Twisted for political purpose, no doubt. Donald Trump has already taken credit for “predicting” another terror attack – he seems to be uninterested in the fact this was the 133rd mass-shooting so far this year, the 15th in Florida, alone. He did not seem so exercised about the mass murder at a Planned Parenthood clinic. In fact, there are mass shootings daily, 372 in 2015 alone. Gun violence is a public health epidemic and now, a national security threat.
But the massacre is tailor-made for Trump’s campaign built entirely on fear-mongering and scapegoating.
This latest shooting – notable for being the worst in U.S. history for the number of dead (49) and injured (53) is the nexus of three issues: radical ideology (the homophobia could just have easily been perpetrated by a right-wing/white supremacist/Christian bigot), mental illness (the killer was abusive, erratic and bipolar) but over-arching is the easy access to weapons of mass destruction: the AR-15 assault rifle, built for a battlefield, which anyone with murderous intent can simply walk into a gunstore in Florida and many other gun-happy states, and minutes later, walk out with a gun like this one, which assassinated dozens of people in a matter of minutes.
Donald Trump and the NRA – relishing the fact that the perpetrator was Muslim (ignoring the fact he was born in Queens, and grew up in Westbury, Long Island) – say that mass-murderers can be stopped if everybody else is similarly armed. Can you imagine guns going off in every direction, not knowing who is the “bad” guy and who is not?
If Donald Trump, who wants to eliminate gun-free zones, would have his way, people could walk into DisneyWorld – apparently another target for the Orlando killer – brandishing long-rifles, as they can now do into bars, churches, schools, campuses.
Nor do they see any problem with terror suspects on the No Fly List being able to get a gun legally, or of a suspicious person whose background check takes longer than three days from getting a gun (the “Charleston loophole”). They don’t allow the federal government to keep registrations, or have any way of knowing if someone is assembling an arsenal and purchasing 4,000 rounds of ammo. They block any effort to require safe storage or smart technology which allows a gun to be fired only by the registered owner. They don’t want gun registration or any requirement of proving knowledge of how to operate the gun safely.
In many states, it is harder to vote than to get a gun. (Voting and abortion are constitutionally protected rights but the Second Amendment people have no qualms about putting obstacles that effectively block or ban.)
In Trump’s speech ostensibly on the Orlando massacre and “national security,” he offered nothing that would have actually prevented the attack in an Orlando nightclub – not a wall along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, not deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants (though he inaccurately stated the Orlando killer was born “in Afghan” instead of in Queens), not a ban on Muslims entering the country, and certainly not rampant guns (as Trump called for after the attack on the Paris nightclub).
What would have reduced the carnage? A “No-Buy” list: better notification and coordination of background checks of mental illness, domestic abuse, violence (NYS passed such requirements in the SAFE Act but Cuomo has yet to implement these provisions). And certainly, anyone on the terror watch list should not be allowed to purchase a gun, especially not an assault weapon. Between 2004 and 2014, more than 2,000 people on the No Fly list purchased guns in the U.S. After 9/11, the federal government was accused of not being able to “connect the dots” – well, with a mass murderer, the government is prohibited from connecting the dots altogether.
What else? Banning convicted domestic abusers and stalkers from buying guns. Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if that individual has access to a firearm.
Only this week, a woman who gained prominence on “The Voice” was gunned down by a stalker at a concert in Orlando, no less.
Closing the loophole that allows people to buy guns without undergoing background checks through private sales, at gun shows and online. An estimated 40 percent of all firearms that change hands in the U.S. are transferred by unlicensed individuals not required to conduct background checks on buyers.
There should be quotas on how many guns and how much ammo can be purchased within a time frame – and notification to authorities (as they do now with withdrawals from banks of over $10,000 to address money-laundering) of suspicious behavior.
There should be felony prosecutions for straw purchases (something that would have addressed the San Bernardino shooting).
There should be a ban on assault weapons purchases for civilian use –a buy-back for existing owners and registration process. It is notable that during the time of the Clinton ban on assault weapons, there were no mass murders involving assault weapons (see the New York Times: where they got the guns). Right now, ISIL propaganda urges sympathizers to take advantage of lax American gun laws to wage terror. When Donald Trump says “We’re being laughed at all over the world,” this must be what he is referring to.
These commonsense regulations are supported by the vast majority of Americans, including NRA members and Republicans. But lawmakers – 54 of them who voted not to ban people on the terror watch list from purchasing assault rifles – could care less: in 2014 alone, the gun lobby spent over $30 million on political advertising and lobbying to influence legislators in Congress and state capitals across the country.
Indeed, the same hatred that seems to have motivated this shooting at an Orlando nightclub known as a gathering place for the LGBT community also inspires the ideology and rhetoric of the religious right who have urged murder and cheered catastrophe. Had the Orlando killer not been Muslim, it is doubtful Donald Trump would give a hoot.
Here was Donald J. Trump’s reaction: “The horrific attack that took place this past weekend reveals how weak the leadership is in our country….”
According to Trump, the biggest threat is “political correctness” and refusing to brand terrorists as “radical Islamic jihadists” and not having enough guns.
“[Hillary Clinton] wants to take away American’s guns and then admit the very people who want to slaughter us. Let them come into the country, we don’t have guns. Let them come in, let them have all the fun they want.
“I will be meeting with the NRA, which has given me their earliest endorsement in a presidential race, to discuss how to ensure Americans have the means to protect themselves in this age of terror. I will be always defending the Second Amendment.
“They have put political correctness above common sense, above your safety, and above all else. I refuse to be politically correct. I will do the right thing–I want to straighten things out and to Make America Great Again.“The days of deadly ignorance will end, and they will end soon.”
Hillary Clinton on the other hand, presented rational policies that addressed the real threat posed by terrorism abroad and home-grown as well as the need to make the tools of terrorism harder to obtain.
“This was an act of terror,’’ she said. “Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are hard at work, and we will learn more in the hours and days ahead. For now, we can say for certain that we need to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad. That means defeating international terror groups, working with allies and partners to go after them wherever they are, countering their attempts to recruit people here and everywhere, and hardening our defenses at home. It also means refusing to be intimidated and staying true to our values.
“This was also an act of hate. The gunman attacked an LGBT nightclub during Pride Month…We will keep fighting for your right to live freely, openly and without fear,” she said. “Hate has absolutely no place in America.
“Finally, we need to keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals. This is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States and it reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets.
“This is a time to stand together and resolve to do everything we can to defend our communities and country.”
(In her speech in Cleveland, she outlined in precise detail how she would address terrorism abroad and at home, and laid out what is necessary to keep weapons of war out of the hands of those who would commit mass-murder.)
President Obama also addressed the triumvirate of factors – someone who was radicalized to embrace radical ideology (because it served his purpose of doing violence), who had emotional issues and who had easy access to weapons designed for the battlefield, to kill as many people as fast as possible.
There is no way to eliminate the possibility of lone-wolf terror attack or even mass murder – Americans have already said they do not want a society that is more like a police state, where ideas and speech are criminalized (unless it is someone else’s extreme ideas).
But he said, “Today marks the most deadly shooting in American history. The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle. This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub. And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well…”
The day after, after more was learned about the killer and the crime, Obama said, “We have to go after these terrorist organizations and hit them hard. We have to counter extremism. But we also have to make sure that it is not easy for somebody who decides they want to harm people in this country to be able to obtain weapons to get at them…”
Trump likes to throw out the term “commonsense.” Commonsense is making it harder for terrorists, abusers and the mentally unstable to obtain WMD. Everything else is nonsense.
