I’m writing to you all, again, with a heavy heart, as I have done other times following a mass shooting. Yet again, we’re forced to ask why we live in a time when our politicians protect guns, not people. Lewiston, Maine is a small town. It is the kind of place where people leave their doors unlocked. I know this because I went to college there and have been back to visit frequently. My daughter also went to school there. She spent the past two years teaching in a small elementary school and working on nutrition equity and education. Tonight, parents who were at teacher conferences at her school when one of the shooting happened—five minutes from the site of one of the shootings—are still in lock down.
If you care about protecting life, vote for Democrats. Get the Republicans out of office at every level of government and let’s start passing laws that put people first once again.
Latest forensic accounting based on Thomas recent compliance with ethics rules is that his major "Loan" was forgiven after years of only paying interest.
Congress, when the Democrats have control, could write legislation defining the Second Amendment the way it reads in the Constitution (well regulated militia, bear arms (means military)) and including a reference to Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution: "...the Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.” Invoke this clause to tell SCOTUS hands off this legislation. You are instructed that it is passed outside of your jurisdiction.
I don’t think that limiting the court’s jurisdiction in that way would work. Imagine if Republicans had done something like that when they controlled both house# if Congress early in the Trump maladministration.
When President Nixon wanted to get some leverage over SCOTUS, he asked a young Constitutional attorney named John Roberts how it could be done. Roberts pointed him to this passage of the Constitution. Now that John Roberts is Chief Justice, it would be sweet irony to see this Constitutional text used against his Court. I'm not aware of its ever being used. I recall a reference to it implying that it is regarded as a kind of "nuclear option". So be it. I think its use is long overdue, especially considering the radical right behavior of the current Court.
The SCOTUS quickly asked for protection from firearms after a man threatened Justice Kavanaugh, and the House, Senate, & President quickly issued a statute assigning Federal Marshals to each Justice and their families. Nothing will change as long as SCOTUS Justices and their Billionaire owners continue to have immunity from firearms.
If not a single firearm were to be sold after today, (a nation already awash in over 400 million of them,) and were 50,000 guns to be destroyed daily, it would take nearly 22 years for America to be gun-free. Firearms may tragically take a prominent role in 2024 politics.
There would always be a black market at the ready to happily supply it, just like there is and always has been for drugs--sadly. Wish it were possible.
If guns can be sold in pieces on the internet (ghost guns), ammo can be sold too. There would need to be a law against possessing ammunition, but it will never happen. It would be telling the gun nuts that they can't shoot their guns.
Yes! That would be the fastest way to get this problem under control. Restrict ammunition by size and amount so even those nuts that have military style weapons cannot do the same amount of harm.
You've got to start with the primaries. There are many Ds in office who support the filibuster and oppose expanding the Supreme Court; Joe Biden, for one.
Always know who you’re voting for and what they stand for. I wish I could spot and honest statesman/woman instead of being tricked into voting for one who changes parties after having a deep look at their bank accounts.
Joe Biden has lived through the many transformations of where moderate was used to describe compromise where the Republicans chipped away at amendments regarding personal freedoms and the Democratic Party allowed them in the name of appearing “moderate”.
Having come to the understanding ‘moderate’ stands for “chump”, and the thought that Republican and The Democratic Parties were on America’s side has never blown up in anyone’s face more spectacularly than President Biden’s. He has taken all his understanding and has come down not on just democracy’s side, American’s side, but the people’s side. A move I’d have never believed when considering his former positions.
The former Republican Party has transformed in to a threat to democracy at all costs with the election of the soda jerk from LA running the shop. This guy couldn’t run a church picnic. Yet he is dangerous, should be taken seriously and as each bill passed in the House drops dead in the Senate. So it will go.
Fanatics seem to always live up to their reputations. But get ready for more both sideism and softball questions from the MSM when it comes to Johnson and all the magats.
