Gun Control Legislation: I guess ‘baby steps’ are better than no steps at all. But is this the best we can do?

Commentary

Not even ‘baby steps’ for 34 GOP Senators, they voted for no steps!

The New York Times reported today that “…the Senate on Tuesday cleared the first hurdle to passing a bipartisan measure aimed at keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people, agreeing to take up a compromise bill whose enactment would break a years-long stalemate over federal legislation to address gun violence.

“While the bill falls short of the sweeping gun control measures Democrats have long demanded, its approval would amount to the most significant action in decades to overhaul the nation’s gun laws. The 64-to-34 vote came just hours after Republicans and Democrats released the text of the legislation, and after days of feverish negotiations to hammer out its details.

“The 80-page bill, called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, would enhance background checks, giving authorities up to 10 business days to review the juvenile and mental health records of gun purchasers younger than 21, and direct millions toward helping states implement so-called red-flag laws, which allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed dangerous, as well as other intervention programs.

“The measure would also, for the first time, ensure that serious dating partners are included in a federal law that bars domestic abusers from purchasing firearms, a longtime priority that has eluded gun safety advocates for years.”

Talk about baby steps. But will it protect our babies? Or anyone else?

I know, I should react like Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), the most vocal gun-control advocate in the Senate, who said, “This is a breakthrough, and more importantly, this is a bipartisan breakthrough.”

Bipartisan? Let’s unpack that statement. While all 50 Democratic senators voted to pass the measure, only 14 Republican senators voted for it with the majority of Republicans opposing the measure, arguing that it infringed on the rights of gun owners. In fact, over the weekend, one GOP senator who helped negotiate the measure, John Cornyn of Texas, was booed at a rally by Texas Republicans who also moved to formally “rebuke” him and eight other Republican senators for their role in the negotiations.

But enough about Texas; I wrote about that secession-crazy state yesterday. If we’re talking about gun control no, ground zero right now is Missouri and their potential Republican Senate candidate, Eric Greitens.

Greitens is running for Senate after serving as the “Show Me” state’s governor from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018 amid allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance impropriety. Allow me to let that sink in: Although Greitens served as governor for only 18 months before leaving office due to allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance impropriety, he is running again in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. And he’s ahead!!

But my story about Greitens is not about his past indiscretions, it’s about the most recent Greitens outrage and, more specifically, the campaign ad he’s running.

This ad has been taken down by Facebook but is still running on Twitter which only “flagged” the video.

Words cannot express how outrageous this is. The disgraced former governor of Missouri is now running for Senate by “RINO* hunting” with his SEAL tactical team while filling up his campaign coffers by selling “RINO Hunting Permits” to his legion of MAGA friends and supporters.

(*RINO – Republican In Name Only)

Outrageous? Tasteless? Incitement? But while much more graphic, not original for a Republican candidate. Remember this ad from Sarah Palin?

If Greitens wins the GOP primary and subsequently beats his Democratic opponent in November I have one piece of advice for you Missourians: Join Texas and secede from the Union. No “compromise” this time, Missouri. Just leave. And don’t even think about coming back!