Republicans wouldn’t even hold a vote on guns.

Those NRA-owned cowards need to go.

AR-15 lapel pin wearing, armed to the teeth Christmas card posing, NRA beholden Republicans refuse to do anything about guns. And frankly, it’s too fucking bad, because the American people WANT something to be done about guns.

In fact, two-thirds of Americans WANT stricter gun laws.

As it turns out — none of us wants to worry that a trip to ShopRite for eggs & milk might be the last thing we ever do because we happened to be standing in the wrong aisle or too far from an exit.

None of us wants to skip a 4th of July parade with the kids for fear of being shot.

None of us wants to memorize our kid’s outfit as they head off to school in case we need to identify their body later.

We aren’t asking to move heaven and earth. We aren’t “coming for” Sally Second Amendment’s side piece. We want an assault rifle ban. We want red flag laws. Safe storage laws. Background checks. Reasonable shit for a civil society.

But Republican lawmakers sucking at the tainted teat of the NRA, don’t give a shit.

They’re too busy getting those sweet, sweet dollars to care about what their constituents want.

To truly care about the human cost of their avarice.

And anyway, there’s big business in keeping us “safe” where we shouldn’t have to worry about being safe.

More guns, more locks, more security, more active shooter drills, more lockdowns, more more more… The security alarm business alone, for instance, brings in $25 billion a year.

Enough is enough.

Today, Senator Schumer put forth a unanimous consent request to pass an Assault Weapons Ban.

In his introduction of the motion, Sen. Schumer said:

“So, today Republicans face a choice, as they do every day. We say to our Republican friends: stand with families fearing for their lives, or stand with the gun lobby and block this Assault Weapons Ban.”

You’ll never guess who Republicans decided to stand with.

I know, it’s really so tough to predict, isn’t it?

Yeah, team “thoughts and prayers” picked the big money gun lobby. They blocked the vote entirely. Shocker.

Here’s what they refused to even hear, let alone vote on:

— The assault weapons ban is just exactly what it sounds like. It would remove the most dangerous weapons of war that have been used in 7 of the 10 most deadly mass shootings.

— Ethan’s law is named after Ethan Song, who was shot in the head with an unsecured firearm when he was 15 years old at his neighbor’s home. It is a safe storage bill which would require gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms if anybody in the home cannot lawfully obtain a firearm. It would also establish a $500 fine for each instance in which an individual fails to follow the above.

— The background checks expansion act is the most moderate of these bills supported by over 90% of Americans. Unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm, which is a massive loophole. This bill would require background checks for the sale and transfer of all firearms.

And those craven asshole Republican twats said “no thanks, we’re good.”

The vast majority of the weapons used in mass shootings were purchased legally. With truckloads of ammo they were also able to purchase legally.

Gun deaths which COULD have been avoided had we had stricter gun laws and an assault weapons ban.

Allen Texas. 8 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Louisville. 5 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Nashville. 5 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Buffalo. 10 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

San Jose. 9 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Uvalde. 21 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Parkland. 17 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Lewiston. 18 dead.

The gun was purchased legally.

Midland, Atlanta, Boulder, Dayton, El Paso, Virginia Beach, Thousand Oaks, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Orlando, Sandy Hook, Highland Park…

The gun was purchased legally.

Guns are a uniquely American problem.

The rest of the world has mental health issues.

The rest of the world has ideological & philosophical division.

They have social media, pot, porn, cellphones & video games.

What they don’t have — is more guns than people, they don’t have more than 500 mass shootings in less than a year, they don’t have a populace paralyzed with fear that their child will be next.

At least, not until they arrive here.

After a British gunman killed 16 people in 1987, the country banned semiautomatic weapons like those he had used. It did the same with most handguns after a 1996 school shooting. It now has one of the lowest gun-related death rates in the developed world.

They have mental health issues there too.

In Australia, a 1996 massacre prompted mandatory gun buybacks The rate of mass shootings went from once every 18 months to only one in the 26 years since.

They have mental health issues there too.

Canada also tightened gun laws after a 1989 mass shooting.

So did Germany in 2002, New Zealand in 2019 and Norway in 2021.

They have mental health issues in all of those places too.

There have been 389 school shootings in the United States since Columbine.

Since Sandy Hook — mass shootings here have nearly tripled.

121 people have been killed and 281 people injured from school shootings since Parkland.

And there have been well over 100 incidents of gunfire at K-12 schools since the Uvalde school shooting.

This year among the 630 mass shootings recorded, 1,571 minors under 18 years old have been shot and killed. 

Every year, approximately three million kids are exposed to gun violence.

This. Is. An. American. Problem.

Yes, we have mental health issues here at home, but the difference… is the guns.

There are more civilian owned guns in this country than there are civilians.

It’s the guns.

You might think I’m crazy for saying this, but today was a victory in the movement for gun safety laws in this country. Not because any bills were passed, because obviously they weren’t, but because this put those stupid-ass “but my second amendment blah blah” Republicans on record. And it showed the American people once again who it is that cares about keeping them safe and who doesn’t.

Republicans don’t care about keeping Americans safe.

They don’t care about keeping kids alive.

Democrats care.

And they’re not going to stop fighting for all of us on this issue. No matter how long it takes.

For reference — the Brady background checks took 7 years, 6 votes and 3 presidents to pass.

My friend Sam Schwartz lost his cousin Alex in the Parkland shooting. And he has turned his grief into action like so many who have been touched by gun violence.

Sam’s cousin Alex didn’t die in vain.

His story, like the stories of so many who have perished at the end of a gun, will force real change.

And it will save lives.

It won’t happen overnight, real, substantive, lasting change never does.

But it always begins with a first step.

Like today.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

As a mom, I refuse to accept gun violence as my reality. And I know I am not alone. So, let’s vote out the bought and paid for Republicans with all that blood on their hands, and let’s support the Democrats, so that they can help us change the world.