No gun problem in the US

[PaulS]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wesleyw...h=6c03851965b9

https://www.ct.edu/PACT?gclid=EAIaIQ...SAAEgJxvfD_BwE

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticu...2020-semester/


WTNH) — Connecticut State Colleges and Universities announced Thursday that the Board of Regents for Higher Education will again be funding a free community college program for the fall 2021 semester.

BOR has allocated $3-million in one-time funding to launch the Pledge to Advance Connecticut (PACT).

“PACT is Connecticut’s tuition and fee-free community college program. The BOR’s action is expected to cover PACT scholarships for eligible students for the fall 2020 semester, but additional state funding would be required for the program to continue in the spring,” CSCU said Thursday.

To qualify, you must be a first-time, full-time student who has graduated from a Connecticut high school. Candidates must fill out a FAFSA and apply and register by July 15.

[PaulS]

This article is especially interesting in that one party seems to be against free tuition - any idea which party that was?

https://www.ctpost.com/local/article...n-12720739.php

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by PaulS

This article is especially interesting in that one party seems to be against free tuition - any idea which party that was?

https://www.ctpost.com/local/article...n-12720739.php

we can’t begin to afford it. TN can, that have big surpluses most years. we dont.

What part of “we’re broke”, exactly, don’t CT democrats understand?
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by PaulS

This article is especially interesting in that one party seems to be against free tuition - any idea which party that was?

https://www.ctpost.com/local/article...n-12720739.php

I’m also no fan of the CT GOP.

i commented directly on your article. Any chance you can do the same?

Here, our u funded debt at the end of 2021 was estimated at about 100 billion. That’s 33,333 for every human being i. the state ( assuming we all pay taxes, which we don’t.). That’s an additional $133,333 for every family if 4, on top of current taxes.

What’s your take on that?

https://ctexaminer.com/2021/12/14/co...se-to-covered/
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[PaulS]

You were big on touting free tuition in TN. I showed that we have free tuition in CT and now you're dismissing it along with many other stats that show people in CT lead better lives than people in TN.

You win.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by PaulS

You were big on touting free tuition in TN. I showed that we have free tuition in CT and now you're dismissing it along with many other stats that show people in CT lead better lives than people in TN.

You win.

TN has more than enough surplus funds, to pay for it. As I showed, we don't.

I'm not dismissing free tuition in CT. I'm saying we can't come close to affording it, and you didn't offer a syllable to suggest otherwise.

TN has no state income tax, it offers free tuition at its community colleges, and this year it is projecting a 3.4 billion surplus.

https://www.timesnews.net/news/state...6f8c55532.html

CT, I think, is projecting a very big surplus for this year. But we have unfunded debt of $100 billion.

I get that you're not going to comment on anything that criticizes CT or praises anything about TN. We can be done.

I know what's coming in this state. Do you?

[wdmso]

Texas officials: Teacher didn’t leave door propped open before massacre

Seems Easier to blame a grooming woke teacher then taking the time and finding the actual Truth .. 1st?

Not following why this shooting narrative has become so confused?

Who or what were they trying to protect? And Why?
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[Got Stripers]

Care to guess how many mass shootings and deaths since this thread started, one a day for the entire year, but it’s all mental health and hardening school.

[wdmso]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

Care to guess how many mass shootings and deaths since this thread started, one a day for the entire year, but it’s all mental health and hardening school.

It’s just easier for them to call everyone crazy. Then to admit there’s a gun availability problem in America

Most states don’t require lost or stolen guns to be reported . And it’s near impossible to trace them back to owners because the GOP will not allow electronic records for gun purchases

Federal law prohibits the federal government from collecting firearm sales records in a central repository

Aka a searchable data base

Because the gun lobby claimed it’s a step toward confiscation.. seems their against making it easy for law enforcement to trace weapons used in crimes

In a 21st century searchable database that can be set up to only provide certain data..
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by wdmso

It’s just easier for them to call everyone crazy. Then to admit there’s a gun availability problem in America

Most states don’t require lost or stolen guns to be reported . And it’s near impossible to trace them back to owners because the GOP will not allow electronic records for gun purchases

Federal law prohibits the federal government from collecting firearm sales records in a central repository

Aka a searchable data base

Because the gun lobby claimed it’s a step toward confiscation.. seems their against making it easy for law enforcement to trace weapons used in crimes

In a 21st century searchable database that can be set up to only provide certain data..
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i admit there’s a gun availability problem.

i also admit that the 400 million guns out there, are the reason why prospective gun laws have failed
miserably to prevent gun crime in the past.

