks, as Trump has been escalating his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

In an address Monday, Trump acknowledged the racial hatred apparently at play in the El Paso shooting by saying something he rarely does: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.” He made no connection between those things and his own racially divisive rhetoric.

View the complete August 5 article by Amber Phillips on The Washington Post website here.

House DFL Leadership Statement on Gun Violence Prevention Legislation

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – House DFL Leadership released the following statements today in response to Governor Tim Walz calling on Senate Republicans to hold hearings on two common-sense gun violence prevention measures that the DFL House Majority passed but were blocked by the Republican-led Senate.

“The DFL Majority in the Minnesota House passed two broadly-supported, common-sense gun safety measures to make our families and communities safer — criminal background checks and red flag legislation,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Minnesotans have been loud and clear that they want the legislature to take action to address senseless gun violence. The House has responded to this call to action. Senate Republicans should listen to Minnesotans and join the DFL-led House in supporting and passing these measures so we can send them to Governor Walz’s desk.” Continue reading “House DFL Leadership Statement on Gun Violence Prevention Legislation”

Guns, Lies, and Fear

Exposing the NRA’s Messaging Playbook

Introduction and summary

“Our Second Amendment is freedom’s most valuable, most cherished, most irreplaceable idea. History proves it. When you ignore the right of good people to own firearms to protect their freedom, you become the enablers of future tyrants whose regimes will destroy millions and millions of defenseless lives.”1

 – Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and CEO, National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association (NRA), an organization originally established in 1871 to train hunters and marksmen on gun use and safety, has transformed into one of the most effective political lobbies in modern American history. The group advocates for gun rights, resisting any encroachment on what it deems to be an inalienable right to unhindered, unregulated gun ownership. To advance its mission, the NRA deploys a disinformation campaign reliant on fearmongering and the systematic discreditation of opposition voices in order to secure its position as a powerful lobbyist for the gun industry. The NRA has masterfully constructed a narrative based on gun rights propaganda, evoking images of a society devoid of rule of law and under constant threat of attack from an unidentified but ever-present enemy.

Due to the insidious nature of this messaging approach, the NRA has successfully embedded its false narrative throughout much of the country. By deploying a carefully crafted campaign of misinformation, deception, and confusion, the NRA has both undermined legitimate arguments for common-sense gun law reform and made it substantially more difficult for its emotive, provocative propaganda to be countered with fact and reason. In this way, the NRA’s tactics are deceitful not only because they falsely allege to protect American freedoms but also because they mirror fundamentally un-American sources. The propaganda machine of the NRA is similar to that of authoritarian and undemocratic political regimes around the world that deploy disinformation campaigns to secure control over public discourse in their nations, enabling autocrats to maintain a vice grip over information and ensure their power is unchecked and unquestioned.

View the complete April 24 article by Rukmani Bhatia on the Center for American Progress website here.