Republicans and NRA Refuse to Admit Their Complicity in Connecticut Massacre

The usual suspects on the right are once again denying that their love for unrestricted gun ownership played any role in the deadly massacre in Connecticut that left 28 dead, including 20 children.  One former Republican compatriot of mine sums up the rush to deny responsibility in this comment on my Facebook page:

Michael, it is nearly impossible - as soon as a weapon is outlawed, it gets manufactured with an altered design, which no longer makes it the outlawed gun. Don't politicize this most horrific tragedy - it is not a "Republican" moment for you.

This from a person who I once thought was rational.  I'm sorry, but this tragedy DOES need to be politicized because only by politicizing the nightmare and pointing fingers at those who have created a legal framework where guns that allow shooters to kill dozens in mere minutes are perfectly legal will we as a nation see the much needed changes to the nation's gun laws.  And here in Virginia, the Republican controlled General Assembly repealed the limit on the number of guns one can purchase per month, turning Virginia once again into the gun capital of the east coast.  It is political because one political party continues to make it possible for guns such as those used in this slaughter readily available.  As I said yesterday, in my view there is absolutely no reason why any civilian needs to have an automatic or semi-automatic assault rifle.    My former compatriot seemingly has conveniently forgotten the GOP's stance on guns:

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republicans have strengthened the pro-gun-rights portion of their party platform, including a new call for unlimited bullet capacities in guns, in a defiant response to criticism that followed recent mass shootings at a Colorado cinema and an Arizona congresswoman's gathering.

The 2012 platform, approved this week by GOP convention-goers who nominated Mitt Romney for president, also endorses "stand your ground" rights for gun owners. That legal concept, which says gun bearers don't have to retreat if they feel threatened in a public place, drew national attention after February's fatal shooting of an unarmed Florida teenager by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

"We invite Americans to consider this platform, a call for dramatic change in government," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said in his convention speech Tuesday.

Yes, Taliban Bob, we do need to educate ourselves and hold the GOP responsible for the recklessness of its position on guns and its opposition to any meaningful gun control.   

One voice of sanity on this issue is New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg who has to deal with guns flowing into his city from states like Virginia that undermine law enforcement efforts in that city.   Here is what Bloomberg said in a statement released yesterday:

"With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their A,B,Cs are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem. Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever."

To my former GOP compatriot I again say that this IS political and it needs to be politicized so that the political party that continues to enable such madness is held responsible.  I'd also suggest that my former compatriot stop drinking the Kool-Aid being dispensed by the NRA and other right wing groups.  It is bad enough that the GOP has become largely a party of religious fanatics and white supremacists.  The GOP doesn't have to continue to enable madmen to slaughter innocents as well simply to kiss the ass of people like Wayne LaPierre, president of the NRA who sounds eriely like my former GOP friend:

Eleven days ago—since when two mass shootings have taken place, this one in Newtown and another earlier this week at a shopping mall in Oregon—the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) president, referring to yet another shooting, bemoaned the media “[seizing] on the back of this national tragedy to try to piggyback their anti-Second Amendment national agenda right on top of the back of the national tragedy and try to force it on Americans all over the country.” Mr LaPierre, like the NRA’s Twitter page, has been silent today.

The article quoted above had another telling passage:

As it happens, halfway around the world, on the same day, a deranged man attacked primary-school students at a school in China’s Henan province. He had a knife. Twenty-two students were wounded. None died. Adam Lanza had a pair of handguns, and a .223 semi-automatic Bushmaster rifle, which looks like this: