Christian School Kids Meet Jesus Thanks to NRA

3 children and 3 adults are dead in a shooting at The Covenant School, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee. The now-deceased female gun enthusiast responsible carried two AR-15 assault-style rifles and a pistol, and was possibly an alumna. Tuition at the Presbyterian-affiliated school ranges from $10,250 to $16,500, plus fees. Almost all students are White.

15 million Americans, about 1 in 20, own an AR-15 assault-style weapon, and some own several. According to the national Gun Violence Archive, there have been 128 mass shootings in the U.S. this year so far.

More:

“Three children and three adults killed by female shooter at Nashville elementary school,” Martin Pengelly, The Guardian

“‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens,” The Onion

Related:

“We spent 7 months examining the AR-15’s role in America. Here’s what we learned.” Washington Post

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This Week’s School Shooting

The 19-year-old gunman who killed a teacher and a 15-year-old girl at a St Louis high school on Monday was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and 600 rounds of ammunition. Back in July, the House passed a bill that would raise the age of ownership of such assault weapons to 21. A similar bill has languished in the filibuster-plagued Senate, thanks to Republicans.

Monday’s school shooting was the 40th this year resulting in injuries or death, according to Education Week.

Missouri, which allows open or concealed carry of firearms without a permit or background check, has one of the highest gun death rates in the nation.

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July 4th: Chicagoland Celebrates 2nd Amendment

On the morning of July 4th, an Illinois firearms enthusiast joined Highland Park‘s small town Independence Day parade by firing his assault-style rifle at it, killing 6 fellow citizens outright and mangling the bodies of dozens of others, including children. An illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate urged citizens to “move on and … celebrate the independence of this nation.”

US gunshot deaths so far this year: 22,434.

God Bless America.

Update:

“7th Person Dies Day After Highland Park Parade Mass Shooting,” NBC 5 Chicago

More:

“Horror on the Fourth: Suspect in custody after 6 killed, dozens wounded at Highland Park Fourth of July parade,” Lynn Sweet, Manny Ramos, Elvia Malagón and Sophie Sherry, Chicago Sun-Times

“Guns Killed More Than 220 People Over July 4 Weekend Alone,” Alice Tecotzky, Daily Beast

“Marjorie Taylor Greene Tweets Predictably Fact-Free Theory About Highland Park Massacre,” Zachary Petrizzo, Daily Beast

“‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens,” The Onion

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19 Children Shot to Death in Texas

At least 19 children and 2 teachers were shot to death at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. The victims were in a single 4th grade classroom. The teenaged perpetrator wore body armor but was shot dead by police. The shooter was legally able to buy his assault-style rifle this month, the day after his 18th birthday.

There have been 213 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, 27 school shootings. And it’s only May.

In other Texas news, the National Rifle Association will hold its annual meeting in Houston on Friday. Scheduled speakers include Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R), South Dakota Governor Kristi L. Noem (R), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R, TX-2), and former president Donald J. Trump. At this time, no grieving parents from Uvalde are on the agenda.

More:

“21 killed at Uvalde elementary in Texas’ deadliest school shooting ever,” Sneha Dey, Texas Tribune

“Firearms are now the leading cause of death for U.S. children,” Peter Weber, The Week

“‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens,” The Onion

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Racist Mass Murder in Buffalo

A teenaged white supremicist has murdered 10 people in a supermarket in Buffalo, NY. He was able to legally purchase an assault-style firearm despite earlier threats to commit such acts. There have been 202 mass shootings in the United States so far this year. And it’s only May.

More:

“The victims: What we know about those killed, injured in Tops shooting,” Buffalo News

“The Buffalo Shooter Isn’t a ‘Lone Wolf.’ He’s a Mainstream Republican,” Talia Lavin, Rolling Stone

“Scrutiny of Republicans who embrace ‘great replacement theory’ after Buffalo massacre,” Richard Luscombe, The Guardian

“White Power, White Violence,” Kathleen Belew, The Atlantic

“Conservative media is familiar with Buffalo suspect’s alleged ‘theory,’” Paul Farhi, Washington Post

“‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens,” The Onion

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‘America’s Rifle,’ American Carnage

In the February 14th school shooting in Parkland Florida, 17 people were killed with an AR-15 type rifle, legally purchased by an 18-year-old American citizen too young to legally buy beer. It has long been known that the assault-style AR-15, which the NRA calls “America’s Rifle,” is the mass killer’s weapon of choice. After an assault-style weapon killed 5 children at a school in Stockton California in 1994, Congress passed a ban on the civilian sale of semi-automatic assault-style firearms and high-capacity magazines, but the law was allowed to expire in 2004. Since then, such massacres have increased 183 percent with a 239 percent increase in massacre deaths.

