Category: Gun Crime

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Gun Crime U.S. Senate

Ted Cruz Got His A*s Handed To Him At A Senate Hearing – So He Stormed Out Like A Child

Though it’s been said millions of times before, it bears repeating: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the biggest, most obnoxious douchebag in the U.S. Senate.

Cruz proved what a petulant shitbag he is once again recently during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence when he accused Democrats of wanting to “defund the police,” which is a lie that gets repeated by conservatives whenever anyone says there’s far too much death and destruction caused by the weapons of mass murder produced by arms companies in the United States:

“You just said a moment ago that no Democrat favors abolishing the police. If that were the case why did every single Democrat vote to confirm Vanita Gupta—a nominee for the number three position at the Department of Justice who said last year in writing, in written testimony before this Senate, advocated abolishing the police?”

Of course, what Cruz said contains not a shred of truth. Gupta has written that she favors using some of the funds currently spent on cops to programs that would focus on improving care for the mentally ill, addressing the underlying economic causes of violent crime, and looking for alternatives to merely hiring more police officers.

Despite having already misstated what Ms. Gupta stands for, Cruz continued to trash a woman who dares to have an opinion that differs from his:

“And [Gupta] was confirmed by one vote. Every single Democrat was the necessary vote to confirm a radical who advocated abolishing the police and just this week we’re taking up Kristin Clarke, another radical, who has last year in testimony before this Senate advocated abolishing the police. If you don’t support abolishing the police why do you keep voting for nominees who advocate abolishing the police?”

But Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (CT) called Cruz out for his nonsense, reminding him:

“As you well know Senator Cruz, that is a complete distortion of their positions. We’re not here to talk about those nominees. If you want to stay, we can do it at the end of the hearing. But right now we’re going to move on.”

Rather than stay and participate in rest of the hearing, Cruz stood up and walked out like a child taking his toy and running home to mommy. Seems the Texas senator isn’t just a lying asshat, he’s also unable to take criticism, which is a sure sign of insecurity.

Maybe it’s time to rename Sen. Cruz the Raving Infantile Liar. It’s a hell of a lot more accurate.

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Gun Crime Joe Biden The Biden Administration

President Biden Will Take On The Gun Violence Problem With Sweeping Executive Actions: Report

Later today, President Joe Biden will unveil a sweeping package of executive actions to decrease gun violence in the United States, a move that is almost certain to enrage Republicans and those on the right who believe the Second Amendment is absolute, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it isn’t.

Politico reports that the planned executive actions are meant to help control some of the biggest problems with guns in America, especially as the landscape of the weapons market continues to evolve as technology allows for new ways to possess weapons of mass murder:

“Among the actions Biden will take will be to direct the Department of Justice to begin, within 30 days, the process of requiring buyers of so-called ghost guns — homemade or makeshift firearms that lack serial numbers — to undergo background checks and, within 60 days, regulating concealed assault-style firearms, according to the White House.”

The action to better regulate assault weapons will likely draw major resistance on the right, but the National Rifle Association (NRA) is badly weakened and currently in bankruptcy court after bilking its members out of millions of dollars that were spent on luxury items for the top brass of the pro-gun organization. That means the NRA won’t be able to marshal organized resistance to Biden’s executive orders.

Biden will be joined at the announcement by Attorney General Merrick Garland, and is expected to task the Department of Justice with making it easier take weapons from those deemed a danger to themselves or others:

“Biden will also direct the Department of Justice to provide states within 60 days with proposed red flag legislation that would permit courts to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may be a danger to themselves or others and issue a comprehensive report on firearms trafficking, according to the White House. The last report was completed in 2000. In addition, Biden will direct five federal agencies to redirect money to help prevent community violence. The Department of Health and Human Services will also help teach states how they can use Medicaid money for gun violence prevention.”

As you’d expect, carping from gun fetishists has already begun before Biden even unveils his plan, with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, remarking:

“Where those orders exceed his lawful authority and usurp the power of Congress to make law, NSSF will take all appropriate steps to protect the interests of our industry and the Second Amendment rights of our customers.”

But executive actions related to public safety are difficult to challenge in court, so the pro-gun camp may find they have almost no way to effectively fight the president’s new orders.

No matter what Biden does, you can count on the gun crowd asserting that the president wants to take guns away from everyone, even though that’s nothing but a lie they recycle anytime gun control is discussed in Washington.

