The United States is on pace for a record year of mass killings, and the demand by many to "do something" to stop the killing is reaching a fever pitch, but one U.S. House member keeps insisting the problem is the heart of man, not a gun in hand.
When gun-rights advocates point out criminals will always find guns, with or without regulations, that common-sense reality is ignored by the other side. So-called gun-control advocates keep demanding more laws and outlawing some firearms, such as AR-15s, as well as the magazines they use. According to their own words, refusing to cave to their demands makes you responsible for the murders and bloodshed regardless of the circumstances behind tragedies like the weekend mall shooting in Allen, Texas.
“This is not the 'Texas Miracle' that [Governor] Greg Abbott likes to call it," Roland Gutierrez, a Texas state senator, told CNN after the shooting. "We’re living in the 'Texas Nightmare,' and it’s a nightmare that they created, the chaos that (Republicans) created.”
Tim Burchett, a Republican representative from Tennessee’s 2nd District, said on "Washington Watch" Monday that he sees a Democratic strategy in play. “It’s an easy scapegoat," he told the radio program. "They’re blaming it on us when you remember when you left us in Congress the Democrats had the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives."
When the Republicans tried to improve school security, Burchett says, Democrats refused to cooperate when Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced a bill to put police officers in schools. “We tried to pass a bill," he recalled. "They blocked it, and I believe the president, his direct quote was, We’re coming after the guns.”
'Symbolism' beats facts
Burchett says Democrats see every shooting as an opportunity to use their gun-control platform. They also use the issue to prop up a wobbly incumbent president in Joe Biden with a presidential election on the way. "It’s symbolism," he insisted. "That’s what sells, and it’s hard to even get your story out. It’s pretty telling what’s going on. The Democrats use symbols very well."
Burchett said mass shootings “focus too on our situation with mental health in this country. We’ve talked about people under psychiatric care and things like that and taking certain medications yet every time you bring that up you’re called a conspiracy theorist. Frankly we’re seeing that.”
Opinions vary on the relationship between mass shootings and mental health.
Last year, Dr. Joel Dvoskin, a clinical psychologist of more than 30 years, concluded there is no link. However, Dvoskin did call for better funding of public mental health professionals who might be able to intervene in a crisis. “So, when somebody feels depressed, enraged, insignificant, they have access to a firearm, maybe they're drinking too much that night, maybe they just got fired and so on – it's like this perfect storm of despair,” Dvoskin wrote.https://afn.net/culture/2023/05/11/congressman-ripped-for-revival-comments-says-new-gun-laws-won-t-stop-hate-in-human-heart/
