Esquire’s editor-at-large penned a letter to the National Rifle Association in the wake of the Santa Fe High School massacre in Texas.
Dave Holmes accused the NRA of having “bought our government” and convincing its “members that the occasional school shooting, the odd literal slaughter of innocents, is an unfortunate but inevitable quirk of American life, a thing that is necessary to preserve freedom.” Okay.
Holmes’ wrote:
Anyway, I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I now actually do want to take your guns.
All of your guns.
Right now.
“It wasn’t always this way,” he wrote. “I have responsible gun owners in my family. I’ve never been a fan of shooting at things myself, but guns sure do seem to have brought joy into the lives of some people I love, and as long as they were stored properly, I never had a problem with them being around. I believed that we should place a hurdle or two between a psychopath and an AR-15, but that’s about as ardent as I got. Live and let live, that was my policy. Even with death machines…That has all changed. And you changed it.”
Holmes said the NRA “had the opportunity to work with the vast majority of Americans who support the sensible reform of our gun laws. You have had the chance to preserve your own rights as we work together to keep our gun regulations in step with gun technology. You haven’t.”
More from Holmes’ piece:
I was stunned and sad after Parkland. I was heartened by the efforts of the young people who watch their friends get murdered in front of them. I watched you make nice with them on CNN and then, behind their backs, call them terrorists. And then this morning I watched the same goddamn thing happen again, only this time at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, where at least ten people are dead. As though all of the marching and organizing and common-sense talking had never happened. As though this ever growing pile of young bodies is worth nothing.
So now I’m angry. Now I’m finished trying to reason with you. So now I, a guy who was ambivalent about guns just a few years ago, want to take your guns away. All of them. I want to take them all and melt them down and shape them into a giant sphere and then push it at you so you have to run away from it like Indiana Jones for the rest of your lives. I want Ted Nugent to roam the halls of his gunless house, sighing wearily until he dies. I want to end this thing once and for all, so that all of you who have prioritized the sale of guns over the lives of children have to sit quietly and think about what you’ve done. God help me, I want to take all of your guns out of your hands, by myself, right now.
He concluded by saying, “It’s happening. We tried it your way, and it really did not work. The ground is shifting. Get ready.”
What Mr. Holmes may not have noticed was that back in December 2107, the Republican controlled house voted to further federalize gun laws in this country. The bill expands the ability of the Federal government to restrict Americans’ right to bear arms. The NRA was in lockstep with lawmakers.
During the legislative process, the NRA supported merging the bill aimed at nationalizing concealed carry permits with another piece of legislation aimed at “fixing” the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS.) The legislation was due to the failure of the US Air Force to report the criminal record of Devin Kelley, who went on to commit a shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
As Congressman Thomas Massie noted in his own criticism of the bill:
When President Obama couldn’t get Congress to pass gun control, he implemented a strategy of compelling, through administrative rules, the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration to submit lists of veterans and seniors, many of whom never had a day in court, to be included in the NICS database of people prohibited from owning a firearm. Only a state court, a federal (article III) court, or a military court, should ever be able to suspend your rights for any significant period of time.
Centralizing gun legislation within the Federal Government can be problematic. In Ohio and Hawaii where each state has legalized the use of medical marijuana, but they also restrict those who use medical marijuana from owning guns.
In 2011, the Federal government sent a letter to licensed gun dealers reiterating that marijuana users were prohibited from owning a gun – even if it they have a medical prescription. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this decision last year. Hawaii, which requires gun registration, has gone as far as sending letters to permitted gun owners with marijuana prescriptions requiring they turn over their weapons.
The NRA has come out in support of these measures.
The Obama Agenda Remains the Same
According to emails obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, first reported by The Baltimore Post, advisors to then-President Barack Obama immediately strategized how to exploit the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary school to push their gun control agenda. “Tap peoples [sic] emotions,” Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel advised then-Education Secretary Arne Duncan on December 16, 2012, just two days after the massacre that left 26 dead. The victims’ bodies were yet to be laid to rest.
The two discussed how they could exploit the tragedy to bring about their anti-gun agenda. “What are your thoughts?” Duncan asked Emanuel on an email with the subject line, “CT shooting.”
“Go for a vote this week asap before it fades,” replied Emanuel. “Tap peoples [sic] emotion. Make it simple assault weapons.”
“Yup- thanks,” replied the education secretary.
“When I did brady bill and assault weapons for Clinton we always made it simple. Criminals or war weapons,” wrote back Emanuel.
Duncan then inquired about the so-called “gun show loophole” and other talking points to push on the public.
“Gun show loophole? Database? Cop-killer bullets? Too complicated?” he wrote.
“Cop killer maybe,” answered Emanuel. “The other no.”
“Got it,” Duncan agreed.
Emanuel served as the Obama White House Chief of Staff from 2008 to January of 2009.
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste, and what I mean by that is, it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” – Rahm Emanuel
Manhattan Institute senior fellow Max Eden called the immediate politicization of the tragedy “shameful.”
Talk about never wanting a serious crisis to go to waste, the Democrats, the party of Cuomo and Pelosi and Obama and Hillary Clinton and Disarmament of the American people, are all over it big time, milking it for all it is worth to them as a party, this according to the NBC News article “House Democrats look to hire Parkland students to work on gun violence issues” by Alex Moe on 25 May 2018, as follows:
WASHINGTON — Student survivors of gun violence descended on Washington en masse earlier this year during the massive March for Our Lives on March 24.