Yet the liberal solution is always an exact repeat of didn’t work i. chicago and DC.

Is gun availability the only part of this wayne? i’ve said gun control is a part of this, so has john.

Is there anything else wrong, that’s worth addressing? or is it just the inanimate object?

is there anything sickly about our culture? anything at all?

You’re just a parrot.
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[Got Stripers]

Five mass shootings over the weekend, but any bets on if Mitch let’s anything happen to make changes most Americans want.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

Five mass shootings over the weekend, but any bets on if Mitch let’s anything happen to make changes most Americans want.

Americans want sensible changes that will work. Not radical
changes that have been tried already and failed, but which will make liberals feel good about themselves

just take politics out of it and solve the damn problem, like we all solve problems every day. But they ( both sides) can’t be honest or take the politics out of it.

They don’t want to solve the problem, they want to win elections. Those are two very different objectives

Term limits would go a long way to solve it.
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[Pete F.]

The United States is the 128th safest country in the world according to the Global Peace Index. The US’s safety rank has decreased each year since 2016. A large factor in determining the safety index of countries is their murder rate.

Too many cities have worse murder rates than Chicago and DC.

St. Louis, MO (69.4)
Baltimore, MD (51.1)
New Orleans, LA (40.6)
Detroit, MI (39.7)
Cleveland, OH (33.7)
Las Vegas, NV (31.4)
Kansas City, MO (31.2)
Memphis, TN (27.1)
Newark, NJ (25.6)
Chicago, IL (24)
Cincinnati, OH (23.8)
Philadelphia, PA (20.2)
Milwaukee, WI (20.0)
Tulsa, OK (18.6)
Pittsburgh, PA (18.4)
Indianapolis, IN (17.7)
Louisville, KY (17.5)
Oakland, CA (17.1)
Washington D.C. (17.0)
Atlanta, GA (16.7)

Police budgets are at an all-time high and climbing. But clearance rates—the rate at which cops make an arrest related to a crime—are at historic, all-time lows. Cops nationwide have stopped “solving” crimes. Only 50% of murders even lead to an arrest.

Maybe military style policing isn’t working.
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

The United States is the 128th safest country in the world according to the Global Peace Index. The US’s safety rank has decreased each year since 2016. A large factor in determining the safety index of countries is their murder rate.

Too many cities have worse murder rates than Chicago and DC.

St. Louis, MO (69.4)
Baltimore, MD (51.1)
New Orleans, LA (40.6)
Detroit, MI (39.7)
Cleveland, OH (33.7)
Las Vegas, NV (31.4)
Kansas City, MO (31.2)
Memphis, TN (27.1)
Newark, NJ (25.6)
Chicago, IL (24)
Cincinnati, OH (23.8)
Philadelphia, PA (20.2)
Milwaukee, WI (20.0)
Tulsa, OK (18.6)
Pittsburgh, PA (18.4)
Indianapolis, IN (17.7)
Louisville, KY (17.5)
Oakland, CA (17.1)
Washington D.C. (17.0)
Atlanta, GA (16.7)

Police budgets are at an all-time high and climbing. But clearance rates—the rate at which cops make an arrest related to a crime—are at historic, all-time lows. Cops nationwide have stopped “solving” crimes. Only 50% of murders even lead to an arrest.

Maybe military style policing isn’t working.
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I never said Chicago was the most dangerous city. It’s relevant to bring up Chicago because they tried extremely strict gun control
there, and yet they have 500 homicides a year.

As always, even you know you can’t respond to what i said, so you respond to something no one ever said.

Show me the data to suggest that gun control will work here in the US, and i can be persuaded.

Out of curiosity, look at the list of cities with the highest murder rates. What percentage of those cities have been run by liberals for decades? And what percentage have been run by conservatives for decades?

Does the answer to those questions, lead you to any conclusions at all?

