‘The Aftermath of a Massacre Is Always the Time to Push for Gun Legislation’
John Gruber, writing for Daring Fireball, after new House Speaker Mike Johnson repeats the old party line following the latest mass shooting (number 560-something this year) here in the good old USA:
This “now is not the time” argument gets trotted out by Republicans after each and every gun massacre. Right after their tweets offering “thoughts and prayers”. Bullshit. The aftermath of a massacre is the time to demand sane gun control measures. That’s when the issue is clarified. Would Republicans argue that October 8 was “not the right time” for Israel to discuss Hamas terrorism? Was September 12, 2001 “not the right time” to discuss Al-Qaeda? Should FDR have delivered an address to the nation on December 8, 1941, advising that we relax, let cooler heads prevail, because the aftermath of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor “was not the time” to consider retaliating?
Every time we say “now is not the time”, we’re pushing our mess under the bed, hoping we’ll get away with not cleaning it up. Every time, we get a little more desensitized. The best time for strict gun regulation was 25 years ago. The next best time is today.