H/T Scissorhead Bruce388

Gonna start with this tweet:

The next slaughter is brought to us by the GOP:

On Thursday, Senate Republicans are set to block legislation intended to combat domestic terrorism. And they’re all over the place on whether homegrown extremism even needs more federal attention…

…But when asked how they should address domestic extremism, the answer depends on the Republican senator. Some argue, as they do on abortion, that deterring future attacks like Buffalo — and the 2015 massacre of Black churchgoers in South Carolina, as well as other racist shootings — should be entirely left to the states.

Are they really arguing that killing each other is a states rights issue? Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pretty much removed all restrictions on guns and look what that bought him (besides the NRA endorsement)?

And speaking of state rights, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats have pledged to expedite more than two dozen bills aimed at reducing gun violence in the state. Bet me that will get the panties of the right into big bunches, “Y’all cannot let California do that…”

Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) are still set to speak at the NRA convention in Houston on Friday, where attendees will be prohibited from bringing their own guns to Trump’s speech. Eiron, the goddess of irony, strikes again!

And as the Republicans are arguing against any/all restrictions on guns, polling shows that the country is yearning for some. From Tiger Beat on the Potomac (thanks Charlie!) morning email thingie:

NEW POLLING ON GUNS — We have a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted entirely after the shooting in Uvalde, offering a snapshot of the mood of American voters at this moment in time, and where they stand on a variety of gun reform proposals (Toplines … Crosstabs). Here’s a rundown of what we found: 

• Requiring background checks on all gun sales: Eighty-eight percent strongly or somewhat support; 8% strongly or somewhat oppose. Net approval: +80

• Creating a national database with info about each gun sale: Seventy-five percent strongly or somewhat support; 18% strongly or somewhat oppose. Net approval: +57

• Banning assault-style weapons: Sixty-seven percent strongly or somewhat support; 25% strongly or somewhat oppose. Net approval: +42

• Preventing sales of all firearms to people reported as dangerous to law enforcement by a mental health provider: Eighty-four percent strongly or somewhat support; 9% strongly or somewhat oppose. Net approval: +75

• Making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks: Eighty-one percent strongly or somewhat support; 11% strongly or somewhat oppose. Net approval: +70

• Requiring all gun owners to store their guns in a safe storage unit: Seventy-seven percent strongly or somewhat support; 15% strongly or somewhat oppose. Net approval: +62

So much for representative democracy.

The Left has a razor-thin operating majority but it is not enough to overcome the Republicans total blockade when everything, even the most anodyne of legislation is subject to a 60-vote hurdle to cross. We accept GOP obstruction as if it was a law of nature, which it practically is at this point.

Oh, and there’s this:

We note that Joe Manchin is still opposed to doing anything, because 19 dead kiddies is less important than his filibuster fetish:

“It’s just absolutely horrific,” Manchin said. “You all know where I stand; I’ll do anything I can.”
Pressed on whether he would consider scrapping the filibuster to tighten the nation’s gun laws, he warned that it would lead to chaos in the Senate.
“The filibuster is the only thing that prevents us from total insanity. Total insanity,” he said.

And so while we wait for Manchinema to be voted out of office, we learn that guns are now the leading cause of death for American kids, overtaking car accidents, which had been the leading cause for over 60 years:

Firearms were the leading cause of death for kids one and older for the first time in 2020, the most recent year for which CDC data is available.

Why it matters: The firearm death rate among children is steadily rising, as more kids are involved in gun-related homicides like Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, as well as suicides and accidents.

By the numbers: Nearly two-thirds of the 4,368 U.S. children up to age 19 who were killed by guns in 2020 were homicide victims, per the CDC. Motor vehicle crashes, formerly the leading cause of death for kids one and older, killed nearly 4,000 children.

• Another 30% of firearm-related child fatalities were suicides, 3% were accidental and 2% were of undetermined intent.
• Male youths were significantly more likely to be killed by guns, while vehicle crashes claimed more females.
• There were also stark racial disparities. The firearm death rate for Black children was more than four times that of white children, and white children were still more likely to be killed by motor vehicles than guns.

As has been pointed out many times by people much smarter than me, the genesis of the gun fetishists goes back to antebellum days with white southerners worried about a slave uprising.

Draw your own conclusions about why Republicans are so keen on being armed.