A Week of Turmoil

This week has seen continued gun violence across this country. In a year that has already tallied over 600 incidents with multiple (over 4 deaths) firearm deaths, this week tallied several more.

In Colorado Springs, Colorado, a shooter armed with an AR-15, carrying a handgun and wearing full body armor, entered a gay nightclub and started firing. After patrons subdued him, five people were dead and over twenty others were injured. There had been no warnings about an attack. The club held drag shows that were enjoyed by many in the community, gay or not. Many survivors called the club their safe space. The shooter had been in a hostage/bomb threat type incident months earlier, but law enforcement in that area chose to not enforce the Red Flag law that could have removed firearms from his home. He is now jailed and charged with five homicides plus hate crimes, among other charges.

The city of Boulder, not far away, endured a mass shooting at a grocery store earlier this year. Again, the shooter was a young man, considered a loner by many.

At the University of Virginia, a disgruntled student killed three members of the football team and wounded two others; he and the others were all on a bus and returning from a school-sponsored field trip. Earlier warnings that the killer possessed a gun were not addressed as an urgent issue by the crisis team at the university. His family said he felt he was being bullied by some at the university. This would not even qualify as a mass shooting-too few were killed!

Nearby, in Chesapeake, Virginia, a Walmart employee bought a gun before he came to work; subsequently, he killed five employees and then himself. If he had had a mandated five-day waiting period, maybe those co-workers would still be alive. Although several employees had problems with his management style, no one believed he gave any prior warning signs of these actions. Even as this was happening, elsewhere in Virginia, in a domestic dispute, a mother and her three children were gunned down. Previously, the mother, who had been in a relationship with her killer that grew violent, secured protective orders against her killer. If a law was in place that prohibited domestic abusers from legal gun purchases, perhaps these people would still be alive.

Children in Uvalde, Texas, returned to school in September, just months after 21 of their friends and teachers had been gunned down in their classrooms by a young man who once attended their elementary school. Many survivors are still traumatized and undergoing therapy for their experiences. Texas allowed weapons purchase, even military-style weapons, as soon as someone turned 18, with no background checks, although a handgun purchase required one to be 21. The shooter planned his attacks for soon after his 18^th birthday, and gun purchases. (I think that the law has now been changed to require an age of 21 for both.)

In 2019, a recently resigned city employee in Virginia Beach, VA, came to the Municipal Building and killed twelve workers there, and wounded others.

Few in this area can forget the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. In that incident, a student stalked those in classrooms on the campus, killing 32 and then himself. He also injured 17 others. He, too, was being treated by student health, but not considered an urgent threat. The state settled several claims by families regarding this incident.

According to research by Every town for Gun Safety, 16% of mass shootings involved an assault weapon, and over half of those used high-capacity magazines, meaning the shooter could fire many shots without reloading.

World Population Review stated these are the top ten states for mass killings, using the definition given above, for 2022. So far, 2022 is close to recording the second-highest annual totals ever in the US.

1. California - 257
2. Illinois - 209
3. Florida - 147
4. Texas - 129
5. New York - 96
6. Pennsylvania - 92
7. Georgia - 89
8. Louisiana - 87
9. Tennessee - 84
10. Ohio – 80

 

This violence has to stop. Only if each of us speaks out against gun violence will politicians have the political will to reject the arguments of the NRA and ban assault-style weapons.

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To segue, Republicans are flexing their political muscles now that they have gained the legislative majority in the House by a two-vote margin as I write. Rep. Comer has promised some 30 investigations of the Biden administration and his family members.

I wonder if these folks plan to pass any legislation or investigate the cryptocurrency crash, or look at Elon Musk and his Twitter dealings?

Current Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is telling everyone yes to their committee requests and promising to throw Democrats such as Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell off the Intelligence committees. Jim Jordan is already flexing his shirtsleeves with anticipation of becoming the head of the Judiciary Committee. I fear very much that the next two years will showcase the worst of American governance or lack of it.

McCarthy did not win a majority of the votes in his caucus when they took a straw vote, as over 30 members voted no. If he cannot get his far-right members to agree on his leadership, then he would need Democrat support to win the Majority position. Kicking Democrats off Committees is not the way to go, Kevin! Who has the support were a compromise to be offered, I do not know. McCarthy has wanted this position for so long but has not developed a way to control his members and instead, seems at their mercy. He has no platform, no legislation, just a plan to undo most of what this current Congress has passed. Of course, with the Senate under Democrat control, that is not likely.

Speaking of Senate Democrats-the runoff election in Georgia is in about ten days and early voting has started, thanks to a court ruling allowing voting on Saturday. Georgia Republicans shortened the run-off preparation times and decreased early voting days and registration options, all to depress voter turnout. Some Georgia Republicans are trying to keep DJT out of the state, so he does not keep Republicans home as he did in 2021.

Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to beat the bushes and get every voter to the poll for Senator Warnock. Stacey Abrams conceded the Governor's race to Brian Kemp, who decidedly beat her this time; although the 2018 race was close. Her GOTV troops are still in place, so maybe they can get voters out again. Voting results showed that there was a fall-off of voters between those who voted for Kemp and did not choose Walker. Current polls still show the race close, but favoring Warnock. If he wins, then the Democrats would not have to share power in the Senate as is done when the Senate is 50-50. This so-called gentlemen's agreement can only work if both sides are gentlemen, however. (This refers to you, Mitch McConnell.)

And finally, what does one do when the announcement of a presidential run brings a big Ho-Hum from most voters? Well, one has lunch with Ye, (the former entertainer and erstwhile presidential candidate, once known as Kanye) also known for his anti-Semitic views, and his pal Rick Fuentes, a white supremacist, anti-Semite, and pal for Margery Taylor Greene. Fuentes was a marcher in Charlottesville and appeared at the Capitol during the insurrection. Of course, Greene, who spoke at Fuentes’ conference, denied knowing him after she was criticized for her presence.

Hey, I am not making this stuff up!

DJT lost in court twice this week as the Supreme Court denied his claim to withhold his tax returns from Congress and the Circuit Court said that a Special Master should never have been appointed in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Despite his protestations, The Special Prosecutor has already started work on the referral from DOJ.

And, finally, after ten days of counting, local elections have been called in Frederick County. Democrat, Jessica Fitzwater, won the position of County Executive by just over 900 votes. Democrats won five seats on the County Council and the teacher-endorsed candidates won 3 of the 4 seats on the School Board. Whew!

https://youtu.be/ZrFm-Vxrj3o Time to check out the pandas!

“Til next week-Peace!