After 2004, U.S. gun manufacturers re-branded variants of the military-derived AR-15 as the “Modern Sporting Rifle” even though the gun is terrible for hunting. It was designed to do maximum damage to the human body. Just ask Dean L. Winslow, MD.

It’s not just this Florida school shooting. Assault-style rifles have been used in recent mass killings in Aurora Colorado (22 dead), Newtown Connecticut (26 dead), Santa Monica California (6 dead), Colorado Springs (3 dead), San Bernardino (14 dead), Orlando (49 dead), Las Vegas Nevada (58 dead), Roseburg Oregon (9 dead), and Sutherland Springs Texas (26 dead).

Is it time to bring back the assault weapon ban? The surviving students at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School seem to think so. The Second Amendment shouldn’t be a suicide pact. The Founding Fathers never saw an AR-15.

More:

“The AR-15: ‘America’s rifle’ or illegitimate killing machine?” Marc Fisher, Washington Post

“Mass shootings are getting deadlier. And the latest ones all have something new in common: The AR-15,” Matt Pearce, Lost Angeles Times

“Nothing in the Constitution Prevents Sensible Gun Rules,” Cass R. Sunstein, Bloomberg

“Laws we used to have on the books could have prevented the Florida school shooting,” Robert J. Spitzer, Washington Post

“No one becomes a mass shooter without a mass-shooting gun,” George Skelton, Los Angeles Times

“Top GOP Donor Cuts Off Opponents of Assault Weapon Ban,” Chas Danner, New York Magazine

“Shooting survivors to press for gun control,” AP via ABC News

“Florida school shooting: Students demand tighter gun controls,” BBC News

“Florida high school superintendent shares calls for ‘commonsense gun laws,’” Josh Delk, The Hill

“Florida massacre: Broward Sheriff Scott Israel’s plea for gun control,” Kyle Swenson, Washington Post

“Ex-CIA chief: Congress must act now to block access to semiautomatic weapons,” Jacqueline Thomsen, The Hill

“A Republican Governor Just Called for a Ban on Assault Weapons,” Dan Friedman, Mother Jones

“At vigil for Florida shooting victims, students who survived the attack chant, ‘No more guns!'” Catherine Garcia, The Week

“Stoneman Douglas survivors are emerging as the sanest voices on gun control,” Karen Hao, Quartz

“Murdoch’s New York Post shifts on assault-weapons ban, after Florida school shooting,” Callum Borchers, Washington Post

“All the things Fox News blamed the Parkland shooting on other than the gun,” Adam Epstein, Quartz

“Florida students protest Trump, NRA,” Morgan Gstalter, The Hill

“Surviving Teens of Parkland Massacre Tell NRA to Shove Its ‘Thoughts and Prayers,’ and Plan March on Washington,” Angela Helm, The Root

“Shooting survivor to NRA: ‘Don’t you dare come back here,’” Rebecca Savransky, The Hill

“Shooting suspect was on school rifle team that got NRA grant,” Michael Biesecker and Collin Binkley, Associated Press

“Outside NRA headquarters, hundreds gather in vigil and protest,” Clarence Williams, Washington Post

“NRA Goes Quiet on Twitter, Just Like After Previous Mass Shootings,” Matt Novak, Gismodo

“FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump,” Peter Stone and Greg Gordon, McClatchy News

“NRA contributions: how much money is spent on lawmakers?” Lauren Gambino, The Guardian

“Have your representatives in Congress received donations from the NRA?” Aaron Williams, Washington Post

“Lawmakers use campaign funds for NRA dues,” Ben Wieder, McClatchy News

“The NRA’s step-by-step playbook for responding to a mass shooting,” Heather Timmons, Quartz

Updates:

“Five types of gun laws the Founding Fathers loved,” Saul Cornell, The Conversation

“Florida shooting survivor: We should call AR-15s ‘Marco Rubio’ because they’re both easy to buy,” Brandon Carter, The Hill

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Orlando: American Shoots Other Americans

A heavily armed native-born American walked into an Orlando gay bar Sunday morning and killed at least 49 other Americans before he was shot by police. Actually, some people may say the perpetrator was not a real American because he was born in New York.

