by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
This morning there is more blood on American soil as yet another senseless shooting has taken its toll. Over just the past few years the country has witnessed the shootings of a Democratic congresswoman and the people gathered to meet with her, people packed into a movie theatre for a midnight showing of an action film, worshipers at a couple of churches, celebrants at a gay nightclub, patients at a women's clinic, and small children children who were attending school in the days just prior to the Christmas holidays. And those are just a few of the incidents of gun carnage that are running rampant over America.
It's a steady, incessant drumbeat of gunfire.
And now we are back to members of Congress taking fire.
This morning a single gunman - described by some as white, overweight, and in his forties or fifties - opened fire on a group of Republican senators and congressmen and their aides as they held batting practice in preparation for a charity game against Democrats to be played later in the week. Several individuals were wounded in the attack including two members of a congressional security detail, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, and the gunman himself. The security detail was on hand solely due to the presence of Congressman Scalise, by virtue of him being a member of the House leadership team.
Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) were both present and have been on radio and television this morning giving their accounts of what happened. Senator Flake was apparently one of the first to reach Scalise and applied pressure to his hip wound until medical help arrived on the scene.
Both senators, as well as other witnesses, have indicated that the shooting began with an automatic rifle - and, indeed, someone who was present reportedly saw the assailant carrying the weapon in a case before the shooting and remarked that the guy must be getting ready to go "bird hunting." Witnesses are claiming to have heard in excess of fifty shots, and Rand Paul reported hearing the shooter stop to reload. Paul said the weapon "sounded like" an AR-15.
And for a few minutes some of America may focus on the craziness of allowing almost any member of the public to own a fully-automatic rifle with a gigantic magazine - but soon the identity of the shooter as well as his motive will be known, and the focus will shift back to the individual - and easy access to horrendous murder weapons will no longer be an issue. Our national amnesia to one of the major causes of gun violence will vaporize and disappear - at least until the next outrageous act of carnage - perhaps tomorrow.
This is America in the twenty-first century and the gunfire is coming from all directions. Muslim extremists are shooting at good, God-fearing Americans, and so are Christian extremists. The seriously mentally ill have guns, often legally, and they are shooting, and so are homophobes, "right to life" advocates, and disgruntled employees.
No one is safe. Nothing is sacred. Even starchy white politicians who have done so much to relax our country's gun laws and insure that every nut job has access to firearms are coming under fire.
Take cover, America. The war at home is raging - and we have brought it upon ourselves!
Prayers and blessings to those who suffered in today's atrocity.
Citizen Journalist
This morning there is more blood on American soil as yet another senseless shooting has taken its toll. Over just the past few years the country has witnessed the shootings of a Democratic congresswoman and the people gathered to meet with her, people packed into a movie theatre for a midnight showing of an action film, worshipers at a couple of churches, celebrants at a gay nightclub, patients at a women's clinic, and small children children who were attending school in the days just prior to the Christmas holidays. And those are just a few of the incidents of gun carnage that are running rampant over America.
It's a steady, incessant drumbeat of gunfire.
And now we are back to members of Congress taking fire.
This morning a single gunman - described by some as white, overweight, and in his forties or fifties - opened fire on a group of Republican senators and congressmen and their aides as they held batting practice in preparation for a charity game against Democrats to be played later in the week. Several individuals were wounded in the attack including two members of a congressional security detail, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, and the gunman himself. The security detail was on hand solely due to the presence of Congressman Scalise, by virtue of him being a member of the House leadership team.
Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) were both present and have been on radio and television this morning giving their accounts of what happened. Senator Flake was apparently one of the first to reach Scalise and applied pressure to his hip wound until medical help arrived on the scene.
Both senators, as well as other witnesses, have indicated that the shooting began with an automatic rifle - and, indeed, someone who was present reportedly saw the assailant carrying the weapon in a case before the shooting and remarked that the guy must be getting ready to go "bird hunting." Witnesses are claiming to have heard in excess of fifty shots, and Rand Paul reported hearing the shooter stop to reload. Paul said the weapon "sounded like" an AR-15.
And for a few minutes some of America may focus on the craziness of allowing almost any member of the public to own a fully-automatic rifle with a gigantic magazine - but soon the identity of the shooter as well as his motive will be known, and the focus will shift back to the individual - and easy access to horrendous murder weapons will no longer be an issue. Our national amnesia to one of the major causes of gun violence will vaporize and disappear - at least until the next outrageous act of carnage - perhaps tomorrow.
This is America in the twenty-first century and the gunfire is coming from all directions. Muslim extremists are shooting at good, God-fearing Americans, and so are Christian extremists. The seriously mentally ill have guns, often legally, and they are shooting, and so are homophobes, "right to life" advocates, and disgruntled employees.
No one is safe. Nothing is sacred. Even starchy white politicians who have done so much to relax our country's gun laws and insure that every nut job has access to firearms are coming under fire.
Take cover, America. The war at home is raging - and we have brought it upon ourselves!
Prayers and blessings to those who suffered in today's atrocity.
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