We are running out of excuses. More specifically, Republican politicians are running out of excuses.
Yet another mass shooting has drawn national attention for its heinousness, randomness and ability to disrupt a seemingly innocuous day of people going about their business. This time, it was at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb north of Chicago. It might as well have been at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, or a grocery store in Buffalo or an Independence Day fireworks show in Philadelphia.
In the Chicagoland shooting, a gunman fired from a nearby rooftop, killing at least seven (as of Tuesday) and wounding at least 47.
To which Fox News responded by running a story about strict gun laws in Highland Park and Chicago as part of its coverage.
To which U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia responded by writing, “Is this going to be another story where some crazy manifesto will be found? Are we going to be told every ‘weapon of war’ and amount of ammo he bought yet the public won’t be told his prescription drug history or recreational drug history.”
Which followed the New Hampshire House majority leader writing, “Instead of spending $20 more than last year on your Independence Day hot dogs, lay off the calories and grab a few more rounds for your AK-47. You’ll thank yourself later.”
Which followed U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert writing about a mass shooting in Denmark: “There was just a mass shooting in Denmark, a country with some of the strictest gun laws in Europe. It’s time to admit that gun laws DO NOT stop mass shootings!”
Americans are 11 times more likely than Danes to die by gun violence. But there is no end to the deflection that comes from Republican officials as they desperately strive to spread blame for mass shootings without pointing to the fact that guns are the common denominator.
The United States has an estimated 400 million citizen-owned firearms — more than one per person. There are an estimated 10 million AR-15s — frequently the weapon of choice for mass shooters. We have the highest rate of gun deaths among developed nations and, yes, we are the only nation where mass shootings occur with regularity. Our obsessive gun culture and our political paralysis literally are killing us.
The recent shooting in Denmark, for example, was that nation’s first mass shooting in seven years. It is the exception that proves the rule regarding gun control, yet Republicans are eager to change the subject when a mass shooting occurs in this country.
Indeed, Highland Park, Ill., has strict gun-control laws. A ban on assault weapons was passed in 2013, and the U.S. Supreme Court later declined to hear a challenge to that ban.
But until a national prohibition on assault weapons is approved by Congress, local bans are akin to stopping the wind with a screen door. Weapons are easily transported, leaving municipalities that pass conscientious laws at the whim of other jurisdictions. In other words, it leaves them at the whim of places — including the halls of Congress — where Republican lawmakers persistently block commonsense gun-control regulations.
Clark County held numerous Fourth of July festivities this week. A parade in Ridgefield included the singing of the national anthem, children riding ponies, and the waving of the Stars and Stripes. It was an all-American celebration.
So was the one in Highland Park, Ill. — until an American scourge intervened.
