Now Is Not the Time?

59 people are dead and 527 injured after a man opened fire on the audience at a country music concert in Las Vegas. Can tragedies like this be prevented? Our elected officials must be working on that now, right?

According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, “there will certainly be a time for that policy discussion to take place, but that’s not the place that we’re in at this moment.”

You’ve heard this before, every single time Americans slaughter their fellow citizens with mass gunfire. After the Pulse nightclub, the Aurora movie theater, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, McDonald’s in San Ysidro, and Columbine High School.

So we can’t talk about sensible gun control measures after a senseless mass killing. It’s like that guy who won’t fix the hole in his roof when it’s raining because he doesn’t want to get wet, and when the sun shines he says he doesn’t need to fix it.

More:

“Now is exactly the right time to talk about gun politics,” Mark Kelly, Washington Post

“Chuck Todd: ‘Why is now not the time’ to talk about gun violence?” Josh Delk, The Hill

“Mass shootings are an American problem. There’s an American solution.” Chris Murphy, Washington Post

“If Newtown Wasn’t Enough, Why Would Las Vegas Be Enough?” Charles P. Pierce, Esquire

“Why ‘thoughts and prayers’ is starting to sound so profane,” Kirsten Powers, Washington Post

“We don’t need your prayers in Sin City. We need gun control,” C. Moon Reed, Los Angeles Times

“Washington’s Ritualized Response to Mass Shootings,” Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker

Gun Enthusiast & Football Fan Persecuted by FBI

Toledo businessman and convicted killer Richard Schmidt amassed an arsenal of 18 guns and assault rifles, 40,000 rounds of ammunition, and body armor despite his record as a violent felon. A White Supremacist, his activities only endangered the lives of people in ethnic minorities, so naturally he was ignored.

But then he went too far. Mr. Schmidt had the temerity to counterfeit NFL team jerseys, diverting dozens of dollars from the coffers of America’s professional football monopoly and the bank accounts of billionaire team owners. After getting a tip, FBI squads swiftly descended on his  store and home. Some red lines simply cannot be crossed. The NRA is one thing, the NFL quite another.