Bingo. The money behind the gun lobby and male ego..Citizens United must go, everyone has a set amount for their ‘war chest’ that’s all you get , beat your own chests Tarzan after that . When I listen to the radical fanatics shooting their guns in the air and screaming ‘kill the infidel’ it’s a war cry...it’s pretty obvious testosterone is running the show...and certain zealots can incite these same -some in the pulpits or podiums, but it’s pimping pitched to rev the ‘engines’...there’s a few women that do it too -no names mentioned.
Trump has created an extremely dangerous condition for our country with the domestic violent extremist terrorists he has trained. Every time he uses the code word 'MAGA' in his speeches, and emphasizes what we know too well as xenophobic hatred for immigrants; or when he brags about stopping immigration to the US from involuntary immigrants who have been displaced by war (he reduced the number Obama had raised to 110,000 per year to 5,000 per year during his presidency; thus, effectively stopping ALL Muslim immigration), he is promoting fear of the 'other.' He knows that Joe Biden recovered this number during his first month in office and has now raised it to 125,000 refugees per year. Trump said this week that he would reduce this number back to his prior number of 5,000 or less 'during his second presidency' (his words on the campaign trail) because anyone from Syria or anywhere in the Mideast is 'dangerous' and should not be in 'our country.' He says repeatedly that 'these are dangerous, criminal individuals.' And he intersperses his comments with phrases such as 'the reason Eisenhower was a great president is that he deported people.' What message does Trump send to his MAGA supporters when he says things like this?
This forum is not the place to compare or disparage education levels or intellect of any American citizens. But the individuals Trump would exclude as involuntary immigrants, who have been forced to leave their homes due to war conditions, come from an area that included ancient Mesopotamia and Sumeria: where the first writing on tablets with a form of cuneiform originated between 3400 to 3000 BC. These folks also were advanced bookkeepers (something Trump doesn't do so well himself according to his finance fraud trial). And they were black. Today, this area would include Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Turkey as well: countries where education has always been a priority (until the despot rulers took over). So if they are Muslim involuntary immigrants, they are prevented immigration (in a Trump government); but if they are 'Christian' would they be permitted? He is racist and xenophobic and because of religion, the two populations ARE most likely mutually exclusive. Most of these folks want to come to the US for a chance for their children to have an education. That's it. They would add to our population with their characters and strong work ethic. The physical danger Trump promotes with his dangerous rhetoric to our Muslim citizens and permanent residency holders from the Mideast is unconscionable. A study was conducted two years ago using FBI records showing that some 54 incidents of violence against people of color and Mideast immigrants were tied to Trump (this number has now increased, according to secret FBI files from summer 2023). Zero violent incidents had been tied to Obama and Bush Jr. during their presidencies. Why is not this information reported by the 'mainstream news'? Why does not every US citizen receive reporting like this, showing the extent to which Trump is coaching his MAGA followers to become domestic terrorists? Why is the front-runner for the Republican party receiving a free pass? Now that Chesebro and the Kraken lady do not have to tie up court space in October and November, Judge Chutkan has some space freed up to move up her Washington DC (Jack Smith prosecuting) trial for Trump. Trump keeps mouthing off - he won't listen to his attorneys and he does not believe the rules apply to him and he wants to inform the MAGA as often as possible that he is a maligned victim, so he likely will offend Judge Chutkan again. So with this newly opened window, Judge Chutkan may have him in court in November instead of March 2024. Trump will not shut up: he acted up in Judge Engoron's courtroom today and he never isolates his comments. He is bound to threaten Jack Smith and his team (again), and I'm hoping Judge Chutkan will make a decision to whomp him and move up the Washington DC trial date. I'm supposed to say my comments are 'my opinion' and use the term 'allegedly' and that Trump is innocent until he is found guilty in a court of law. All of that is fair. The FBI considers him responsible for creating domestic terrorists right here in the United States. And Trump disingenuously claims that he loves this country. Nothing could be further from the truth. He wants to be a dictator for life and his MAGA followers are useful idiots and cult members. The FBI crime statistics are public record. That the FBI considers Trump and his followers domestic terrorists is public record. Perhaps I should just say I'm writing for entertainment purposes only and encourage all the readers on this site to verify the FBI statistics and Trump's xenophobic, racist, violence encouraging comments for themselves. We should not live a fear-based life but please, folks on this site, be careful and do not show Blue yard signs or bumper stickers if you live in red communities. We can elect Biden with our organization skills so please be careful. Trump wants to frighten us. Let's stay together and become ultra motivated to defeat him should Trump be the Republican nominee.
