Every time there’s a shooting, Ted Cruz plays this ridiculous theater where he grand stands before his committees and the cameras, proposing the Democrats are attempting to enact a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders. He bows his head. He tries to mimic remorse like he's seen other humans exhibit. He even talks about potential solutions. Then... he does nothing. Nothing besides cash more checks from the NRA and filibuster anything remotely related to reasonable efforts to stop the gun violence. Some of his ideas actually have merit. But Ted just doesn't care enough to try and get anything done.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm a huge fan of the Bill Of Rights, including the Second Amendment. I agree that the reason it's in the Constitution is so that "we the people" can defend ourselves from an oppressive government. Having a simple low caliber hunting rifle in a firefight with a soldier with military grade weapons would be virtually hopeless. Imagine what Ukraine would look like now if Ukrainians did not have "the right to bear arms". I'm a big fan of law abiding citizens' right to "keep and bear arms" and I get that that phrase in our Constitution applies to modern weapons just as our right to free speech and privacy apply to our modern electronic communications and devices. But I am also an extremely big fan of innocent children not getting murdered by crazy people who've busted into their school to commit that exact atrocity.
Is the type of gun used responsible? Are the high capacity magazines making it easier to kill more innocents without needing to reload? Would a universal background check fix everything? Weigh these potentially restrictive possibilities against the liberty lost to those law abiding citizens, who have Second Amendment rights, to defend their lives, families and liberty the way they see fit.
Can we all take some time to learn a little bit about what the other side is saying or alleging? Some folks don't even realize these "assault weapons", "semi automatic guns" are simply guns that shoot a single bullet each time you pull the trigger.
Can we apply the same standard of zeal to working around Constitutional restrictions, regardless of if we are denying a person's right to choose a thing you do or don't agree with? Or instead, are we to pretend those who have shown tremendous creativity in going around the Constitution to protect the unborn are incapable of doing so to defend those recently born?
Instead of us all fighting with each other, trying to impose laws that take away each others' rights, let's try to narrow the scope of the discussion to areas we can all mostly agree on.
Kids should not be getting killed in schools. Anything that makes them safer should be a fair topic for discussion including increased security and fortifications at schools. If our schools look more like prisons but our kids are safe so be it. For my part, I always felt like school was prison anyway hehe. We do these things to protect our money, why not our most valued assets (our children)?
Universal background checks will not fix everything but they are a good idea anyway. We check credentials for everything else in our society why not the power to easily take a life?
Nobody wants the wacko down the street to have access to guns but it seems like those are always the nutjobs with a massive arsenal. Why not require anyone purchasing a firearm to supply affidavits from 3-5 fellow law abiding citizens, of legal age and sound mind (determined by their record or lack thereof) attesting to the sound mind of the person attempting to buy the firearm? Only let any one person supply two or three such affidavits at any given time, in order to prevent anyone from just providing them to everyone on a "willy nilly" basis. Have those folks providing the affidavits share in the responsibility for any misuse of the firearms as well.
18 year old people are technically adults according to the law but we all know they are not fully adult. Why is it an all or nothing with 18 year olds? When a bank gives a credit card to an 18 year old they are not given a one hundred thousand dollar credit limit. They start out low and over time, depending upon behavior, are gradually entrusted with greater and greater responsibility. Would it be Unconstitutional to try to do something similar with weapons? Are we saying trusting an 18 year old with money is more important and should be more regulated than trusting them with our lives?
Waiting periods do not violate the Constitution. These should just be automatic. Plus, if you use any of the ideas above the gun seller will need time to check out all of the credentials and backgrounds anyway.
Come on Cruz! Have a meaningful conversation with a Democrat in the Senate. Off camera, not lobbing insults or trying to score political points. Just a plain ole conversation where you both discuss ideas, throw out the ones you cannot agree on and DO SOMETHING. If by some miracle you manage to work out an agreement with a Democrat, the entire Senate will be so surprised they might just pass your legislation before the shock has worn off. That'd make you look pretty good for your next failed run at the Presidency. Or you could just keep being the same disappointing putz you've always been and pretending to care the next time more kids get murdered by yet another gun wielding maniac.