After Orlando, it’s simple: Ban AR-15 rifles - great blog post from Bangor Daily News

[hoffmanfiles]

54. Stop thinking and praying, and start acting!

http://blog.timesunion.com/hoffmanfiles/stop-thinking-and-praying-and-start-acting/10073/


“Hey hey, LBJ, how many laws did you pass today?” Um, a hell of a lot more than the last few congresses, that’s for sure. (Getty Images)
The other day, my wife and I were watching the HBO movie All the Way with LBJ. Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of these United States was uncanny. (Bryan Cranston finally found a character more diabolical than Walter White.) He channeled LBJ in all of his insecurities, paranoia, and rage. He also captured the man’s skills when it came to legislating as well as governing. Cranston’s performance brought forth all of LBJ’s passion for bringing relief to the poor as well as ending discrimination against African-Americans. All the Way with LBJ demonstrated Johnson’s almost frantic need to accomplish something while holding the highest office in the land.

LBJ sought power, in fact, he practically lusted after it, and would do almost anything to acquire it. While this and so many of his other character flaws and personality traits may not have made him the kindest, gentlest, or most pleasant man to be around, it also drove him to achieve great accomplishments. The numerous laws passed by Johnson during his presidency had more of a lasting effect on our country than perhaps any other president in our nation’s history. When it came to passing legislation, LBJ had more success than FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and certainly more than any of the last several inhabitants of the White House. After all, what’s the point of being the president if you’re not going to try to do anything?. Of course, it was LBJ who stated “Well, what the hell’s the presidency for?” when asked about his ambitious agenda.


LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 despite all of the Liberals who said it didn’t go far enough, and all of the Conservatives who said it was too much too soon. (That must mean it was right) Many said that you couldn’t force white people to like black people through legislation. That’s true. But you can force them to treat them equally under the law as the Constitution clearly states. (New York Times)
Yes, LBJ was flawed to be sure. In fact, if you compared him to today’s Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, and asked me to choose either Johnson or Ryan to hang out with, I’m pretty sure Paul Ryan would be my choice every day of the week. Johnson was mean, vindictive, selfish, needy, nasty to his wife, and at least from a political perspective throughout most of his career, a racist. However, when he was given the chance to make a difference when it came to race, he acted as none others ever have, before or since.


He seems like a good guy. Family man, football fan, grows a beard in office, likes rock ‘n’ roll, and is serious about the job, and careful with his words. Wonderful. Now, get something done!!! (New York Times)
As I sit and reflect over another horrible mass shooting, this one being the deadliest in U.S. history, I can only think of what LBJ, flaws and all would have done when faced with what seems to be an endless stream of vicious killings. I’m pretty sure he would have risked alienating his base, the old Democratic South, and he would have found a way to pass some sort of sensible gun control legislation.

Unfortunately, the way the House of Representatives is gerrymandered, with members reelected in their safe districts every election year, that type of legislation is all but impossible. The Senate isn’t gerrymandered, but there are far too many Republicans as well as “Red-State” Democrats who are unwilling to propose any type of laws that would in any way infringe on the rights of gun owners, even those who are on terror watch lists. How have we come to this?


The pride of Siena College, Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice-President of the NRA. LaPierre is so powerful that there literally can be no gun control legislation passed unless he says yes, and he never does. (You Tube)
The NRA will not allow any gun control measures to pass the Congress. They have a tremendous amount of money, and they have made it quite clear to Democrats as well as Republicans that they will use all of their energy and wealth to defeat any politician who advocates for any form of gun control, no matter how bloody and shocking the murderous rampage may have been. 50 people were slaughtered in Orlando this past weekend, and you can expect your federal government to do nothing.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has shed any pretense of his former sensible gun control self, and has basically advocated for more guns as the only methodology for stopping mass shootings and terrorist attacks. Our political system seems to have left us with no room for compromise. The only mutual points of agreement between the political parties is that the other side is to blame. The Democrats are too soft on Muslims entering the country, the Republicans are draconian and inflammatory in their approach to the Muslim world and in their intransigence over guns. Is there a solution? Yes, but it will only come from us, the public. We must demand it, and now.