Thank you Joyce. I pray for your daughter’s safety. I, too, love Lewiston and all of Maine as one of the prettiest parts of the country and I will never understand why the individual right to a gun is more important than our individual right not to get our heads blown off in random violence. The disrespect and contempt that the extreme Right heaps on anyone who doesn’t assume their cockeyed view of the right to bear arms is dangerous and enraging. I am so tired of minority rule I just can’t stand it.
I know. I agree. I’ve written on topic forever. I know our nation is broken into a million pieces. The corporate community owns America and the gun industry dictates terms.
I visited the trial of Trump today as a spectator. Should have taken my press credentials for better placement but I was in back of the room. I just wanted to witness him walking into the courtroom. Indeed, he is a quasi life form. I had trouble staying awake so I left at the first break and I missed his screaming behavior.
Yeah...but look at Scalise. He was shot himself and I don't believe it changed his mind even a millimeter--indeed, he claims it has reinforced his support of the Second Amendment.
There is no reason for civilians to have military grade weapons. We cannot give up on trying to ban these weapons and that means voting Republicans out of office and pushing our state legislators to pass gun safety legislation. I lived in CT when Sandy Hook happened but now live in MO where they passed a bill saying that they could ignore federal gun regulations. That law is now blocked and going through the court system.
I'm so sad to see what the Republican State Legislature is allowing to happen in Missouri. Allowing teenagers and children to open carry is so anti-human.
How ironic that Republican "values" say that Women are not allowed control of their own bodies but children are given the power to control other people's bodies through the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Assault rifles are made to kill as many people as rapidly as possible in warfare. It is painful to write that, but NO CIVILIAN should have one of these weapons. Another tragic day.
The bullets in my ammo clips -- the shock of a bullet hitting a bone would kill you. If one went into your torso, the exit wound would be the size of an orange. The bullet was designed to get around the prohibition of using dum-dum bullets. The M-16 bullet tumbled end over end and when in the body would zig-zag. These are the same bullets used in the AR-15 clones that lots of families own. The safety lever at 3 o'clock is on, at 12 o'clock it is semi-auto as fast as you pull the trigger, at 9am it is on full auto about 18 rounds in 2 seconds. And their is no recoil--you could fire it from your chin. Luckily I never had to fire it at a person. Thanks for all the likes. I don't do social media accts or use text messaging. Tom from Ann Arbor.
I work for the City of Virginia Beach and can attest to the trauma that will endure for this community. We still grapple with PTSD and see the ripple effects of grief and fear daily. Just a couple weeks ago we had a presentation to City Council on plans for a memorial. They started by evaluating various other memorials for mass shootings. Utterly surreal as the presenter went through locality after locality to discuss the consideration of appropriate elements to incorporate. Guns an utter sickness in this country. I am heartbroken tonight for another community that has to be labeled “strong.”
What do I feel? Sadness for the lives lost. And complete outrage that this continues. Anyone in Congress who continues to offer nothing but platitudes should be voted out in favor of people who are prepared to take action once elected. And yes, I’ll be damned if I want to hear anyone say, “It’s complicated.” Bulls..
I lived in Lewiston until 3 months ago (now live 2 towns away) and have lived in or been connected to the Lewiston-Auburn area my whole life. I am also a proud Bates alum. I’m physically safe in my home tonight , but am processing the shock and grief for my community.
