Update: “Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) ended a blockade of the Senate floor after nearly 15 hours Thursday, announcing Republican leaders had agreed to hold votes on Democrat-backed measures to expand background checks and prevent suspected terrorists from acquiring guns.” (WaPo)
***
Some House Democrats walked out on the House’s “moment of silence” for the victims of Orlando, and as soon as the moment had passed some remaining Democrats shouted their frustration at speaker Paul “granny starver” Ryan.
House Democrats staged protests Monday evening in response to a moment of silence on the floor to remember the victims of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the deadliest in American history.
After Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) led the House in the moment of silence in honor of the 49 people who died in the massacre on Sunday, the chamber erupted into shouting as Democrats expressed frustration over the lack of votes to restrict guns after repeated mass shootings.
“Where’s the bill?” Democrats chanted.
Today, Senate Dems are holding an old-fashioned filibuster on gun control.
Led by the senators who represent Newtown, Connecticut — where a gunman fatally shot 26 people, including 20 children, in 2012 — Democrats took control of the Senate floor Wednesday and vowed to keep talking until lawmakers start doing something about gun violence.
“Newtown is still putting itself back together, probably will be for a long time,†said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who launched the filibuster-style takeover, declaring it was time for the Senate to do something about gun violence beyond the usual ineffective debates.
He said lawmakers could not go about business as usual after a mass killing at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday claimed 49 victims.
“This is a different moment today than it was at the end of last week,†Murphy said. “There is a newfound imperative for this body to find a way to come together and take action, to try to do our part to stem this epidemic of gun violence and in particular this epidemic of mass shootings.â€
This filibuster is still going on as I write this. There’s a live feed at Wired. It’s several hours of not-silence. A number of Democrats have participated; I don’t have a list of them yet.
So credit where credit is due. I hope this is just a beginning.
Yeah Democrats!!!!
On the other side of the fence, the GOP Chosen One continues to feed red meat to the basest of the base:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-pushes-conspiracy-theory-obama-supports-isis/story?id=39877503
Kudos to ABC for their reporting.
I have a mental image Ryan with hand print marks on his forehead from Trump-induced face-palming and a queasy gut from the prospect of Democrats baring their teeth.
Guns are not that hard a problem to solve. If you WANT to. Sure, you’ll never get them all, but this last guy should not have been able to leave a gun store with a gun, especially not a military-grade weapon.
I see Paulie is well trained in the art of piety. His genuflection via bowed head and sign of the cross gesticulation really showed his subservience to the Lord and his genuine concern for the families and victims the Orlando massacre.
“Paul Ryan ‘led’ the House in the moment of silence.” The idea is almost comical, but the reality is pitiful.
Historic events seem to occur through varied mechanisms. Sometimes, rarely, it just takes an idea. On the other end of the spectrum, when change is suppressed, pressure builds up and it erupts. To any decent people, with a reasonably functional government, the tragedy in Newtown should have been enough to force us into action. It will remain among the most shameful events in our history, because it wasn’t enough.
Here we see the glorious “free market of ideas” that my self satisfied libertarian friends touted with an air of condescension. To them everything becomes a commodity, you get all the freedom that your purse and influence will buy. The NRA has bought a significant part of our government. I suppose that some would argue that “Stand Your Ground” laws, open carry and the the elimination of “gun free zones” are all ideas that have won on their merit. But, I find that ludicrous. These were changes sold to some, and forced on others by a powerful, exploitive political entity.
I have a neighbor who is a gun enthusiast. He is a decent man, and I like him. The other day he posted a ready made about the millions of guns and billions of bullets in the USA. It ended with “if there was a problem, you would know it.” That seemed to encapsulate some of the political dynamics of this issue in a thinly veiled threat and a strong dose of denial. It seems absurd to me that someone could look at the long string of mass murders, acts of terror and senseless tragedies and deny that there is indeed, a very large problem. But, there you have it. That’s what we’ve come to.
Instead of a ‘moment of silence,’ how about a ‘millennium of silence’ by telling the NRA to STFU, and go back to being a gun-safety advocate and training facility, and not the marketing arm for gun-makers.
And if you say that those semi-automatics like the AR-15 and Sig what-the-fuck-ever are needed for hunting, I say, if you want to hunt and make chopped meat with bone and gristle in it, then maybe you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing.
And if it takes you more than 2 shots to take down whatever animal it is you’re hunting for, maybe you suck at hunting.
Maybe try another hobby.
Like, say… Oh, I don’t know… Bowling!
Good for the Dem’s!
Even most NRA members want certain restrictions – like, if someone is on the “No’-Fly List,” they should also be on the ‘NO-FUCKING-GUN LIST!!!!!!!!!!!’