We need to do things very differently in our cities. What we’re currently doing, isn’t working . Do you disagree?


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[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

I never said Chicago was the most dangerous city. It’s relevant to bring up Chicago because they tried extremely strict gun control
there, and yet they have 500 homicides a year.

As always, even you know you can’t respond to what i said, so you respond to something no one ever said.

Show me the data to suggest that gun control will work here in the US, and i can be persuaded.

Out of curiosity, look at the list of cities with the highest murder rates. What percentage of those cities have been run by liberals for decades? And what percentage have been run by conservatives for decades?

Does the answer to those questions, lead you to any conclusions at all?

We need to do things very differently in our cities. What we’re currently doing, isn’t working . Do you disagree?


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How far away is Chicago from Indiana, a place with almost no gun control? Or DC from Virginia?

So the governance of the state and country make no difference?

The USA safety rating has decreased yearly since 2016 yet you squawk like it’s a new thing and impossible to solve.

The NRA has spent millions on politicians over the past thirty years, succeeding in removing the successful assault weapons ban.
Since 2004 when there were 400,000 in existence the number has grown to more than 20 million.

Trumplican politicians pose in campaign ads, with weapons and people have pictures of their families with their weapons.
And we wonder why we have mass shootings in this country.

You claim the issue is in Cities, you mean like Uvalde?

You parrot all the talking points, consistently and claim that any counterpoint is parroting.

It’s not impossible, following the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, Canada is expanding background checks, banning 1,500 types of military-style assault weapons, starting a buyback program, and requiring rifle magazines to be permanently altered to never hold more than 5 rounds.
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

How far away is Chicago from Indiana, a place with almost no gun control? Or DC from Virginia?

So the governance of the state and country make no difference?

The USA safety rating has decreased yearly since 2016 yet you squawk like it’s a new thing and impossible to solve.

The NRA has spent millions on politicians over the past thirty years, succeeding in removing the successful assault weapons ban.
Since 2004 when there were 400,000 in existence the number has grown to more than 20 million.

Trumplican politicians pose in campaign ads, with weapons and people have pictures of their families with their weapons.
And we wonder why we have mass shootings in this country.

You claim the issue is in Cities, you mean like Uvalde?

You parrot all the talking points, consistently and claim that any counterpoint is parroting.

It’s not impossible, following the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, Canada is expanding background checks, banning 1,500 types of military-style assault weapons, starting a buyback program, and requiring rifle magazines to be permanently altered to never hold more than 5 rounds.
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SO you're not going to come close to answering my question, shocker.

"How far away is Chicago from Indiana, a place with almost no gun control? Or DC from Virginia?"

You're proving my point. Like Chicago and DC, every place in America is surrounded by guns. Which is why prospective gun laws have little impact. How will it be different this time?

"You claim the issue is in Cities, you mean like Uvalde?"

If we're talking about garden variety gun violence, the issue is primarily cities, yes. I don't see any small suburbs on your list of places with the highest murder rates. Do you?

"You parrot all the talking points"

Nope. I've said 100 times I support common sense gun control that hasn't been shown to be a dismal failure already.

That was a good post by you. You dodged my question completely, and told 3/4 demonstrably false lies.

"Canada is expanding background checks"

Totally support that.

"banning 1,500 types of military-style assault weapons"

We did that here, they let it lapse because it didn't work.

"requiring rifle magazines to be permanently altered to never hold more than 5 rounds."

These are clearly aimed at mass shootings, and might help. They will do absolutely nothing to put a dent in the carnage happening in our cities, which claims way more lives., Why is your side so much more concerned about these rare mass shootings, than about what happens every single day in our cities?

Answer - it's about winning lections, not about saving lives.

Rudy Guilianni showed us how to save lives, he paved the way when he was mayor of NY. But those policies don't help liberals win elections, so better to do away with them and live with the spike in murders.

[Pete F.]

The rate of murders in the US has gone up at an alarming rate. But, despite a media narrative to the contrary, this is a problem that affects Republican-run cities and states as much or more than the Democratic bastions.
In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden.
8 of the 10 states with the highest murder rates in 2020 voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election this century.
But yet you parrot that it’s the liberal cities that are the issue.