I live not that far from Lewiston and this has sent fear into all our hearts. We know people there and have friends in law enforcement in Lewiston. Our hearts are broken at this tragedy. Damn it it is the guns! Maine has very lax gun laws. That needs to change. But is “second amendment rights.” He is not a part of a well regulated militia.
Later news says he was a firearms instructor in the Army Reserve assigned to a training facility in Saco. So it appears he's part of the 'well-regulated militia'. The only thing that might have stopped him is to make sure his weapon(s) were locked up in an armory...
Joyce, I am sorry for the heaviness in your heart. All we can do is hug the ones we love and be glad, even as we feel guilty for feeling relieved, that it wasn’t one of our own.
I wish I could say that there is room for hope. But our gun culture is so much apart of our national identity, that I fear we are generations from eliminating firearms from our society.
But then I say to myself, when I was born I lived in Jim Crow South. Racism is still with us, but it’s a very different world blacks live in today then they did back then. For my family in Europe in 1939, it looked like the world was coming to an end, and it did for them, but the world survived and eventually Mao, and Stalin and Hitler died too and the world became better for many if not everyone.
Tomorrow when you wake up it will be a beautiful day and your chickens, and dog, and cat will greet you with unconditional love. Let that wash over you for a few minutes; then reenergized, get back into the fray and let us know what’s really going on. I have it on good authority that we are all in this together.
Thank you. Your voice is reassuring. I have been watching since the news broke. Will keep your daughter and her Maine community in my thoughts. And you too.
In a sense, we are all hostages to the NRA and the legislators whose campaigns are funded by the them and to whom they are beholden. We pay the salaries of legislators, but they surely don't work on our behalf.
We used to think that guns only killed people in those big bad cities. Clearly that is no longer the case and nobody is safe from gun violence and death - not even in bucolic Lewiston, Maine.
I grieve for the innocent lives cut short and for those who sustained injuries. I cannot see a path forward that will protect anyone in this country from death by powerful weapons of war!
I live 30 minutes away in Brunswick (Go U Bears!) and have been a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for at least 7 years. The pro-gun crowd has been arguing that stuff like this just doesn’t happen here. Well, six months ago we also has a quadruple homicide. It’s obvious this can and does happen everywhere. Please elect Democrats who are committed to gun violence reduction. (Not all Dems are crested equal.)
The solution is simple.
If you care about protecting life, vote for Democrats. Get the Republicans out of office at every level of government and let’s start passing laws that put people first once again.
Unfortunately, the GOP-controlled SCOTUS will not be any help!
Get enough Democrats in the Senate and enlarge the court. then impeach Thomas and Alito.
Latest forensic accounting based on Thomas recent compliance with ethics rules is that his major "Loan" was forgiven after years of only paying interest.
Thomas may have NEVER made a principal payment.
What you said.
My goodness, Jon, are we becoming political comrades??? :-)
As my first wife used to say, Bite your tongue in three places!
I laughed out loud.
And establish retroactive term limits.
These things can be changed!
simply……DEMOCRATS must FLOOD the polls is 2024.
Term Limits!
https://www.brennancenter.org/term-limits?utm_medium=ADS&utm_source=creator&utm_content=TermLimits&ms=ADS_creator_jessica
That would require an Amendment. Much easier to expand the SC.
Be sure to recall that term limits would get rid of the great justices just as much as the bad ones.
Absolutely, term limits!
Congress, when the Democrats have control, could write legislation defining the Second Amendment the way it reads in the Constitution (well regulated militia, bear arms (means military)) and including a reference to Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution: "...the Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.” Invoke this clause to tell SCOTUS hands off this legislation. You are instructed that it is passed outside of your jurisdiction.
I don’t think that limiting the court’s jurisdiction in that way would work. Imagine if Republicans had done something like that when they controlled both house# if Congress early in the Trump maladministration.