America’s worst mass shooter, Omar Mateen. Was he involved with ISIS, or just an a-hole? Me thinks the latter not the former. (You Tube)
On Monday, under the leadership of Speaker Paul Ryan, the United States House of Representatives paused for a moment of silence to remember the victims murdered in Orlando, Florida this past weekend. The House and Senate of course both offered up “thoughts and prayers” for the victims, but for once, Democrats actually fought back. They heckled the congressional leadership’s empty offerings of condolences, and demanded action. What were their outrageous demands?

Pass background check legislation so we can see who’s buying these very powerful and deadly weapons.
Make it illegal for people on “No-Fly Lists” to purchase a gun. In other words, Republican members of the House and Senate are comfortable with people who the government has deemed to be too dangerous to get on a commercial airliner, buying assault rifles
What’s frustrating is that these aren’t radical anti-Second Amendment approaches. They are small but significant steps towards limiting some of the more questionable members of our society from getting their hands on dangerous weapons

I’m pleased that the Democrats walked out on the “Moment of Silence”, but I doubt there will be any action enacted by the House or the Senate until at least after the next election, if ever.


The AR-15, the mass-murderer’s weapon of choice. Now available in black, appropriate for any type of deranged killer with a score to settle, real or imagined! (Getty Images)
So, what is it that the federal government could do that would at least perhaps save a few lives, because even a few lives would be worth our while.

Outlaw assault rifles. (Sorry Conservatives) They are impractical for home defense, and you can’t take them out in public and pretend that you are going to stop a mass shooting that you just happen to stumble upon. Shotguns and handguns, and hunting rifles, fine, (Sorry Liberals!) but the place for compromise lies with assault rifles.
Strictly vet any person coming in to the United States from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, or Saudi Arabia. (Sorry Liberals) This isn’t a ban on Muslims which is asinine, impractical, and impossible, and of course, illegal! (Sorry “Trumpsters”), However, people who come from countries where ISIS has established a presence, or who are carrying passports stamped from those countries need a closer look. (Sorry Liberals)
An American citizen who spends time in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, or Afghanistan needs to be at the very least briefed by the FBI. The last time I checked, those aren’t exactly vacation hot spots, so why would somebody go there? There are some countries that simply aren’t safe for Americans, and we are better off limiting visits to those nations.
Tell Donald Trump, you are not helping. A ban on Muslims is ridiculous, illegal, immoral, and carries the same judicial weight and effectiveness as the Burger-Meister’s law to outlaw toys! Donald, could you please enlighten us on how we will be able to tell what a Muslim looks like? Could somebody tell this orange-faced blowhard that the largest Muslim nation in the world isn’t even in the Middle East, it’s Indoneisia…a country in maritime southeast Asia! Ahhghhhh!!!!
(I’m sorry, but this is not a coherent policy. It’s a racist knee-jerk reaction, and it accomplishes nothing. (You Tube)

As we learn more about the killer, we find that he wasn’t so much an Islamic radical, as much as he was your basic “nut-job”. He hated gays and woman, but apparently he hung out at the very bar he ended up attacking. He used gay dating Apps as well. Perhaps this was nothing more than a case of a frustrated man who felt shame about his homosexuality, and took it out on woman as well as the gay community. Perhaps his religion played a role as well. It’s hard to say until more facts emerge, but banning a religion is not an answer, nor is it even a discussion worth having.

There is compromise to be had, but it will take leadership and guts. LBJ said himself after he enacted meaningful civil rights legislation that he had most likely lost the south for the Democratic party for a generation. It’s been longer than that, but it was certainly worth it. Are Republicans and Democrats willing to take that chance today? Don’t hold your breath.