DEATH AND POLITICS
It was just a matter of time until we had a horrific terrorist attack on American soil. Unbelievably, for the sick person who carried out this attack, it was a double-barreled mission – please ISIS and kill gays, which he apparently despised. So he picked the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando as his target where he killed 49 young people and wounded 53. It was the most deadly terrorist attack since 9/11 and the most deadly shooting in American history.
To be sure, it is not an easy task for Homeland Security, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to keep track of every person who could be a threat to our well-being with a population of 319 million in this country. But you have to wonder how Omar Mateen, who was investigated by the FBI not once but three times could become a security guard and be able to purchase an assault rifle with no questions asked. The ball was dropped somewhere. And how could the gun store owner sell this guy an assualt weapon and huge amounts of ammo without notifying law enforcement? And his ex-wife remained silent and did not notify law enforcement when she obviously knew he was up to something bad. Perhaps she could have prevented the massacre.
The national news media have given thorough coverage to Mateen’s dastardly deed, but what piqued my interest and will be discussed here is the reaction of the National Rifle Association and conservative Republicans, who have never had much empathy for the LGBT community. I believe, and I hope most sensible people will also, that there is simply no rational reason to supply citizens with assault weapons, which have been used in almost every mass shooting in the United States. The argument that criminals will always be able to get their hands on any kind of weapon is plausible, but we could at least make it more difficult for madmen like Mateen to walk into a gun store and easily purchase an assault weapon.
Oh sure, after every mass shooting, these conservative Republicans take to the airways and Twitter to offer their thoughts and prayers. But their words ring hollow when you look at their records. Let’s start right at the top of the Republican hierarchy. Presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump was quick to try and capitalize for political gain on the Orlando massacre. His response was to blame President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for not doing enough to stop ISIS and even had the gall – or ignorance – to hint that the president might be an ISIS sympathizer. Trump doubled down on his ridiculous proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Never mind that many foreign leaders and historians assert that the Iraq war, started by former Republican President George W. Bush, based upon false information, played a key role in the rise of ISIS.
Then you had the “reap what you sow” tweet from Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas. It created such a negative firestorm and backlash on social media that he took down the post, but it left the impression that God was OK with what happened in Orlando because those killed were members of the LGBT community and therefore sinners. If that’s Mr. Patrick’s warped thinking, maybe he should ponder why so many natural disasters have been inflicted upon the state of Texas recently.
The NRA in 2013, the latest data available, collected $350 million that year from its membership, which research shows to be more than 2 million although it claims a membership of 4.5 million and sympathetic corporations, many with ties to the gun industry. It pays chief executive officer Wayne LaPierre $1 million a year in salary, bonus and other benefits.
Its leaders apparently didn’t know what to say about the massacre. It took nearly two days for the organization to respond with a tweet saying, “To suggest that all we need is a new ban on assault weapons provides nothing but a dangerous sense of false security.” The NRA has opposed virtually every form of gun legislation, including restrictions on owning assault weapons, retention of databases of gun purchases, background checks at guns shows and changes in registration of firearms.
Not surprisingly, it has been very successful because most Republican legislators are in the holster of the NRA. For example, in the two-year 2014 election cycle, NRA’s political arms spent nearly $36 million on lobbying, on campaign contributions and on other political activities. About 90 percent of its contributions goes to Republican incumbents and candidates. The Center for Responsive Politics reports the NRA along with the Gun Owners of America have poured nearly $81 million into House, Senate and presidential races since 2000.
Despite the NRA’s scare tactics, no one wants to eliminate the Second Amendment nor deny law-abiding citizens from owning guns. About 70 million Americans do. But sensible restrictions should not be an issue. If they prevent just one massacre, such as occurred in Orlando, wouldn’t it be worth more scrutiny of citizens buying guns? And surely, there should be a ban on assault weapons. The ball is in Congress’ court. Some Republicans seem to have second thoughts about their position on gun legislation. We’ll see if those thoughts turn into action and the courage to vote against the NRA.
Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor “Bo” Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.