When President Nixon wanted to get some leverage over SCOTUS, he asked a young Constitutional attorney named John Roberts how it could be done. Roberts pointed him to this passage of the Constitution. Now that John Roberts is Chief Justice, it would be sweet irony to see this Constitutional text used against his Court. I'm not aware of its ever being used. I recall a reference to it implying that it is regarded as a kind of "nuclear option". So be it. I think its use is long overdue, especially considering the radical right behavior of the current Court.
As well as their gifts from billionaire friends they don’t report.
Four more seats, two immediately.
We need to add more judges & they should not be life appointments.
The SCOTUS quickly asked for protection from firearms after a man threatened Justice Kavanaugh, and the House, Senate, & President quickly issued a statute assigning Federal Marshals to each Justice and their families. Nothing will change as long as SCOTUS Justices and their Billionaire owners continue to have immunity from firearms.
If not a single firearm were to be sold after today, (a nation already awash in over 400 million of them,) and were 50,000 guns to be destroyed daily, it would take nearly 22 years for America to be gun-free. Firearms may tragically take a prominent role in 2024 politics.
I've often wondered if restricting sales of ammunition would be a solution.
There would always be a black market at the ready to happily supply it, just like there is and always has been for drugs--sadly. Wish it were possible.
If guns can be sold in pieces on the internet (ghost guns), ammo can be sold too. There would need to be a law against possessing ammunition, but it will never happen. It would be telling the gun nuts that they can't shoot their guns.
That last sentence was pretty much my point :)
But Linda is right of course, sadly.
Yes! That would be the fastest way to get this problem under control. Restrict ammunition by size and amount so even those nuts that have military style weapons cannot do the same amount of harm.
You've got to start with the primaries. There are many Ds in office who support the filibuster and oppose expanding the Supreme Court; Joe Biden, for one.
President Biden is a rational person...perhaps he could be persuaded by the facts. We are not his father's country anymore.
Always know who you’re voting for and what they stand for. I wish I could spot and honest statesman/woman instead of being tricked into voting for one who changes parties after having a deep look at their bank accounts.
Joe Biden has lived through the many transformations of where moderate was used to describe compromise where the Republicans chipped away at amendments regarding personal freedoms and the Democratic Party allowed them in the name of appearing “moderate”.
Having come to the understanding ‘moderate’ stands for “chump”, and the thought that Republican and The Democratic Parties were on America’s side has never blown up in anyone’s face more spectacularly than President Biden’s. He has taken all his understanding and has come down not on just democracy’s side, American’s side, but the people’s side. A move I’d have never believed when considering his former positions.
The former Republican Party has transformed in to a threat to democracy at all costs with the election of the soda jerk from LA running the shop. This guy couldn’t run a church picnic. Yet he is dangerous, should be taken seriously and as each bill passed in the House drops dead in the Senate. So it will go.
Fanatics seem to always live up to their reputations. But get ready for more both sideism and softball questions from the MSM when it comes to Johnson and all the magats.
Bingo. The money behind the gun lobby and male ego..Citizens United must go, everyone has a set amount for their ‘war chest’ that’s all you get , beat your own chests Tarzan after that . When I listen to the radical fanatics shooting their guns in the air and screaming ‘kill the infidel’ it’s a war cry...it’s pretty obvious testosterone is running the show...and certain zealots can incite these same -some in the pulpits or podiums, but it’s pimping pitched to rev the ‘engines’...there’s a few women that do it too -no names mentioned.
