Punishing The Terrorists: NRA Facing Dissolution For ‘Fraud And Abuse’

August 6, 2020 By Michael Stone

Thoughts and Prayers: The domestic terrorist organization known as the National Rifle Association (NRA) is facing dissolution after New York Attorney General Letitia James files a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA for “fraud and abuse.”

The Washington Post reports:

The chief executive of the National Rifle Association and several top lieutenants engaged in a decades-long pattern of fraud to raid the coffers of the powerful gun rights group for personal gain, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the New York attorney general, draining $64 million from the nonprofit in just three years.

In her lawsuit, Attorney General Letitia James called for the dissolution of the NRA and the removal of CEO Wayne LaPierre from the leadership post he has held for the past 39 years, saying he and others used the group’s funds to finance a luxury lifestyle.

She also asked a New York court to force LaPierre and three key deputies to repay NRA members for the ill-gotten funds and inflated salaries that her investigation found they took.

NPR reports:

The Attorney General of New York took action today to dissolve the National Rifle Association, following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is “fraught with fraud and abuse.”

Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars, and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three year period.

The dissolution of the group would be good news for all Americans because the NRA is a domestic terrorist organization.

Last year, the city of San Francisco passed a resolution designating the National Rifle Association a “domestic terrorist organization.”

And in 2018 a considerable effort was made to designate the NRA a domestic terrorist organization as defined by the USA Patriot Act.

In fact, the NRA is a deplorable domestic terrorist organization that hides behind the Second Amendment and the interests of a small but vocal and threatening minority, while putting the vast majority of decent Americans in harm’s way.

Death and Taxes reports:

1.4 million Americans have died from gunfire since 1968, more than in all of the country’s wars through history combined. No other group — not ISIS, not Al Qaeda, not foreign governments — has been more successful at killing Americans than the NRA.

And:

It is impossible to determine the exact number of deaths that can be directly attributed to the NRA’s efforts, because for 20 years, it has successfully fought to prevent any public health studies at the federal level into gun violence.

Market Watch reports that contrary to public opinion, the NRA does not speak for all gun owners, and only a small, deranged minority of gun owners are actually NRA members:

Only a tiny percentage of Americans are members of the NRA. The association’s annual membership fee is $40. Last year its membership dues came to $160 million. So that’s 4 million members. Out of an estimated 55 million gun owners.

Yet despite the relatively small numbers, the NRA terrorizes politicians and civilians alike.

As a nation we live with and tolerate a culture of gun violence. All the while any proposal to enact sensible reform to curb gun violence is squashed by the NRA and the multitudes of ammosexuals in love with their guns.

Indeed, the NRA and the gun lobby intimidates and bullies politicians, while spreading deception and misinformation to the general public. They are the equivalent of the 20th century tobacco lobby, merchants of death, terrorists claiming their product is safe while countless Americans die.

Bottom line: The domestic terrorist organization known as the National Rifle Association is facing dissolution after New York Attorney General Letitia James files a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA for “fraud and abuse.”

Punishing The Terrorists: NRA Facing Dissolution For ‘Fraud And Abuse’ (Image via Twitter)

GOP Senator Joni Ernst Blocks Violence Against Women Act

November 22, 2019 By Michael Stone

Republican War on Women continues: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst blocks a key Senate vote on the reauthoriztion of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Ernst blocked the vote on VAWA “because of a provision that eliminated the so-called boyfriend loophole by expanding a current ban on firearm purchases for spouses or formerly married partners convicted of abuse or under a restraining order to include dating partners who were never legally married.”

In other words, Ernst blocked the reauthorization because the National Rifle Association (NRA) opposes the reauthorization.

The Hill reports:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) tried to get consent to vote on the House-passed VAWA bill by the end of the year, including allowing both sides to offer two amendments.

…

But Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)… objected to setting up the vote on the bill…

Commenting on the bill Ernst blocked, Feinstein said:

This bill is not a Democratic bill. It’s not a Republican bill. This bill is a survivors’ bill. It’s written with the help of survivors who know what’s needed in the real world.

