Republican lawmakers around the country seem to ‘fear’ EVERYTHING more then solutions against domestic violence /terrorism that takes American lives ….
Americans ARE killing Americans, yet Trump and his followers are either silent about this , or seek to blame everybody and everything else on the problem, until the media focuses on something else…
Trump and allies urge us to cower in trepidation from helpless parents and children seeking asylum, a threat so grave they needed to be separated from one another and caged. We must also fear the supposed Muslim and Latino hordes, who threaten to wipe out Anglo-European culture and displace white babies with their own.
These are hardly the only foreigners who should inspire existential dread, according to right-wing fever dreams. Rogue nations should, too, thus justifying enormous increases in our defense budget. Of course, all the nukes and jets in the world won’t protect us from the assault our enemies abroad are currently waging against us, and that Republicans resist confronting: the one on our electoral system.
What of the other threats actually endangering American lives?
July was the hottest month on record, and deadly natural disasters worsen. Yet, according to Republicans, climate change is not a hazard but a hoax, or, alternatively, it’s real but not man-made — or perhaps it’s real and man-made but too expensive to do anything about. Whatever the case, move along, nothing to see here. Keep those oil-extraction subsidies and coal bailouts flowing.
Health care likewise tops Americans’ list of worries, and has for the past five years, according to Gallup surveys. But as Americans ration their insulin and panhandle for co-pays on GoFundMe, Republicans offer plans that will reduce lifesaving coverage and shift more costs onto sick patients.
Which brings me to the uniquely American epidemic of gun violence, particularly that perpetrated by white supremacists and other far-right terrorists.
This year alone, there have been at least 255 mass-shooting incidents, according to the Gun Violence Archive . Americans cannot worship, dine, shop, browse a food festival or pass notes in homeroom without worrying about being gunned down: As of 2017, 4 in 10 Americans said they feared being a victim in a mass shooting.
Immigrants and members of other minority populations have heightened reason for fearing firearm violence given the murderous anti-immigrant attacks in El Paso on Saturday that left 22 dead; the slaughters at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, Calif., that together took 12 lives; and other recent hate-filled attacks targeting blacks, Muslims and members of the LGBTQ community….
“It took less than three hours for the president to back off his call for stronger background check legislation,” Schumer and Pelosi said in their statement. “When he can’t talk about guns when he talks about gun violence, it shows the president remains prisoner to the gun lobby and the NRA.”
The House already passed a sweeping bill that would require basic background checks for all gun sales, which won support from just eight Republicans. Another bill would close the so-called Charleston loophole, extending the federal background check window from three days to 10.
Those bills, which passed in February, have languished in the Senate, and McConnell has shown no interest in taking them up.
Some Senate Republicans have instead focused on narrower legislation promoting red flag laws, which have been adopted in several states and the District of Columbia….
After two gruesome mass shootings in a 24-hour span, some Republicans are raising alarms that their opposition to new firearm limits is making the party toxic to the suburban women and college graduates who will shape the 2020 election.
“Republicans are headed for extinction in the suburbs if they don’t distance themselves from the NRA. The GOP needs to put forth solutions to help eradicate the gun violence epidemic,” said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and oil-and-gas executive who supports President Donald Trump.
Last year, Eberhart said, he was having lunch with Rick Scott when the then-Florida governor learned of the massacre unfolding in Parkland. It marked the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, as a gunman used an AR-15-style rifle to kill 17 people. Eighteen months later, as the country reels from killing sprees in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Eberhart said it’s time to join Democrats and majorities of Americans who want to ban those types of guns.
“The GOP needs to make several moves such as universal background checks, eliminating loopholes and banning military-style assault weapons to neutralize the issue,” he said. “Otherwise, Republicans will lose suburban voters just like they did in the midterms on health care.”….