Yes ! 💙💙VOTE THE BLUE💙💙
Trump has created an extremely dangerous condition for our country with the domestic violent extremist terrorists he has trained. Every time he uses the code word 'MAGA' in his speeches, and emphasizes what we know too well as xenophobic hatred for immigrants; or when he brags about stopping immigration to the US from involuntary immigrants who have been displaced by war (he reduced the number Obama had raised to 110,000 per year to 5,000 per year during his presidency; thus, effectively stopping ALL Muslim immigration), he is promoting fear of the 'other.' He knows that Joe Biden recovered this number during his first month in office and has now raised it to 125,000 refugees per year. Trump said this week that he would reduce this number back to his prior number of 5,000 or less 'during his second presidency' (his words on the campaign trail) because anyone from Syria or anywhere in the Mideast is 'dangerous' and should not be in 'our country.' He says repeatedly that 'these are dangerous, criminal individuals.' And he intersperses his comments with phrases such as 'the reason Eisenhower was a great president is that he deported people.' What message does Trump send to his MAGA supporters when he says things like this?
This forum is not the place to compare or disparage education levels or intellect of any American citizens. But the individuals Trump would exclude as involuntary immigrants, who have been forced to leave their homes due to war conditions, come from an area that included ancient Mesopotamia and Sumeria: where the first writing on tablets with a form of cuneiform originated between 3400 to 3000 BC. These folks also were advanced bookkeepers (something Trump doesn't do so well himself according to his finance fraud trial). And they were black. Today, this area would include Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Turkey as well: countries where education has always been a priority (until the despot rulers took over). So if they are Muslim involuntary immigrants, they are prevented immigration (in a Trump government); but if they are 'Christian' would they be permitted? He is racist and xenophobic and because of religion, the two populations ARE most likely mutually exclusive. Most of these folks want to come to the US for a chance for their children to have an education. That's it. They would add to our population with their characters and strong work ethic. The physical danger Trump promotes with his dangerous rhetoric to our Muslim citizens and permanent residency holders from the Mideast is unconscionable. A study was conducted two years ago using FBI records showing that some 54 incidents of violence against people of color and Mideast immigrants were tied to Trump (this number has now increased, according to secret FBI files from summer 2023). Zero violent incidents had been tied to Obama and Bush Jr. during their presidencies. Why is not this information reported by the 'mainstream news'? Why does not every US citizen receive reporting like this, showing the extent to which Trump is coaching his MAGA followers to become domestic terrorists? Why is the front-runner for the Republican party receiving a free pass? Now that Chesebro and the Kraken lady do not have to tie up court space in October and November, Judge Chutkan has some space freed up to move up her Washington DC (Jack Smith prosecuting) trial for Trump. Trump keeps mouthing off - he won't listen to his attorneys and he does not believe the rules apply to him and he wants to inform the MAGA as often as possible that he is a maligned victim, so he likely will offend Judge Chutkan again. So with this newly opened window, Judge Chutkan may have him in court in November instead of March 2024. Trump will not shut up: he acted up in Judge Engoron's courtroom today and he never isolates his comments. He is bound to threaten Jack Smith and his team (again), and I'm hoping Judge Chutkan will make a decision to whomp him and move up the Washington DC trial date. I'm supposed to say my comments are 'my opinion' and use the term 'allegedly' and that Trump is innocent until he is found guilty in a court of law. All of that is fair. The FBI considers him responsible for creating domestic terrorists right here in the United States. And Trump disingenuously claims that he loves this country. Nothing could be further from the truth. He wants to be a dictator for life and his MAGA followers are useful idiots and cult members. The FBI crime statistics are public record. That the FBI considers Trump and his followers domestic terrorists is public record. Perhaps I should just say I'm writing for entertainment purposes only and encourage all the readers on this site to verify the FBI statistics and Trump's xenophobic, racist, violence encouraging comments for themselves. We should not live a fear-based life but please, folks on this site, be careful and do not show Blue yard signs or bumper stickers if you live in red communities. We can elect Biden with our organization skills so please be careful. Trump wants to frighten us. Let's stay together and become ultra motivated to defeat him should Trump be the Republican nominee.
Thanks for a passionate plea , I applaud these . 👏👏👏
We say often , “How can anyone still believe in this sham of a man?”
They rule with malice and fear, the ends are well documented….
