In the two weeks since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, anti-gunners have been flooding email Inboxes with emotional messages that push the gun control agenda as a solution, and Wednesday’s highly-publicized school safety work session with President Donald Trump has many gun prohibitionists energized.
Even high school students are involved, having launched a movement “Students Demand Gun Reform Now” with their own effort, and apparently help from the gun control lobbying groups.
Here’s a typical message from one prolific Northwest lobbying group:
“As a nation, we have failed the kids from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – as well as every other child who feels unsafe walking into their classrooms. And now, because our elected officials in Washington, D.C., have done little to stop the gun violence epidemic, these students have been forced to take matters into their own hands.
“The kids from Parkland are doing more than their part, and now they need us to do ours too. Will you give $5 to add your voice to theirs and help us pass lifesaving legislation that will prevent future tragedies?
“Give $5 right now to help us pass lifesaving legislation that could prevent school shootings and break the gun lobby’s grip on lawmakers…”
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
There are at least two more hotlinks in the message where people can click and donate. It is not clear how much these groups have raised, but $5 here, another $9 there, and pretty soon, as the saying goes, you’re talking about real money.
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What isn’t being explained is how this alleged “lifesaving legislation” might really make a difference. There is a proposal to raise the minimum age for purchasing a semi-auto rifle to 21. Most mass shooters are over that age already, according to Vox.com. Does it make sense to penalize all young adults for the evil acts of a handful of people?
As Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) told President Donald Trump during the Wednesday school safety meeting, “The vast majority of 18, 19 and 20-year-olds in Pennsylvania who have a rifle or shotgun, they’re not a threat to anyone. They are law abiding citizens. They have that because they want to use it for hunting or target shooting and to deny them their Second amendment rights is not going to make anyone safer.”
But should this even be an issue, especially after revelations about the Florida suspect and how law enforcement apparently had been called to his home many times, and the FBI has acknowledged they were tipped off about him and didn’t follow up? Debating about the age of a gun buyer might seem like a distraction when the issue appears to be one of bureaucratic breakdown.
However, it makes for good fund raising grist.
