One of the sad but inevitable aspects of any mass shooting in the United States is the yammering for Gun Control that follows. The spectacle is like kabuki theater. Liberal politicians and the media demand that “common sense” gun control like background checks, or closing the “gun show loophole” be passed. Cooler voices point out that none of these measures would have stopped the shooting in question and would, in any case, run afoul of the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution. Then things die down for a while until the next massacre.
Such is now the case with the baseball diamond shooting by a deranged Bernie Sanders supporter against a group of Republican congressmen and staffers.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe hurries to the scene of the baseball diamond shooting
Outgoing Virginia Gov. Terry Mcauliffe hurried to the scene of the shooting, declaring that now was not the time to discuss gun control, then proceeded to discuss gun control, according to the Daily Caller. His discussion was filled with the oldies but goodies of the gun control advocate. There are too many guns on the streets of America. We also need to increase background checks and close the so-called “gun-show loophole.” He also claimed that 93 million people a day are killed by gun violence, an apparent gaffe.
New York Daily News notes that congressmen were the target so maybe things will be different
A New York Daily News columnist named Mike Lupica pointed out that members of Congress (most, if not all of whom opposed “common sense gun control”) were the targets of the deranged shooter. He implied that the gun rights advocates in Congress might not care about dead kids at Sandy Hook or dead gay people at the Pulse Club in Orlando, but they might come around for gun control now that someone is shooting at them.
Bizarrely, he mentioned that gun control obviously worked in London because the ISIS terrorists used knives and a van to commit mayhem and murder.
Concealed carry for members of Congress
Noting that threats against Members Of Congress are on the upswing, Rep Barry Loudermilk, R-GA, proposed allowing members of Congress in states where concealed carry is legal to have concealed handguns in Washington, D.C.
Some evidence suggests that gun violence is reduced where concealed carry is legal. One suspects, though, that that is not the kind of debate on guns that Mike Lupica is thinking about. But, the measure is more likely to pass in the Republican-controlled Congress than more restrictions on the right when it comes to keeping and bearing arms.