50 49 victims are known dead and about an equal number have been hospitalized, many in critical condition. At this time investigators have not established and reported other facts, but this has not kept commentators and politicians from recklessly flapping their gums. We await the NRA’s inevitable pronouncements that the shooter was mentally ill and that the bar patrons should have been armed.

More:

“The gun used in the Orlando shooting is becoming mass shooters’ weapon of choice,” Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post

“Ex-CIA Chief: It’s Way Past Time for an Assault Weapons Ban,” John McLaughlin, OZY

“Orlando nightclub shooting suspect bought guns within week of attack,” Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel

“Assault weapons remain legal and easy to purchase in US,” Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press

“Ban on Weapon Used in Orlando More Distant Than Ever, Even If Clinton Wins,” Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

“Florida Nightclub Attack Just the Latest US Mass Shooting,” AP via NBC News

“Orlando shooting: The key things to know about about guns and mass shootings in America,” Max Ehrenfreund, Washington Post

“Orlando Shooting, 16 Front Pages From Newspapers Around The World,” Helene Snyder, Worldcrunch

Related:

“U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons,” Jonathan Masters, Council on Foreign Relations

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No Standing

On Monday United States District Judge Janet C. Hall ruled that the National Shooting Sports Foundation lacked legal standing to challenge Connecticut’s recently enacted firearms laws and dismissed its lawsuit. NSSF is the trade association representing the arms and ammunition manufacturers and dealers who profit from the sale of the high-capacity magazines and military-style weapons forbidden by the new gun laws, passed after the killing of 20 young children and  6 educators in Newtown, Connecticut. Newtown is also home to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

On Wednesday, Newtown authorities released recordings of the 911 emergency calls from inside Sandy Hook Elementary School during the mass shooting of first-graders. The neighbors at the NSSF didn’t comment on that.

Assault Rifles Stolen From Bass Fishing Shop

Thieves broke into a Bass Pro Shop in Macon, Georgia and stole 17 AR-15 military-style rifles. Now 17 Georgia homeowners cannot protect their families from the roving packs of savage Largemouth Bass menacing the Peach State. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward for info on the bandits, matched by the arms dealer’s lobby, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, for a total of $10,000. That’s about 3/4 of the retail value of the firearms and the amount of first-place prize money at a medium-sized bass shooting tournament.

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When Is a Gun Not a Gun?

Q: When is a gun not a gun?

A: When it’s a hammer.

That’s what Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert (R, TX-1) thinks, anyway. Asked about proposed legislation to restrict the sale of assault weapons, military-style arms like those used in recent mass killings, Mr. Gohmert replied:

“I refuse to play the game of ‘assault weapon.’ That’s any weapon. It’s a hammer. It’s the machetes. In Rwanda that killed 800,000 people, an article that came out this week, the massive number that are killed with hammers.”

Louie Gohmert is an authority on hammers, being dumber than a sack of them. Perhaps he’ll be named Chair of the House Subcommittee on Hand Tool Terrorism.

Firearms kill thousands of Americans each year; blunt objects kill hundreds, but we don’t know how many are committed with hammers, perhaps dozens. We expect Mr. Gohmert to hold fact-finding hearings about that in the new Congressional session.

More:

“Republican Congressman Claims Hammers Could Be Outlawed Under Assault Weapons Ban,” Scott Keyes, Think Progress

“Gohmert: ‘Any weapon’ is an assault weapon,” Justin Sink, The Hill

“Conservatives demand hammer control,” Alex Seitz-Wald, Salon

Related:

“Louie Gohmert: Aurora Shootings Result Of ‘Ongoing Attacks On Judeo-Christian Beliefs,'” Jennifer Bendery, Huffington Post

“Former NRA president compares banning guns to racism,” Jillian Rayfield, Salon

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