If it didn’t work why were there only 400 thousand when the ban was removed and 20 Million and growing now?
Controlling the availability and distribution of guns nationwide will make a difference, Americans don’t have anymore need for guns than other countries.
Federal law requires magazine limitation for duck hunting—no more than 3 rounds in a shotgun. Why? It's not fair to ducks.

Yet when we try to limit magazines to 10 rounds in Congress, we’re blocked. If we can limit magazines to protect ducks, we ought to be able to do the same to protect people.
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

The rate of murders in the US has gone up at an alarming rate. But, despite a media narrative to the contrary, this is a problem that affects Republican-run cities and states as much or more than the Democratic bastions.
In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden.
8 of the 10 states with the highest murder rates in 2020 voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election this century.
But yet you parrot that it’s the liberal cities that are the issue.

If it didn’t work why were there only 400 thousand when the ban was removed and 20 Million and growing now?
Controlling the availability and distribution of guns nationwide will make a difference, Americans don’t have anymore need for guns than other countries.
Federal law requires magazine limitation for duck hunting—no more than 3 rounds in a shotgun. Why? It's not fair to ducks.

Yet when we try to limit magazines to 10 rounds in Congress, we’re blocked. If we can limit magazines to protect ducks, we ought to be able to do the same to protect people.
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"In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden."

Why is state control more important than city control? Other than the fact that it makes the point you desperately want to make...

"Controlling the availability and distribution of guns nationwide will make a difference,"

Not a big difference, not when there are already 400 million guns out there, many in the hands of violent criminals. We've had nationwide gun control laws and assault weapons bans.


"Federal law requires magazine limitation for duck hunting—no more than 3 rounds in a shotgun. Why? It's not fair to ducks."

I'm not disagreeing with you. But why not address all aspects of this, as opposed to limiting the discussion to topics that are political winners for the left?

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

"In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden."

Why is state control more important than city control? Other than the fact that it makes the point you desperately want to make...

"Controlling the availability and distribution of guns nationwide will make a difference,"

Not a big difference, not when there are already 400 million guns out there, many in the hands of violent criminals. We've had nationwide gun control laws and assault weapons bans.


"Federal law requires magazine limitation for duck hunting—no more than 3 rounds in a shotgun. Why? It's not fair to ducks."

I'm not disagreeing with you. But why not address all aspects of this, as opposed to limiting the discussion to topics that are political winners for the left?

So when I rebut your usual Chicago DC trope it becomes my “desperate point” because gun crime in Trumplican strongholds is moot

Nobody is saying to only look at one cause except the right, who’s claiming that the second amendment means more than “a well regulated militia” and how dare you threaten my ability to have as many guns as I want without restrictions, etc.
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[Got Stripers]

Assault rifle bans that expire don’t help, limits on the sale or an outright ban, along with the rounds these semi automatic weapons can fire, background checks, waiting periods for certain sales, closing the loop holes in private sales and MUCH better vetting of anyone buying would help. Buy back programs, red flag laws, obviously mental health programs are all needed. Certainly politicians actually voting the way the MAJORITY of their constituents want would be a huge help, but they won’t it means donor money goes elsewhere and they loose the power. The pro life mantra doesn’t play well when you ignore the thousands of children loosing their futures in these mass shootings.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

The pro life mantra doesn’t play well when you ignore the thousands of children loosing their futures in these mass shootings.

Except the right isn't ignoring mass shootings, they just focus on different aspects of the solution. The left focuses on gun control ands ignores everything else. The right ignores gun control and focuses on everything else. Somewhere in the middle, is the solution.

It's the left that absolutely ignores everyday urban gun violence, which costs far more lives. They ignore it because the issue doesn't help them win elections.

[wdmso]

Where’s that well regulated militia when people need them?

Seems Uvalde Police Enlist Bikers to Block Reporters Covering Funerals

Bikers to the rescue where have we seen this before

Let me help

Trump Warns: It Would Be ‘Very Bad’ if My Police, Biker Gang Fans Decided to Get ‘Tough’ on My Opponents
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[Pete F.]

What are you worrying about?

In a new @CBSNewsPoll, 72% of the nation believes mass shootings are preventable, however, there is a partisan split with 44% of Trumplicans saying mass shootings are something we have to accept.