 

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Gun Crime Gun Nuts

NRA Chief Hid On A Yacht After The Sandy Hook And Parkland Shootings: Court Deposition

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has a saying they’re fond of spouting whenever there’s a mass shooting in the United States: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

However, the NRA doesn’t actually believe that platitude. It’s just a slogan they use to get donations that they later waste on bullshit like fancy office buildings, mansions for their leaders, massive campaign contributions, and other perks.

So what does stop a bad guy with a gun? Well, based on a court deposition released Tuesday, it seems that the best way to avoid getting shot is to go into hiding on a luxury yacht owned by one of your filthy rich friends.

According to the New York Daily News:

“NRA leader Wayne LaPierre says he faced an unprecedented ‘security threat’ in the wake of bloody rampages at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and a Parkland, Fla., high school — and had to seek refuge aboard his Hollywood producer pal’s 108-foot yacht.

“In a chutzpah-rich deposition, the politically powerful gun-rights advocate said the fancy vessel christened ‘Illusions’ was one of the few places he felt safe from the national outrage that erupted after the slaughter of innocent children with military-grade firearms.”

Why didn’t LaPierre just arm himself with an AR-15 rifle and wait for the bad guys to show up? Does he actually know how to fire a gun, or is that just a bullshit line he uses to drum up new members who are gullible enough to give him access to their credit card number?

LaPierre tried to justify his actions thusly:

“They simply let me use it as a security retreat because they knew the threat that I was under. And I was basically under presidential threat without presidential security in terms of the number of threats I was getting. And this was the one place that I hope could feel safe, where I remember getting there going, ‘Thank God I’m safe, nobody can get me here.’ And that’s how it happened. That’s why I used it.”

Couldn’t the NRA bigwig have called some NRA members and had them come serve as his private security force? Or was he afraid he’d have to pay them out of his own pocket?

Bottom line: The NRA is all about the grift. They don’t give a damn about the Second Amendment or your right to own a gun. They only care about lining their own pockets and buying members of Congress by the bushel basket. That’s why we have so few common sense gun laws on the books.

Wayne LaPierre is a gutless coward. When you’re under threat, you call the police. Wayne goes for a cruise on a yacht. See the difference?

 

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Gun Crime Gun Nuts U.S. Senate WTF?!

Ted Cruz’s Solution To The Mass Shooting Problem: Imprison The Mentally Ill

Now that the problem of mass shootings and gun violence are back on the front page as a result of what transpired in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday, the debate has begun once again on the issue of sensible gun control.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, there was a great deal of talk about possibly banning assault weapons such as the one used by the Boulder shooter, strengthening background checks for gun buyers, and other reforms that have sadly been discussed thousands of times before whenever innocent people are slain by a weapon of mass murder.

But something Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said during the hearing was especially chilling, not only because it suggested just how deeply in debt Cruz is to the gun lobby, but also because it called for putting people with mental illness into prison if they are caught with a gun.

Specifically, Cruz remarked:

“The senator from Connecticut knows that is false, and he knows that’s false, because Sen. [Chuck] Grassley and I together introduced legislation … targeted at violent criminals, targeted at felons, targeted at fugitives, targeted at those with serious mental disease to stop them from getting firearms and put them in prison when they try to illegally buy guns.”

So now mental illness will be a crime instead of a disease? On antidepressants? You can buy a gun, but you’ll be sent to prison if you do under Cruz’s deeply flawed logic.

Also, Cruz’s comments completely ignore the real problem that exists in this country: There’s too many damn guns! Does anyone actually believe that more guns is the answer to the problem of gun violence? That’s absurd! It makes no damn sense whatsoever. But it does allow Cruz and his GOP colleagues to continually suck on the teat of big gunmakers who are only too happy to buy U.S. senators if that’s what it takes for them to remain in business. Apparently, money trumps human life when it comes to Cruz and his ilk.

If Republicans cannot rationally discuss the gun problem in this country, maybe it’s time we make them the permanent minority party.

 

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Congress Gun Crime Gun Nuts WTF?!

Marjorie Taylor Greene Urges More Guns In Schools On Anniversary Of Parkland Shooting

Today marks the third anniversary of the Parkland school shooting which took the lives of 17 people and wounded 17 others. To commemorate the day, President Joe Biden issued a statement calling for stronger gun control laws:

“In seconds, the lives of dozens of families, and the life of an American community, were changed forever. We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.”

But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) thought it was the perfect time to call for more guns in schools, tweeting out:

Greene was quickly met with push back from others on social media:

The next time there’s a mass shooting, maybe we can send Ms. Greene in and let her play Rambo. Bet she’d piss herself and run away in a few seconds.