KING: The sit-in by House Democrats is deeply important and flawe
Now that the Democrats have just ended their sit-in on the House floor over gun violence, I wanted to offer some thoughts about it.
John Lewis is my congressman in Atlanta. He’s a legendary civil rights leader and a hero to millions of us in and out of the movement. Seeing him help lead a sit-in on the floor of the House was a powerful sight. He took the nation to school on the merits of civil disobedience and, as a congressman, helped legitimize the practice in the eyes of many who have always turned their nose up to such things. The political theater of what they did was powerful.
So, all of that is true without any “buts” or criticisms.
Our country has an undeniable problem with gun violence. Tens of thousands of people a year are killed by guns all over this nation and it is taking a serious emotional toll on all of us. From mass shootings in schools, churches, movie theaters and clubs to little children accidentally killing themselves or shooting their mothers or siblings, gun violence has long since crossed over to a point of utter ridiculousness. While corporations rack up the profits, gun violence is tearing this country apart.
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All of that is true as well.
Rep. John Lewis of Georgia is leading the Democratic sit-in on the House floor.
(Janice Hahn via Twitter)
What is also true is that the primary focus of the Democratic sit-in, a policy that they are casually calling “no fly, no buy,” will do virtually nothing to reduce gun violence in America. Not only that, but the policy, which basically states that if an individual is on the federal government’s “no fly list” or “terrorism watch list,” that they cannot legally purchase a gun in America is actually rooted in xenophobic bigotry which disproportionately and sometimes indiscriminately targets Muslims and immigrants from the Middle East.
First off, as I have repeatedly said, most mass shooters are white men. Of the 30 deadliest mass shootings in American history, only one had a Muslim immigrant and that was the wife of the San Bernardino shooter.
Not one white mass shooter, including the racist Dylann Roof who murdered nine black Charleston, S.C. churchgoers, has been on a watch list. Sandy Hook, Columbine, Aurora, the Planned Parenthood shooting – all of them would have continued unabated even if our country had a “no fly, no buy” law.
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Even the Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, who was born in Queens like Donald Trump and raised in Florida, was not on any watch list. He was a licensed security guard who purchased his firearms and ammo legally.
So what are we talking about then? Who are we talking about stopping?
The Democrats basically fell into a trap where they used a ton of political capital on this issue to keep people from buying guns who aren’t really responsible for the vast majority of gun deaths.
Pretend for a moment that conservatives caved and said “You know what? We will agree with you. Let’s pass ‘no fly, no buy’ and solve America’s gun problems once and for all.”
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Say it passed unanimously and was signed into law by President Obama before he left office.
Charles Bolden, staff assistant of Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), holds a poster with pictures of gun violence victims from Chicago as he walks towards the House Chamber on Thursday.
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Guess what?
Our nation would still be the only nation in the world with more guns than people. Inner cities would still be overcome with gun violence and the conditions which allowed virtually every single mass shooting this nation has ever had would still remain. AR-15s and assault rifles would still be everywhere. Citizens would still be allowed to stockpile ammunition like they are leading a small army and tens of thousands of men, women and children would continue to die from gun violence.
Thinking that “no fly, no buy” would seriously change the face of gun violence in America is like thinking America lost a bunch weight for those few months that Twinkies weren’t being made.
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I’m glad the Democrats are fighting. I even like how they’re fighting, but the target is about as far off as it could possibly be. Now that the sit-in is over, let’s recalibrate the debate on some solutions that will actually address the problem at hand.
KING: The sit-in by House Democrats is deeply important and flawe
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