On the recent mass killing in Texas

[Estebonrober]

There's no two ways about it, if you are the police you have to try to save citizens, otherwise you are simply a mercenary force for the ruling monarch.

I mean you jsut described what the police actually is. . . was this meant as irony?

 

[Kyriakos]

It shouldn't be that, though

 

[Samson]

The House passes a gun control bill in response to the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings

The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill Wednesday in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds. The legislation passed by a mostly party-line vote of 223-204.
​

But

It has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks.​

 

[E.man]

The House passes a gun control bill in response to the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings

The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill Wednesday in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds. The legislation passed by a mostly party-line vote of 223-204.
​

But

It has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks.​

As I understand it from Oz the Republicans have the majority in the Senate.

Next move for the public trying to get change is to change the Senate by voting for it.

 

[Kyriakos]

Is it likely that in the midterms the gop won't simply gain more seats? Any polls showing the reverse trend?

 

[EgonSpengler]

As I understand it from Oz the Republicans have the majority in the Senate.

Next move for the public trying to get change is to change the Senate by voting for it.

The Democrats have a 1-vote majority.* The problem is the filibuster, which basically allows the minority party to prevent a vote on a bill from happening at all. To prevent a filibuster, you need 60 votes, so the Democrats would have to get 10 Republicans on board.

*Technically, the Senate is split 50-50, but in the event of a tie, the President of the Senate - who is the Vice President - can cast a tie-breaking vote. This is also why Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are causing such consternation, because losing even 1 party vote on any given bill means the Democrats have to find a Republican willing to vote against his or her party.

Is it likely that in the midterms the gop won't simply gain more seats? Any polls showing the reverse trend?

Even without knowing any particulars, yes, it's likely. The party that controls the White House almost always loses seats in the midterms.

 

[Kyriakos]

And iirc the gop didn't do bad at all with senate and house seats in the last election already (?)

 

[Farm Boy]

I would predict Republican control of both houses of Congress after midterms. Been wrong before.

 

[Modder_Mode]

i think cloud_strife's gist was that your subthread is a bit off as to what anyone's talking about. you seem to use guns as a jumping off point to discuss biden by mocking him over taliban. i mean sure i don't much like biden either. but it doesn't have much to do with the point of the thread that you used as a springboard. ^^

I'm well aware what Cloud_Strife was doing hence my reply.

 

[Modder_Mode]

You mean they joined the Union army?

To protect themselves from the Fugitive Slave Act (the 1850's version).

 

[E.man]

I would predict Republican control of both houses of Congress after midterms. Been wrong before.

... and then you have it again with POTUS from one party and house from another . U.S. political system locked up and useless again. Just to be on topic, it means nothing can get done on guns ...

We just had elections where we elected a record number of independents. Many other countries manage with multiple party Coaltion governments.

 

[Farm Boy]

No, it won't be useless. But yes, it will not likely be able to accomplish a particularly divisive goal.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

well, i can't say another arbitrary attempt at targeting rifles specifically was unexpected. good job making it look like you tried to do something again i guess, federal legislators?

 

[Estebonrober]

No, it won't be useless. But yes, it will not likely be able to accomplish a particularly divisive goal.

doing nothing is insanely divisive. doing nothing for the last 30 years is inching us closer to civil war.

well, i can't say another arbitrary attempt at targeting rifles specifically was unexpected. good job making it look like you tried to do something again i guess, federal legislators?

this snark coming from the policy idea machine that is tmit. ./s

Doing nothing and claiming success is why the GOP wins so much. It is so much easier to tear down society than build it.

 

[Farm Boy]

It won't do nothing. Far from it. It will do tons of stuff. None of this that we see everyday just happens.

 

[Kaitzilla]

I hope the democrats stop trying to pass some 1000 page anti-gun monster and just try to pass all the ideas 1 at a time.
It is awful easy to nitpick 1000 pages.

Welp, they were grouped up together after all.
House passes sweeping gun reform package though it's unlikely to move in the Senate | CNN Politics

Worth a try I guess.
The Protecting Our Kids Act (of 2022) did seem to have all the measures individually at various times last year, but nothing happened?
Related Bills - H.R.7910 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Protecting Our Kids Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

The legislation that passed in the House includes a series of individual bills aimed at preventing gun violence.
The measure would raise the legal age to buy certain semiautomatic centerfire rifles from 18 to 21 years old, establish new federal offenses for gun trafficking and for selling large-capacity magazines, and allow local governments to compensate individuals who surrender such magazines through a buyback program.
It would create a tax incentive for retail sales of safe storage devices and criminal penalties for breaking new requirements regulating firearm storage on residential premises.
The measure would also take steps to strengthen existing federal regulations on bump stocks and ghost guns.

Mmm

“We are on a crusade for the children, and – sadly now – by the children.
Children testifying in committee,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during the floor debate in the House chamber, referencing Robb Elementary School fourth-grader Miah Cerrillo, who offered videotaped testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.
“America has lost more children from gun violence than any other cause.
Does that embarrass you?
To think that in our country, more children have died from gun violence than any other cause?
These stories are tragically all too common in America today.”

Pelosi had requested in a Dear Colleague letter that her fellow Democrats be present in the chamber during the floor debate, but only about a quarter of the caucus was present as the debate began.

Aww, kids don't usually testify before Congress.

House Republicans railed against the legislation, describing the package as trampling on Americans’ rights.

“Here they come – going after law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment liberties,” Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said.
“The speaker started by saying this bill is about protecting our kids.
That is important. … That’s what she said, ‘protecting our kids is important.’
Yes, it is.
But this bill doesn’t do it.
What this bill does is take away second amendment rights, God-given rights, protected by our Constitution from law-abiding American citizens.
That’s what this legislation does, and that’s why we should oppose it.”

**Edit**
Looks like teens will still be able to get semi-automatic rifles in the future.

Sen. Chris Murphy says raising the age to buy AR-15-style rifles is off the table in gun-control talks (yahoo.com)

 

[GenMarshall]

Is it likely that in the midterms the gop won't simply gain more seats? Any polls showing the reverse trend?

Typically in historical trends. The party that has power in the legislative branch would loose power in the executive branch during the midterms.

 

[Samson]

People caring about gun violence almost doubles in a month


Surely there are the votes available to do something useful?

 

[Sommerswerd]

People caring about gun violence almost doubles in a month


Surely there are the votes available to do something useful?

Lumping "crime" and "gun violence" together dilutes the value of the result.

 

[Samson]

Uvalde school police chief defends delay in entering classroom

The Texas school police chief criticised for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in US history has said that he did not consider himself the person in charge as the massacre unfolded and assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response.

Pete Arredondo, the police chief of the Uvalde school district, in an interview published on Thursday told the Texas Tribune that he intentionally left behind both his police and campus radios before entering Robb Elementary School.

“I didn’t issue any orders,” The Texas Tribune quoted Arredondo as saying. He added: “I called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door.” The doors to the two classrooms were locked, the Texas Tribune reported.

“The only thing that was important to me at this time was to save as many teachers and children as possible,” Arredondo said, according to the Tribune. But first he wanted a key.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said days after the shooting that as many as 19 officers waited about an hour in a hallway outside classrooms 111 and 112 before a US Border Patrol-led tactical team finally made entry.
​

Who, when told the police chief was not in charge, does not ask "Who was then?".

Also, what does a "hellfire" device do? If this thing works like it says what is the point in banning fully auto?