Calling Ernst out for her opposition to the legislation, Senator Chuck Schumer said:

Ask Sen. Ernst if she believes a boyfriend of a woman who has gotten a protection order issued against him should get a gun? Sen. Ernst evidently believes yes, because in the bill she’s putting forward it doesn’t have that provision even if it did in the House.

Schumer went on to advise Ernst that she should push Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “to bring the House-passed bill on the floor and we’ll debate it. And we can debate her amendment, which the gun lobby wants but almost no other American wants.”

As for Ernst, who has said she was raped in college and alleged that she suffered abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, she is preparing to offer a watered-down version of the Violence Against Women Act that would please the NRA and religious conservatives, but ultimately fail the women it is meant to serve.

Indeed, Ernst is a dangerous religious extremist who believes citizens should depend on churches, not government, for assistance. In addition to weakening the Violence Against Women Act, Ernst also wants to deny women the right to reproductive freedom and force poor and indigent people to attend church to receive any assistance rather than receiving public assistance from the government.

Previously, The Washington Post reported that Ernst wants to eliminate the federal Department of Education and privatize Social Security.

Bottom line: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, serving the interests of religious conservatives and the NRA, blocks the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

The Republican War on Women continues.

GOP Senator Joni Ernst Blocks Violence Against Women Act (Image via Screen Grab)

City Of San Francisco Declares NRA ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization’

September 4, 2019 By Michael Stone

Good News: The city of San Francisco has passed a resolution calling the National Rifle Association a “domestic terrorist organization.”

SFGate reports:

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday declaring that the National Rifle Association is a domestic terrorist organization. The officials also urged other cities, states and the federal government to follow suit.

The resolution reads in part:

WHEREAS, The United States is plagued by an epidemic of gun violence, including over 36,000 deaths, and 100,000 injuries each year, and

WHEREAS, Every day approximately 100 Americans are killed with guns, and

WHEREAS, There has been more than one mass shooting per day in the United States in 2019, and

WHEREAS, The gun homicide rate in the United States is 25 times higher than any other high-income country in the world…

…

WHEREAS, The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence, and

WHEREAS, The National Rifle Association spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence, and

WHEREAS, The leadership of National Rifle Association promotes extremist positions, in defiance of the views of a majority of its membership and the public, and undermine the general welfare, and

WHEREAS, The National Rifle Association through its advocacy has armed those individuals who would and have committed acts of terrorism…

…

RESOLVED, That the City and County of San Francisco intends to declare the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization…

KTVU reports:

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday took the step of officially declaring the nation’s premier gun-ownership advocates a terrorist organization.

District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani wrote the scathing declaration reading in part, “the National Rifle Association spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence.”

“The NRA has it coming to them, and I will do everything that I possibly can to call them out on what they are, which is a domestic terrorist organization,” said Stefani.

Stefani is right. The city of San Francisco is right. The NRA is a domestic terrorist organization.

Make no mistake, the NRA is a deadly and powerful terrorist organization.

Death and Taxes reports:

1.4 million Americans have died from gunfire since 1968, more than in all of the country’s wars through history combined. No other group — not ISIS, not Al Qaeda, not foreign governments — has been more successful at killing Americans than the NRA.

And:

It is impossible to determine the exact number of deaths that can be directly attributed to the NRA’s efforts, because for 20 years, it has successfully fought to prevent any public health studies at the federal level into gun violence.

Market Watch reports that contrary to public opinion, the NRA does not speak for all gun owners, and only a small, deranged minority of gun owners are actually NRA members:

Only a tiny percentage of Americans are members of the NRA. The association’s annual membership fee is $40. Last year its membership dues came to $160 million. So that’s 4 million members. Out of an estimated 55 million gun owners.

Yet despite the relatively small numbers, the NRA terrorizes politicians and civilians alike.

Bottom line: The city of San Francisco is right. The NRA is America’s premier domestic terrorist organization, and they need to be stopped.

