Another sad, horror-of-guns in America today (via The Washington Post): ‘Eighteen children and three adults were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary, Texas Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) said Tuesday on CNN. He said he learned of the higher death toll from a briefing with the Texas Rangers.‘
Initial reports from earlier and a disheartening ring on the idiocy of easily-available guns:
What if, just hear me out, what if we make it harder for teenagers to get guns? https://t.co/WH6Mx6NSJD
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) May 24, 2022
Robin Loyd, director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and the killings being on everyone’s watch: ‘“I think that the scope of our gun violence crisis in the country is so shocking and so horrible, that regardless of what state a senator’s from, they have gun violence in their community and in their state, and I think at the end of the day they recognize the importance of taking action.”‘
A wicked, terrible and short-time history
As of yesterday, there have now been 17,000+ gun deaths (including the # of approximate suicides based on CDC data) so far this year in the United States – an approximate average of 119 per day. https://t.co/zIooTYGomQ
— The Gun Violence Archive (@GunDeaths) May 24, 2022
Contextual aside — also read the daily mass-shooting tally from The Gun Violence Archive; the Uvalde, TX, shooting grabs top of the list for today, so far. In scanning incidents, this is the most killed in a shooting since May 14, when 10 died in a Buffalo, NY supermarket — in between today and Buffalo, 12 people have been murdered in 14 separate, mass-shooting incidents.
Go check out the chart, shitty as shit.
And both the shooter at the Texas elementary school today and in that Buffalo supermarket 10 days ago were 18 years old — guns and more guns, kids, and guns.
Except nothing will be done, except spouting-off bullshit whines of hypocrisy in empty words:
empty words https://t.co/q2DC4sfEPk pic.twitter.com/rEPEBUaD5J
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 24, 2022
Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat from Connecticut, gave an emotional, passionate speech on the floor of the Senate shortly after the shooting, including this plea: ‘“Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate if your answer, as the slaughter increases, is we do nothing? Why are you here if not to solve a problem as existential as this? I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues to find a path forward.”‘
Sadly, once again here we are…
(Illustration out front: Pablo Picasso’s ‘Self Portrait Facing Death‘ [June 30, 1972], was originally found here).