💙💙VOTE OUT ALL THE COMPLICIT💙💙
Not simple…but clear.
Agree. Not easy. But clear.
Thank you Joyce. I pray for your daughter’s safety. I, too, love Lewiston and all of Maine as one of the prettiest parts of the country and I will never understand why the individual right to a gun is more important than our individual right not to get our heads blown off in random violence. The disrespect and contempt that the extreme Right heaps on anyone who doesn’t assume their cockeyed view of the right to bear arms is dangerous and enraging. I am so tired of minority rule I just can’t stand it.
Well said, Maura!
Right there with Maura. Exhausted by the minority and their violent rhetoric, actions and chaos. But working hard to help get out the vote.
Getting the majority of Democrats to the polls next year has never seemed more critical!
Absolutely! The GOP will never take its boots off our collective necks until they go down in flames at the polls.
We visited Maine on our New England honeymoon, and loved it.
I just returned from a 10 day trip out east about 2 weeks ago. Beautiful scenery and nice people...how tragic for them.
My son and his fiancé live there, and he is traveling for work and can’t get home. She’s locked in their house with the dogs in the dark.
May she be safe
Scary stuff. Wishing safety and Godspeed to an "all clear" with this nut in custody or dead. 🙏🙏
I can't "like" your comment because it is so sad but I am sending you and yours wishes for safety.
Lo siento. Sending you hugs.
🙏
🙏🏼🩵
🙏💔🙏💔🙏
So sorry you j have to endure this fro afar.
I know. I agree. I’ve written on topic forever. I know our nation is broken into a million pieces. The corporate community owns America and the gun industry dictates terms.
I visited the trial of Trump today as a spectator. Should have taken my press credentials for better placement but I was in back of the room. I just wanted to witness him walking into the courtroom. Indeed, he is a quasi life form. I had trouble staying awake so I left at the first break and I missed his screaming behavior.
And the NRA had bought and paid for many Republicans. It gets me angry. What is it going to take to change their minds?
Nothing. It’s blood money. Money is more important than lives
Or maybe a few if they’re own being shot down.
Yeah...but look at Scalise. He was shot himself and I don't believe it changed his mind even a millimeter--indeed, he claims it has reinforced his support of the Second Amendment.
There is no reason for civilians to have military grade weapons. We cannot give up on trying to ban these weapons and that means voting Republicans out of office and pushing our state legislators to pass gun safety legislation. I lived in CT when Sandy Hook happened but now live in MO where they passed a bill saying that they could ignore federal gun regulations. That law is now blocked and going through the court system.
I'm so sad to see what the Republican State Legislature is allowing to happen in Missouri. Allowing teenagers and children to open carry is so anti-human.
and anti-life.
How ironic that Republican "values" say that Women are not allowed control of their own bodies but children are given the power to control other people's bodies through the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Oh my God! So evil and such disregard of children.
Thank goodness it’s blocked!!
Assault rifles are made to kill as many people as rapidly as possible in warfare. It is painful to write that, but NO CIVILIAN should have one of these weapons. Another tragic day.
I left my blunderbluss (M-16) in Vietnam along with my steel combat helmet. I had some old WW II
surplus rifles for target shooting. After Sandy Hook I got rid of evereything. The 2nd amendment is an anachronism and should be repealed.
The bullets in my ammo clips -- the shock of a bullet hitting a bone would kill you. If one went into your torso, the exit wound would be the size of an orange. The bullet was designed to get around the prohibition of using dum-dum bullets. The M-16 bullet tumbled end over end and when in the body would zig-zag. These are the same bullets used in the AR-15 clones that lots of families own. The safety lever at 3 o'clock is on, at 12 o'clock it is semi-auto as fast as you pull the trigger, at 9am it is on full auto about 18 rounds in 2 seconds. And their is no recoil--you could fire it from your chin. Luckily I never had to fire it at a person. Thanks for all the likes. I don't do social media accts or use text messaging. Tom from Ann Arbor.