City Of San Francisco Declares NRA ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization’ (Image via Twitter)

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo: We Don’t Want Prayers From Politicians

January 29, 2019 By Michael Stone

After four Houston police officers were shot while serving a warrant, a frustrated Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tells politicians to forget the thoughts and prayers and address the public health epidemic of gun violence.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday morning related to the tragic shooting, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo scolded politicians for offering the obligatory “thoughts and prayers” while doing absolutely nothing to address the out of control public health crisis caused by guns.

At the news conference Chief Acevedo said:

We don’t elect people to pray for us. We elect people to lead for us.

Acevedo added:

I appreciate your prayers, but frankly, we’ve got a community to pray for us. The question is, what are policy makers willing to do besides prayers to address a public health epidemic?

Acevedo continued:

I would express my personal frustration at lawmakers that know we have a public health epidemic in this country we call gun violence. It doesn’t just impact law enforcement. It crushes communities, tears apart families, cuts lives short, every single day.

Watch Chief Acevedo’s remarks below:

Acevedo makes a good point. Both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton offered their “thoughts and prayers” to the victims while making absolutely no effort to address the public health crisis caused by gun violence.

Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement in which he said:

I ask all Texans to join Cecilia and me in praying for the officers injured, and for the continued safety of all law enforcement officers who protect our communities.

And Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement:

The thoughts and prayers of countless Texans are with the officers, their families, and the Houston Police Department.

Chief Acevedo is right. We don’t need prayers from politicians. Prayers will not stop bullets. Prayers will not change the gun laws. Prayers will not change the culture of the gun that plagues the U.S. Prayers will not stop the terrorist organization known as the National Rifle Association (NRA).

As a nation we live with and tolerate a culture of gun violence. All the while any proposal to enact sensible reform to curb gun violence is squashed by the the NRA and the attending all powerful gun lobby.

Indeed, the NRA and the gun lobby intimidates and bullies politicians, while spreading deception and misinformation to the general public. They are the equivalent of the 20th century tobacco lobby, merchants of death, claiming their product is safe while countless Americans die.

The fact is America has a fetish for guns, and that perverse fetish for guns will not be cured by thoughts and prayers.

Bottom line: Cheers for Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo who has the courage to tell politicians to forget the thoughts and prayers and address the public health crisis caused by gun violence.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo: We Don’t Want Prayers From Politicians (Image via Screen Grab)

NRA Claims Financial Crisis, Twitter Sends ‘Thoughts And Prayers’

August 5, 2018 By Michael Stone

Twitter sends “thoughts and prayers” to mock the NRA after America’s premier terrorist organization claims to be experiencing a financial crisis.

A new report from Rolling Stone explains:

The National Rifle Association warns that it is in grave financial jeopardy, according to a recent court filing obtained by Rolling Stone, and that it could soon “be unable to exist… or pursue its advocacy mission.”

The good people on Twitter rejoiced at the news that the NRA could soon “be unable to exist… or pursue its advocacy mission,” with many people mocking the terrorist organization by sending “thoughts and prayers.”

For example:

If the @NRA goes bankrupt because of the State of New York, they’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.

I’ll see you in court. https://t.co/9en4Xmu2qD

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 4, 2018

Don’t send money……thoughts and prayers should suffice. https://t.co/uYIWvgK8CD

— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) August 4, 2018

Thoughts and prayers to the NRA who is saying they’re in a deep financial crisis and may be unable to exist. Maybe they could ask some of the Republicans they donated millions to for a loan:
Richard Burr – $7M
Roy Blunt – $4M
Cory Gardner – $3M
Marco Rubio – $3M

— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) August 3, 2018

Don’t send money……thoughts and prayers should suffice. https://t.co/uYIWvgK8CD

— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) August 4, 2018

I would to offer the NRA my thoughts and prayers. https://t.co/p0FchInwqK

— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) August 4, 2018

Allow me to be the first to offer my thoughts and prayers.https://t.co/rwYjNhdlSe

— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) August 3, 2018

The NRA is going bankrupt.

