Monday, June 22, 2015

What the right gets wrong about politics surrounding the South Carolina tragedy


UPDATE: Good work! The Confederate Flag was removed from the South Carolina State Capital on July 10, 2015!

Republican presidential candidates and other FOXified right wingers are scrambling to sweep the political influences surrounding the tragedy that took place at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church under the rug.

We have enough gun laws - Gun regulations wouldn’t have prevented the tragedy - Racism isn’t the problem - It’s Obama’s fault and on and on and on.

Here’s what the right gets wrong.

While some states have strong firearms laws. Other states, including North Carolina and South Carolina have weak gun laws.

According to the most recent statistics published by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence linked below

Since Newtown, the states have enacted 232 new firearms laws. Of these, 99 strengthen gun laws, 88 weaken gun laws and 56 were “minimal”.

The  Law Center further states that the major positive changes took place in CA, CT, CO, DE, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, and WA.

Guns Everywhere laws - in churches, in schools, bars, college campuses, in airports etc. - were expanded in 12 states: AR. GA. ID. IN, KS, LA, NC, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN

Laws stating that “schools can’t ask students and/or collect data about gun ownership in the home” were legislated in ID, LA, SD, and TN

Stand your ground laws were expanded in 3 states: AK, GA, and FL. In 2014.  Florida further expanded its stand your ground laws to allow a person engaged in criminal activity to use deadly force in the home or a vehicle!


  
Then there’s the political clout wielded by the National Rifle Association.

The NRA is opposed to virtually every form of gun regulation, including restrictions on owning assault weapons, retention of databases of gun purchases, background checks on purchasers at gun shows and changes in the registration of fire arms.

The NRA influences who gets elected; what gun legislation gets blocked, and what gun legislation they write. In their  2013-2014 spending cycle, the NRA spent $16, 151, 028 against Democratic candidates at the state and congressional levels, and dished out $11,053,415 for Republican state and congressional candidates.

The NRA takes care of their own. 18 out of 35 National Rifle Association lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.

The total contributions to candidates from National Rifle Association PACs supported by conservative Supreme Court justices’ Citizens United decision allowing corporations to control elections and government, opened the doors for NRA contributions to be 77 times larger than contributions from individuals.

More information on the above as well as a list of Republican interest groups and Republican congressional representatives which are the top recipients of NRA political contributions are within the National Rifle Association Summary link below)

When President Obama opened the debate for gun control in 2013, Republican politicians were missing from the debate. Amidst pressure from their NRA benefactors,   the US Senate rejected legislation to expand gun background checks even though 90% of Americans are for expanded gun background checks.



Next is the FOXified right wing’s misuse of the  2nd Amendment to justify unregulated gun controls.

The 2nd Amendment is a part of the Bill of Rights which is comprised of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.  The Bill of Rights were proposed and sent to the states by the first session of the First Congress.  They were ratified on December 15, 1791”. (constitution.laws.com)

The 2nd Amendment reads as follows: “Well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 states:  “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the MILITIA of the several states when called into the actual Service of the United States”!

So, until President Obama calls on the NRA's Right Wing  MILITIA to enact guns everywhere, stand your ground, no background check necessary, don’t ask, don’t tell fire arm actions, the "MILITIA's" misuse of the 2nd Amendment to justify unregulated gun controls is a moot point!



Finally, there's the Confederate flag on the grounds of the South Carolina State Capital.

The Confederate flag has been the rallying symbol of pro-slavery in the South since the Civil War. If Governor Haley and her Republican-led state legislators were, sincere about addressing the tragedy, they would sponsor legislation to remove their Confederate symbol for racism from the State Capital grounds.

WE can make a difference!
Petition!  Contact!  Vote!

 (If any petition is closed, feel good. WE are signing!)

petitions.moveon.org/sign/gun-control-now-1

https://www.change.org/.../united-states-congress-stand-up-ag...

https://www.change.org/p/stronger-gun-control-laws

MoveOn Petitions - Remove the Confederate Flag From All ...

petitions.moveon.org/sign/remove-the-confederate-3 


Contact Governor Haley and South Carolina legislators..
Tell them to remove their Confederate symbol for racism from the State Capital.

index - S.C. Governor Nikki R. Haley - Office of the Governor

www.governor.sc.gov/ContactUs/Pages/index.aspxGovernor Nikki R. Haley. Contact the Governor's Office. Phone: 803.734.2100. Fax:

South Carolina Legislature Online - Send Message

www.scstatehouse.gov/email.php?chamber=S



Contact Republicans in Congress.
Tell them to pass meaningful background check legislation

Speaker John Boehner | Speaker.gov

www.speaker.gov/

www.contactsenators.com/kentucky/mitch-mcconnell

Contact Republicans in Congress - GOP.govwww.gop.gov/republicans


Vote in every election.
Let the NRA know that they’re not the only ones with political clout!

SOURCES

New laws since Newtown - Law Center to Prevent Gun ...

smartgunlaws.org/.../gun-laws.../ne...

National Rifle Assn: Summary | OpenSecrets

https://www.opensecrets.org/.../summary.p...

Second Amendment - Legal Information Institute

www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment

 

A Well Regulated Militia? - God Sees You

www.godseesyou.com/2nd_well_regulated_militia.html


www.huffingtonpost.com/.../paul-broun-guns_n_55...

thehill.com/.../294571-senate-rejects-tougher-background-check...

www.forbes.com/.../nra-winning-the-influence-battle-over-gun-co...

www.usatoday.com/story/.../politics/.../nra-gun...laws/18337...



Sign The MoveOn.org Petition To 'Remove The Confederate ...

www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/.../sign_the_move_on_petition_to...








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