Wearing masks will warp kids for life, but going to school in a jail with armed guards and drills on what to do if there’s an active shooter won’t have any effect.

Since 1999, when the Republican Party overturned common sense gun safety measures, every parent has seen our schools turned into fortresses with armed guards at many. Still doesn’t keep our kids safe. does it?
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[Got Stripers]

Leading cause of deaths in US kids is guns, not drugs, not car accidents and it gets worse every year, 12 a day but Mitch will make it right

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

Leading cause of deaths in US kids is guns, not drugs, not car accidents and it gets worse every year, 12 a day but Mitch will make it right

and what % of those kids are killed with AR-15s in mass school
shootings ( which is all
the left talks about). and what % are killed in garden variety urban violence one at a time, which the left desperately wants to ignore?

why are we putting 100% of the energy into the much smaller problem? Answer - Politics.
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

Leading cause of deaths in US kids is guns, not drugs, not car accidents and it gets worse every year, 12 a day but Mitch will make it right

and what % of those kids are killed with AR-15s in mass school
shootings ( which is all
the left talks about). and what % are killed in garden variety urban violence one at a time, which the left desperately wants to ignore?

why are we putting 100% of the energy into the much smaller problem? Answer - Politics. The solution to fixing the cities lies with conservative ideas, and the left well knows this, and therefore the left refuses to discuss it.

John had the numbers for the tiny % of gun deaths that democrats dedicate 100% of their energy to. Makes the motives pretty obvious.

I’m not saying the gop isn’t at fault, they’re too in the pocket of the NRA. but there’s a lot more to this than can be impacted with gun laws.
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[Raider Ronnie]

Anyone with a lead of a pre-ban AR-14,
I’m looking to buy.
$ finders fee if it leads to a good price.
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[Pete F.]

Here's something written by Mona Charon, a conservative, albeit not a Republican.

The aftermath of a horrific mass shooting is not the time one would usually turn to a humor site, and yet, the Onion had an insightful take on Uvalde.

The headline: “‘No Way to Prevent This’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Occurs.”

The piece quotes a fictitious citizen: “‘This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them,’ said Idaho resident Kathy Miller.”

And here’s the kicker—the Onion has run pieces with that same headline for years.

As I write, there are reports of yet another attack in Tulsa. Our mass shooting problem—there have been an average of two per month for the past 13 years —arises from a familiar stew of history, culture, law, and commerce. And certain facts loom large. Yes, we are among the most violent countries in the advanced industrial world, and have long been. Yes, guns have always been plentiful whereas mass shootings are a relatively new disease. Yes, mass shootings represent a small fraction of gun deaths in America. And yes, the Second Amendment makes limiting guns more difficult here than in Canada, Australia, or other places. Those are big, hulking obstacles to solving our problem. But there are other assumptions that are trotted out regularly in our hoary gun discussions that are less daunting than they appear.

Consider the matter of guns in circulation. We are often told that there are about 393 million guns in private hands in the United States—more than one per person. How then, some demand, can we expect to make a dent in the problem by instituting controls that affect only new gun sales? All that would do, they insist, is make it more difficult for law-abiding people to obtain guns, while criminals would always have easy access.

The sheer number of guns in private hands needn’t intimidate us into inaction. We have 289 million cars in America and manage to regulate, license, and control them in various ways. The number is not the point. It’s the laws that matter.

Here is a list of 22 mass shootings since 2012. The Aurora, Colorado shooter (I do not publish the names) purchased his guns just before killing people in a movie theater. 12 dead. The Navy Yard shooter purchased his guns before his rampage. 12 dead. The killer who attacked Charleston’s “Mother Emanuel” church purchased his Glock after a botched background check. 9 dead. The Roseburg, Oregon shooter purchased his guns. 10 dead. The San Bernardino shooter got a friend to purchase the guns he used in his attack. 14 dead. The Orlando shooter purchased his guns legally a week before killing people in a nightclub. 49 dead. The Las Vegas killer purchased 33 of the 49 guns found in his hotel room in the year prior to his shooting spree at a country music festival. 58 dead. The Sutherland Springs, Texas killer was able to purchase his firearms despite a history of domestic violence. 25 dead. The Parkland, Florida shooter purchased his weapon a year before attacking Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. 17 dead. The Pittsburgh assassin legally purchased his rifle and three handguns before shooting up the Tree of Life synagogue. 11 dead. The Thousand Oaks killer? Legally purchased. 12 dead. Virginia Beach? Legally purchased. 12 dead. El Paso? Legally purchased. 23 dead. Dayton? Legally purchased. 9 dead. Atlanta? Legally purchased. 8 dead. Boulder? Legally purchased a few days before a grocery store attack. 10 dead. San Jose? Legally purchased. 9 dead. Buffalo? Legally purchased. 10 dead. And Uvalde, legally purchased days before the attack on Robb elementary school. 21 dead.