Thoughts and prayers!

— God (@TheGoodGodAbove) August 3, 2018

Let’s be clear: The NRA should be mocked, they are a deadly and powerful terrorist organization with blood on its hands.

Death and Taxes reports on the carnage:

1.4 million Americans have died from gunfire since 1968, more than in all of the country’s wars through history combined. No other group — not ISIS, not Al Qaeda, not foreign governments — has been more successful at killing Americans than the NRA.

And:

It is impossible to determine the exact number of deaths that can be directly attributed to the NRA’s efforts, because for 20 years, it has successfully fought to prevent any public health studies at the federal level into gun violence.

Market Watch reports that contrary to public opinion, the NRA does not speak for all gun owners; in fact, only a small, deranged minority of gun owners are actually NRA members:

Only a tiny percentage of Americans are members of the NRA. The association’s annual membership fee is $40. Last year its membership dues came to $160 million. So that’s 4 million members. Out of an estimated 55 million gun owners.

Yet despite the relatively small numbers, the NRA has terrorized politicians and civilians alike for decades.

As a nation we live with and tolerate a culture of gun violence. All the while any proposal to enact sensible reform to curb gun violence is squashed by the the NRA. Indeed, the NRA intimidates and bullies politicians and others, while spreading deception and misinformation to the general public. They are the equivalent of the 20th century tobacco lobby, merchants of death, terrorists claiming their product is safe while countless Americans die.

Bottom line: The NRA should be mocked. Indeed, the NRA and its supporters should be ridiculed and shunned. In fact, the NRA needs to be stopped before more Americans die because of the irrational and dangerous policy goals of America’s premier terrorist organization.

NRA Claims Financial Crisis, Twitter Sends ‘Thoughts And Prayers’ (Image via Twitter)

NRA Members Send Death Threats To Dallas Restaurant

May 5, 2018 By Michael Stone

Members of the NRA, America’s premier terrorist organization, are sending death threats to a Dallas restaurant that supports sensible gun regulation.

After a Dallas restaurant went viral for pledging to support “reasonable and effective gun regulations” the official NRA twitter account sent out a dog whistle tweet to their rabid membership with terrifying consequences.

Attn @AnnualMeetings attendees. Steer clear of Ellen’s in downtown Dallas! Why go there when there are so many other great choices. #sorrynotsorry #StandAndFight #DefendTheSecond pic.twitter.com/joX7pPoPm4

— NRA (@NRA) May 5, 2018

BuzzFeed News reports:

A popular Dallas restaurant received threats of shootings after the National Rifle Association tweeted for its supporters to “steer clear” of the eatery because it put a message advocating gun regulation on its receipts during an NRA convention.

Joe Groves, owner of Ellen’s restaurant, told BuzzFeed News:

We’ve had people calling and say they’re going to shoot the place up, one that implied he would be burning us down today. Ridiculous people.

The Hill, reporting on the death threats, notes:

The threats apparently came in response to the NRA telling its members to “steer clear” of the restaurant, because it had printed a message on the bottom of its receipts saying that a portion of the week’s proceeds would be donated to gun-control advocacy groups.

Make no mistake, the NRA is a deplorable domestic terrorist organization that hides behind the Second Amendment while representing the interests of a very small, but vocal and threatening minority.

Currently there is a move to designate the NRA a domestic terrorist organization. The online petition, “Designate the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a Domestic Terrorist Organization under the USA Patriot Act,” states:

The National Rifle Association has pursued a radical agenda of facilitating and promoting the uninhibited distribution of firearms intended for mass slaughter of Americans.

They have colluded with the manufacturers and dealers of these dangerous weapons of mass annihilation to prevent any regulatory control over the qualification of purchasers or the lethality of the weapon.

They have implemented a sophisticated system of political bribery and extortion using campaign funding and Political Action Committees that pervert the political process, and result in representatives acting against the expressed interests of their constituents.

