Last weekend, the U.S. suffered two separate horrific mass shootings, one in El Paso and one in Dayton. Despite calls from millions of Americans, Donald Trump and the GOP refuse to take any actions to address the lax gun laws that enable these mass shooters from acquiring these weapons that, in the case of the Dayton, Ohio shooter, gave the killer the ability to kill nine people and injure 27 in less than 30 seconds.
The shootings in El Paso and Dayton are horrifying, vile, and absolutely heartbreaking. It’s time to stop mincing words: these shootings happen because Republicans refuse to enact common-sense gun safety reforms. These shootings will continue to happen unless Republicans change their minds or are voted out of office. Since the former is highly unlikely, the Minnesota DFL and the Democratic Party will be working damn hard to unseat every Republican standing in the way of the gun safety laws we desperately need.
VIA DFL Chairman Ken Martin’s Facebook page:
“I wish I was shocked by what happened in El Paso and Dayton yesterday. These actions happen so frequently now in America that we have become desensitized to these horrific murders. We quickly condemn, we send our thoughts and prayers and then NOTHING happens. We go back to our lives and then the cycle repeats.
“This inaction leads to a normalization, the idea that we have to learn to live with this because nothing is ever going to change. This inaction creates an environment where people believe it is ok to walk into a mall or a bar and randomly kill 29 people.
“And yes, many of these shootings are hate crimes perpetrated by white men against people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community. These are hate crimes plain and simple, yet no one will act. The occupant of the White House, Donald Trump, has through his words and actions given rise to hate speech and violence throughout this country – he is a White Nationalist, racist, homophobic, xenophobe, who is destroying our country. If these shootings were perpetrated by black or brown men you could bet that people would have acted by now. However, it seems that our leaders are ok not acting because it is white people killing people from marginalized communities.
“I am not shocked, I am not surprised, I am not grief stricken. I am pissed, I am angry and I am disgusted that this is what our country has become.”