OK guns kill people.
Guns in the hands of mentally unstable people, that is.
But how do we find them ahead of their killing sprees? I'm following this development to catch Robert Card, as much as others are following the wars on the news. But this is something closer to home. It's in America for Heaven's Sake!!
NOTE: ADDED 10/27/23 at 10:25 am (was in comments, but it's better to be first thing you see...)
"A worldview that requires the government to work for the people, rather than handing power to individuals to impose their will on the majority, supports the idea of gun safety laws. Such laws are very popular: in April 2023 a Fox News poll showed that at least 80% of Americans want criminal background checks on gun buyers, better enforcement of existing gun laws, a 21-year age requirement for gun purchases, and mental health checks on gun buyers. Seventy-seven percent wanted a 30-day waiting period to buy a gun; 61% wanted to ban assault rifles and semiautomatic weapons.
"Those eager to dismantle the government have stood in the way of such measures, but the heartbreaking news out of Maine has changed at least one lawmaker’s stand. Representative Jared Golden (D-ME), who represents Maine’s conservative second district, which includes Lewiston, today apologized for his previous opposition to gun safety laws.
“'The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure, which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles like the one used by this sick perpetrator of this mass killing,' Golden said. "To the families who lost loved ones and to those who have been harmed, I ask forgiveness and support as I seek to put an end to these terrible shootings.'"
From Letters From an American
Giffords sent this email at 5:20 pm 10/27/23
In an interview with FOX News, new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said this in regards to the recent shootings in Lewiston, Maine:
“The problem is the human heart. It’s not guns, it’s not the weapons.”
Mike Johnson, we ask you these two questions:
Did the human heart kill eight people at a restaurant, and seven others at a bowling alley, within a matter of minutes?
Did the human heart injure dozens of other people at two separate locations, all in one night?
It’s the guns!
MAGA extremists will blame gun violence on anything but the problem itself: unfettered access to guns.
Why? Because protecting the gun lobby is their main priority.
We live in a country where extreme politicians would rather stand with the gun lobby than pass legislation that would save their constituents’ lives from gun violence.
Until our leaders listen to the vast majority of Americans to take meaningful, commonsense action on gun safety, more and more communities nationwide will join Lewiston and the countless other towns who have been ripped apart by the scourge of gun violence.
We know times like these are tremendously difficult, but now is the time we must turn our anger, frustration, and sadness into meaningful action. We cannot rest until our elected officials stand up and do what is right to end America’s gun violence epidemic.
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Here's the first broadcast I heard on Oct. 26, published at 7 am about the killings in Lewiston ME.
From NPR HERE
"Here's what we're following:
- The suspect: A 40-year-old man, Robert Card, of Bowdoin, Maine, was named by police as the subject of the manhunt.
- Lockdown: Police have issued a shelter-in-place advisory as they search for an "armed and dangerous" gunman still at large.
- Victims: Eight of the 18 victims have been identified, but officials have yet to release their names as an investigation continues."
The President had already ordered Federal flags to fly at half staff in mourning for those killed.
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Updated at 1:45 pm from NPR:
"The New York National Guard confirmed to NPR that the suspect in Wednesday's shootings, Robert Card, was removed from a military training camp in July after he was seen "behaving erratically."
Here's the full statement that was sent to NPR:
On July 16, 2023, leaders of the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment, which was billeted at the Camp Smith Training Site while training at the United States Military Academy, informed garrison staff that Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Robert Card was behaving erratically. Out of concern for his safety, the unit requested that law enforcement be contacted.
New York State Police responded and transported Card to Keller Army Community Hospital at the United States Military Academy for medical evaluation.
A spokesperson for the National Guard said he could not yet confirm what happened after Card was admitted for evaluation."
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Gabby Giffords, a former US Representative who has endured gun violence personally says:
"Including last night’s mass shooting in Maine, there have now been 565 mass shootings in the United States this year. 565 mass shootings in 299 days.
I wish that I could send this message to you and say that scenes and stories we've read last night and today are unthinkable or unimaginable.
I wish I could say it's hard to believe we're waking up to read stories of parents corralling their young children into corners to protect them, and others racing down a bowling alley and diving behind pins to escape gunfire. but it is neither unthinkable nor unimaginable.
We are all too familiar with these horrific scenes.
We will see parents in parking lots crying, desperate for information about their kids. We will see loved ones talk about how their lives are forever changed because of senseless violence enabled by weapons of war. We will keep reading about how gun violence is the number one cause of death for America's kids.
We can decide we have seen enough.
We do not have to accept these horrific acts of violence as routine, and we must never stop demanding that our leaders not only acknowledge this devastating problem, but take long overdue action to keep our children safe.
My heart breaks for the Lewiston community, the victims, and the survivors. Earlier this week, I visited Uvalde and met with the families and survivors of that mass shooting.
I’m angry that yet another community has to experience this pain.
Several other newsletters came in...Gavin Newsome is pushing for a Constitutional Ammendment.
Last night, a gunman with a history of mental illness and easy access to a weapon of war walked into a bowling alley and a bar, shot and killed 18 people and injured 13 others.
It was the 10th deadliest mass shooting in modern American history and the worst since the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last year.
And you want to know something else?
Literally hours before the shooting, the U.S. Senate voted to pass an amendment allowing veterans found mentally unfit to still be allowed access to guns.
You can't make this stuff up.
Listen, there are some issues in Washington, D.C. and states across the country that are tricky and tough to fix.
This one isn't.
The data is clear, and it is conclusive: states with strong gun laws — like California — have lower per-capita gun homicide and suicide rates. States with weak gun laws have higher gun homicide and suicide rates.
So if Congress won't act...
And if the courts prevent states like California from doing what has to be done to save lives...
Then we need a Constitutional Amendment to make our communities safer from gun violence.
My state — California — was the first to adopt a resolution calling for one. Now we need 33 more.
Will it be easy? Of course not.
But will it happen? I believe it will and that we are on the first ones on the right side of history.
I am committed to making sure similar resolutions are introduced, and passed, in more states across the country. If you think that is a fight worth fighting, I am asking for your help today:
Can you please use this link to contribute $3 to my Campaign for Democracy PAC? My promise to you is that we will put every dollar donated directly toward our work passing a Constitutional Amendment on guns.