…

Through their positions and actions, the NRA fulfills all of the requirements for designation as a domestic terrorist organization. Their actions are responsible for 18 school shootings in 2018 alone, as well as thousands of gun-related deaths over the last decade.

In other words, the NRA is a deadly and powerful terrorist organization. Death and Taxes reports:

1.4 million Americans have died from gunfire since 1968, more than in all of the country’s wars through history combined. No other group — not ISIS, not Al Qaeda, not foreign governments — has been more successful at killing Americans than the NRA.

And:

It is impossible to determine the exact number of deaths that can be directly attributed to the NRA’s efforts, because for 20 years, it has successfully fought to prevent any public health studies at the federal level into gun violence.

Market Watch reports that contrary to public opinion, the NRA does not speak for all gun owners, and only a small, deranged minority of gun owners are actually NRA members:

Only a tiny percentage of Americans are members of the NRA. The association’s annual membership fee is $40. Last year its membership dues came to $160 million. So that’s 4 million members. Out of an estimated 55 million gun owners.

Yet despite the relatively small numbers, the NRA terrorizes politicians and civilians alike. The death threats sent to Ellen’s in Dallas is just one example of the terror and mayhem caused by deranged NRA members.

As a nation we live with and tolerate a culture of gun violence. All the while any proposal to enact sensible reform to curb gun violence is squashed by the the NRA. Indeed, the NRA intimidates and bullies politicians and others, like the people at Ellen’s, while spreading deception and misinformation to the general public. They are the equivalent of the 20th century tobacco lobby, merchants of death, terrorists claiming their product is safe while countless Americans die.

Bottom line: The NRA is America’s premier terrorist organization, and they need to be stopped.

NRA Members Send Death Threats To Dallas Restaurant (Image via Twitter)

‘Pro Life’ GOP Candidate Tweets Death Threat At Democratic Congressman

March 20, 2018 By Michael Stone

GOP candidate tweets death threat: He’s “pro life,” but he loves guns, and he threatened to shoot a congressman for opposing the NRA.

Carl Nett, a Republican candidate for Kentucky secretary of state, is facing a national backlash after claiming he would like to shoot Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth because the Democrat opposes the National Rifle Association (NRA), America’s premier terrorist organization.

Nett issued his threat while responding to a tweet from Rep. John Yarmuth, who was boasting about his “F” grade from the National Rifle Association.

In his tweet, Congressman Yarmuth asked colleagues to join him in wearing a button displaying the designation until “the GOP finally stands up to the gun lobby and helps us pass common-sense gun safety legislation. Find me to get a pin.”

An obviously upset Nett replied to the tweet by urging the Democratic lawmaker to move the pin so as to provide a better target for him to shoot at. Nett tweeted:

Move it over just a bit. I was trained center mass

The thinly veiled death threat was immediately condemned by both sides of the aisle.

The Kentucky Democratic Party issued a statement declaring Nett was “unfit to be elected for or hold any Kentucky office.”

In that statement, Kentucky Democratic Party Chairperson Ben Self said:

Carl Nett’s comment about shooting Rep. John Yarmuth is not only alarming but terribly offensive given the numerous shootings including one in Great Mills, Maryland today. Nett, a current Republican candidate for secretary of state and campaign contributor to Gov. Matt Bevin, is obviously unfit to be elected for or hold any Kentucky office. Any threats of violence cannot be tolerated in our current political or public forums.

GOP spokesman Tres Watson also slammed Nett’s comments as unacceptable. In a statement Watson said:

We believe the tweet was inappropriate. We condemn any suggestion of violence against public servants, even if in jest.

Kathryn M. Stocks, Scott County GOP Chair, issued a statement as well, noting that the organization does not condone threats of violence, and cancelling a speaking engagement scheduled for this evening:

Originally, Mr. Nett had been scheduled to speak to the regular monthly meeting of the Scott County Republican Party this evening. That invitation has now been rescinded and there are no plans to offer another. We call on Mr. Nett to publicly apologize to Congressman Yarmuth immediately.