I’m sorry this hit so close to ”home”. No matter where this happens, there are strands that tie us to people and communities. 💔
I work for the City of Virginia Beach and can attest to the trauma that will endure for this community. We still grapple with PTSD and see the ripple effects of grief and fear daily. Just a couple weeks ago we had a presentation to City Council on plans for a memorial. They started by evaluating various other memorials for mass shootings. Utterly surreal as the presenter went through locality after locality to discuss the consideration of appropriate elements to incorporate. Guns an utter sickness in this country. I am heartbroken tonight for another community that has to be labeled “strong.”
What do I feel? Sadness for the lives lost. And complete outrage that this continues. Anyone in Congress who continues to offer nothing but platitudes should be voted out in favor of people who are prepared to take action once elected. And yes, I’ll be damned if I want to hear anyone say, “It’s complicated.” Bulls..
🙏🏼🩵
Such a good example of “normalizing” mass shooting. I understand there has to be some kind of closure. I hope some new activists were “born” too.
I lived in Lewiston until 3 months ago (now live 2 towns away) and have lived in or been connected to the Lewiston-Auburn area my whole life. I am also a proud Bates alum. I’m physically safe in my home tonight , but am processing the shock and grief for my community.
I am so sorry for you and your community.
I live not that far from Lewiston and this has sent fear into all our hearts. We know people there and have friends in law enforcement in Lewiston. Our hearts are broken at this tragedy. Damn it it is the guns! Maine has very lax gun laws. That needs to change. But is “second amendment rights.” He is not a part of a well regulated militia.
Do we really need a Constitutional Amendment to own guns? We only need a Constitutional Amendment to hide the fact that we own guns.
Later news says he was a firearms instructor in the Army Reserve assigned to a training facility in Saco. So it appears he's part of the 'well-regulated militia'. The only thing that might have stopped him is to make sure his weapon(s) were locked up in an armory...
Joyce, I am sorry for the heaviness in your heart. All we can do is hug the ones we love and be glad, even as we feel guilty for feeling relieved, that it wasn’t one of our own.
I wish I could say that there is room for hope. But our gun culture is so much apart of our national identity, that I fear we are generations from eliminating firearms from our society.
But then I say to myself, when I was born I lived in Jim Crow South. Racism is still with us, but it’s a very different world blacks live in today then they did back then. For my family in Europe in 1939, it looked like the world was coming to an end, and it did for them, but the world survived and eventually Mao, and Stalin and Hitler died too and the world became better for many if not everyone.
Tomorrow when you wake up it will be a beautiful day and your chickens, and dog, and cat will greet you with unconditional love. Let that wash over you for a few minutes; then reenergized, get back into the fray and let us know what’s really going on. I have it on good authority that we are all in this together.
Jon
Nicely spoken from your heart.
Beautiful.
One more gun incident and another maga wack job as speaker of the house. How do we fix this?
Thank you. Your voice is reassuring. I have been watching since the news broke. Will keep your daughter and her Maine community in my thoughts. And you too.
In a sense, we are all hostages to the NRA and the legislators whose campaigns are funded by the them and to whom they are beholden. We pay the salaries of legislators, but they surely don't work on our behalf.
We used to think that guns only killed people in those big bad cities. Clearly that is no longer the case and nobody is safe from gun violence and death - not even in bucolic Lewiston, Maine.
I grieve for the innocent lives cut short and for those who sustained injuries. I cannot see a path forward that will protect anyone in this country from death by powerful weapons of war!
I live 30 minutes away in Brunswick (Go U Bears!) and have been a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for at least 7 years. The pro-gun crowd has been arguing that stuff like this just doesn’t happen here. Well, six months ago we also has a quadruple homicide. It’s obvious this can and does happen everywhere. Please elect Democrats who are committed to gun violence reduction. (Not all Dems are crested equal.)