Now some lawmakers would like to bring them back for an entire summer.
House Democrats are inviting students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — who survived a mass school shooting in February — to come intern in their offices, working on gun violence prevention.
“We think it would be a great experience for them to be on the Hill to see exactly how things operate — or doesn’t, to some degree — but also to have time with these very special young people that have experienced something that none of us ever want to have experienced and I think we can learn from each other,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley, who is helping lead the effort, told NBC News.
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Now, when the Democrat dude who is the House Democratic Caucus Chairman says the Democrats would like these young people to be on the Hill to see exactly how things operate — or don’t, to some degree — that is from the perspective of the objectives of the obstructionist Democrats, so these young people would be getting quite a skewed view of how Washington really does work.
As to the Democrat agenda, only recently, the Democrats held a big Democrat Love-In on Long Island in New York state which featured none other than America’s Democrat “Queen Mum” Hillary Clinton, as keynote speaker, while heavy hitter Joe Biden was also on hand, to tout his own so-called “progressive” credentials, as well as to throw his endorsement behind gun-control advocate Young Andy Cuomo of New York state, and in the Albany, New York Times article “Cuomo touts progressive values as Democratic convention wraps up – Former Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Cuomo for third term” by David Lombardo on May 24, 2018, we see the Democrat agenmda for America highlighted as follows:
HEMPSTEAD – Democrats had President Donald J. Trump in their sights as their annual state convention wrapped up Thursday on Long Island.
“New York is the alternative state to Trump’s America,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proclaimed in his concluding remarks, when he formally accepted the party’s endorsement to seek a third term.
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Now, that is pure political BULL****, that “New York is the alternative state to Trump’s America,” as if there were something that could be called “Trump’s America,” as opposed to OUR America, especially considering that outside of New York City, the majority of New York counties were for Trump, but that is exactly the kind of political BULL**** the Democrats will try to fill the heads of these impressionable children from Parkland, Florida with as they exploit them for all the political mileage Democrats can get out of them.
Getting back to the Democrat agenda and gun control and the political exploitation of the Parkland school shooting by the Democrats, her excellence Hillary Clinton put in her two cents, as follows, in the USA TODAY article “Hillary Clinton vows ‘best days’ ahead for New York, country as she endorses Cuomo” by Joseph Spector on 24 May 2018, to wit:
The former U.S senator from New York, secretary of State and first lady spoke for about 13 minutes as she endorsed the re-election of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is seeking a third term.
And Clinton, who lost the presidential race to Trump, said Democrats are poised to again lead New York and the nation.
Hillary Clinton touted Cuomo’s record, such as increasing the minimum wage, installing paid-family leave, providing free state university tuition and enacting gun-safety laws.
“Our state is a shining example of the progress that’s possible when we have tough, experienced Democratic leaders defending our values, standing up to the onslaught of attacks from this president and Republicans in Congress,” Clinton said.
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There is what these Parkland students will be exposed to – the same political crap over and over and over again with respect to the omnipresent, existential struggle for political supremacy the Democrats are engaged in with the Republicans.
Getting back to the Hillary narrative, where she took pains to tout Cuomo’s record enacting gun-safety laws, we have:
“We’re not going to win every fight.”
“Take it from me,” Clinton said.
“But if we stand together for the values we share, we will get there together.”
“And then I know our best days as Democrats and New Yorkers and Americans are still ahead.”
Cuomo is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2020.
“This state has the greatest record of accomplishment of progressive values in the country,” Cuomo told reporters.
“This state has done more for its people in a shorter period of time than any other state.”
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As to Cuomo’s agenda, the City and State article “What to watch for at the state Democratic Convention – You can expect some drama around this year’s contested primaries” by Grace Segers on May 22, 2018 tells us this:
Cuomo has, in part, staked his governorship on being a vocal leader of the resistance to President Donald Trump on the national level.
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Ah, yes, people, the “RESISTANCE.”
That is what these Parkland, Florida students will be joining – the Democrat resistance to Donald Trump!
Getting back to the political exploitation of these children from Parkland by the Democrats, the NBC News article continues as follows:
Crowley, D-N.Y., is joining with House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., and Reps. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. and Mike Thompson, D-Calif., in sending a letter to their Democratic colleagues Thursday encouraging members to open their offices to Parkland students.
“I would be thrilled if a significant number of them came up here and spent the summer helping to learn the system better so they will be even more effective advocates going forward,” Rep Deutch, who represents the district the high school is located in, told NBC News.
Student demonstrations across the country calling for action on gun violence have grown ever since the school shooting in Parkland that killed 17 earlier this year.
Despite a fresh push in the wake of recent shootings, Congress has been unable to come to an agreement on significant new legislation to address gun violence.
While it is unlikely having these student interns in Washington will result in new movement on gun control, lawmakers say their presence alone will affect the conversation.
“They will have opportunities to interact with people who don’t agree with them,” Rep Crowley said.
“…I think they will all learn from the experience, even folks who don’t agree with them will hopefully learn from them being here and vice versa.”
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Yes, indeed, never let a good crisis go to waste!
Milk it for all it is worth, and in American politics, you can’t go wrong.