Of those 22 cases, there were just three that did not involve a legal sale to the killer: The Midland, Texas shooter purchased his rifle through a private sale before killing 7 strangers; the Santa Fe shooter, who killed 10 at his high school, used guns legally owned by his father; and the shooter who killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut used guns bought by his mother.

Perhaps all of these killers would have been able to lay hands on guns already owned by individuals. Maybe. But it would have been much harder than walking into a gun store. In most cases, these killers are mentally unstable, impulsive, and socially maladroit. Purchasing a weapon via private sale would be more challenging.

So making it more difficult to purchase guns—say, by adding more complete background checks, increasing the minimum age to 21, requiring waiting periods, or adopting “red flag laws” that make it possible for family members or police to ask courts to have a person’s guns temporarily removed—would have inhibited the vast majority of the killers listed above.

Here’s another cliché that needs burial—the hunting culture. The misperception here tends to be among pro-gun control Democrats who don’t actually know any hunters and don’t have many in their urban districts but assume that “out there” scores of millions of Americans are shooting deer and pheasants every weekend. This leads some Democrats to mock those who buy AR-15s, as when President Joe Biden asked whether they think the “deer are wearing Kevlar vests.” In fact, hunting is in steep decline in the United States. Less than 4 percent of the population hunts, leading to worries about wildlife conservation. More Americans bicycle than go hunting. Four times as many sing in choirs. And vastly more—65 percent—play video games.

For good or ill, the rugged American guy out in a duck blind wearing camouflage is becoming, if not quite as endangered as the red wolf, nearly so. Hunting today is less an honored tradition than a boutique hobby.

Hunting is not the reason millions of Americans cherish their guns. Their reasons range from benign, like concerns about their safety, to insane, like stockpiling weapons for the coming apocalyptic battle between QAnon and the forces of darkness. But Democrats stumble when they play into GOP talking points about gun-grabbers. Beto O’Rourke’s pronouncements—“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15s”—does more damage to the goal of reasonable gun control than the NRA can do in a year.

One more old saw that needs retirement: the mental health focus. I have written for years about the legal obstacles we’ve adopted that make it far too difficult to stop an unstable or dangerous person from obtaining or keeping a firearm. But the GOP is now hiding behind the “mental health” mantra to evade responsibility. It does no good to talk of improving mental health if 1) you have no intention of increasing funding, and 2) you refuse to adopt measures (like red flag laws) that would impinge upon the Second Amendment rights of even a small number of individuals.

A bipartisan group of senators is currently huddling in hopes of devising some kind of gun control compromise that can pass both houses. Godspeed to them. But I fear their efforts will fail in our ultrapolarized climate.

If we hope to unstick our politics and permit compromise and common-sense reforms for heart-wrenching problems, we’re going to have to reform the way we choose our leaders. GOP politicians don’t dance to the NRA’s tune for the money. They do it because that’s what Republican primary voters demand. And Democrats who grandstand about gun confiscation are appealing to their left flank—the voters who show up for primaries. In the matter of guns, as with other pressing national concerns, the solutions cannot be unlocked until the incentives facing politicians change—and that requires nonpartisan primaries.

[Raider Ronnie]

They can talk all they want.
Guns aren’t going anywhere.
Matter of fact I’m getting ready spend some $ on a few.
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[Pete F.]

Rural America Reels From Violent Crime. ‘People Lost Their Ever-Lovin’ Minds.’

Murder rates didn’t soar only in cities during the pandemic; small-town sheriffs and prosecutors are overwhelmed with homicide cases
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