The offensive tweet has since been deleted, but not forgotten.

Bottom line: A gun loving Republican defended the NRA by sending a death threat to a Democratic congressman via Twitter. But he loves Jesus, and he’s “pro life.”

And so it goes.

‘Pro Life’ GOP Candidate Carl Nett Tweets Death Threat At Democratic Congressman (Image via Screen Grab)

Designate NRA Domestic Terrorist Organization Under Patriot Act

February 22, 2018 By Michael Stone

It’s time to label the National Rifle Association (NRA) a domestic terrorist organization under the U.S. Patriot Act.

The NRA is a deplorable domestic terrorist organization that hides behind the Second Amendment and the interests of a small but vocal and threatening minority, while putting the vast majority of decent Americans in harm’s way.

Currently there is a move to designate the NRA a domestic terrorist organization as defined by the USA Patriot Act:

According to Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Pub. L. No. 107-52), a person engages in domestic terrorism if they do an act “dangerous to human life” that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if the act appears to be intended to: (i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.

An online petition, “Designate the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a Domestic Terrorist Organization under the USA Patriot Act,” reports:

The National Rifle Association has pursued a radical agenda of facilitating and promoting the uninhibited distribution of firearms intended for mass slaughter of Americans.

They have colluded with the manufacturers and dealers of these dangerous weapons of mass annihilation to prevent any regulatory control over the qualification of purchasers or the lethality of the weapon.

They have implemented a sophisticated system of political bribery and extortion using campaign funding and Political Action Committees that pervert the political process, and result in representatives acting against the expressed interests of their constituents.

…

Through their positions and actions, the NRA fulfills all of the requirements for designation as a domestic terrorist organization. Their actions are responsible for 18 school shootings in 2018 alone, as well as thousands of gun-related deaths over the last decade.

Make no mistake, the NRA is a deadly and powerful terrorist organization.

Death and Taxes reports:

1.4 million Americans have died from gunfire since 1968, more than in all of the country’s wars through history combined. No other group — not ISIS, not Al Qaeda, not foreign governments — has been more successful at killing Americans than the NRA.

And:

It is impossible to determine the exact number of deaths that can be directly attributed to the NRA’s efforts, because for 20 years, it has successfully fought to prevent any public health studies at the federal level into gun violence.

Market Watch reports that contrary to public opinion, the NRA does not speak for all gun owners, and only a small, deranged minority of gun owners are actually NRA members:

Only a tiny percentage of Americans are members of the NRA. The association’s annual membership fee is $40. Last year its membership dues came to $160 million. So that’s 4 million members. Out of an estimated 55 million gun owners.

Yet despite the relatively small numbers, the NRA terrorizes politicians and civilians alike.

As a nation we live with and tolerate a culture of gun violence. All the while any proposal to enact sensible reform to curb gun violence is squashed by the the NRA and the multitudes of ammosexuals in love with their guns.

Bottom line: The NRA is America’s premier terrorist organization, and they need to be stopped.

Designate NRA Domestic Terrorist Organization Under Patriot Act (Image via Twitter)

Florida House Refuses To Debate Guns But Declares Porn A Health Risk

February 21, 2018 By Michael Stone

After refusing to even consider a ban on assault rifles the Florida House declares pornography to be a public health risk.

Only days after 17 students and teachers were gunned down at a Florida high school, the state legislature voted 71-36 against a measure to consider a ban on semi-automatic weapons.

Yet only an hour later the state’s House of Representatives approved a resolution declaring pornography to be a public health risk.

Think about that: No action on assault rifles, not even a willingness to debate the issue, yet pornography is declared to be a public health risk?

The stupid, it burns.

State Rep. Carlos Guillermo-Smith, a Democrat, lamented the unfortunate actions of the GOP controlled Florida House:

Unfortunately, just five days after 17 people were gunned down at a Florida school, the Florida House just passed a bill that declares pornography a ‘public health risk.’

Basically, what they have determined is that these are the Republican priorities in 2018: Wasting our time with debate and legislation that declares porn as a health threat, meanwhile we can’t even get a single debate, vote, or hearing on anything related to assault weapons.

That’s really sad.

Guillermo-Smith, who has sponsored the assault weapons ban for the past two years, is right. That is really sad. And really stupid.

The Hill reports:

During the debate, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo-Smith (D) questioned state Rep. Ross Spano, the GOP lawmaker who presented the pornography bill, asking if pornography has killed anyone or caused first responders to seek counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

As one might expect, Guillermo-Smith criticized Spano’s declaration concerning the supposed public health risk associated with pornography, telling The Associated Press:

[Spano] was saying porn as a health risk was more important to address here in the Florida Legislature than the epidemic of gun violence. These are their priorities. I don’t understand the politics, to be honest, if I’m being honest. I’m not aware there’s a base of voters who are losing sleep every night over the epidemic of pornography as a public health crisis.

CNN reports on the reaction of the school shooting survivors to the deplorable actions of the Florida House:

The decision not to consider an assault rifles ban outraged survivors of the massacre.

A hundred Stoneman Douglas High School students traveled 400 miles from Parkland to the state capital and camped out overnight at the Tallahassee civic center, waiting for speak with legislators and the governor Wednesday.

CNN also notes what is probably the most salient factor of the story:

Almost all 71 lawmakers who voted against considering a assault rifle ban have an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.

Commenting on the deplorable actions of the GOP controlled Florida House, Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Chris Grady said:

Our message is at this point, for the politicians: If you’re not with us, you’re against us. We’re trying to save the lives of innocent children.

Student Kai Koerber added:

We’re all here because we need to strive for change, and the legislation needs to change, because we’ve fallen victim to lazy legislation for far too long.

Bottom line: The GOP controlled Florida House refused to even discuss a ban on assault rifles, but did pass a resolution declaring pornography to be a public health risk.

And so it goes.

Florida House Refuses To Debate Guns But Declares Porn A Health Risk (Image via Facebook)

Survivor Slams GOP Politicians For Thoughts And Prayers

February 16, 2018 By Michael Stone

Well said: Florida school shooting survivor demands action on guns while blasting GOP politicians for sending thoughts and prayers.

A survivor of the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is speaking out, and taking aim at Republican politicians and others who only pay meaningless lip service to dead kids while going ballistic if some conservative Christian baker is asked to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple.

Parkland student Cameron Kasky, speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, delivered the harsh truth.

Cooper asked Kasky:

Do you think change is possible in terms of the kind of change you want?”

Kasky replied:

Everything I’ve heard where we can’t do anything and it’s out of our hands and it’s inevitable, I think that’s a facade that the GOP is putting up.

Kasky then called out NRA:

After every shooting the NRA sends a memo saying ‘send your thoughts and prayers.’ This is the only country where this kind of thing happens…

Cooper asked:

For those saying ‘thoughts and prayers and this is not the time to talk about guns’?

Kasky replied:

This is the time to talk about guns. There’s much more that can be done, much more that needs to be done and much more that people like Sen Marco Rubio and Governor Rick Scott are not doing. It’s scary to think these are the people who are making our laws when our community just took 17 bullets to the heart.

It feels like the only people who don’t care are the people making the laws.

Kasky added:

There is a segment of this society that will shrug this off and send their thoughts and prayers but will march for hours if they have to bake a rainbow wedding cake.

Kasky is spot on. This is the time to talk about guns. However, Republican politicians refuse to consider even the most benign and sensible gun legislation because they are bought and paid for by the National Rifle Association, America’s premier terrorist organization.

For example, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin is blaming video games, and not guns, for the recent Florida school shooting.

And it is not only Republican politicians who refuse to admit that guns are, by definition, responsible for school shootings. Recently Christian radio host Bryan Fischer claimed that school prayer would have prevented the Florida school shooting.

Bottom line: Kasky is right. This is the time to talk about guns. Thoughts and prayers are not required.