Although the United States has a well documented and obvious problem with gun control, Republicans in power in Washington, D.C., refuse to do essentially anything about it. As of late Saturday afternoon, there have been at least 1,899 deaths from gun violence in the United States since January 1, not including suicides.
Among the most recent high profile incidents was one just this past week, when 17 people were killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida, when an expelled student returned to the school and opened fire. Even still, Republican leaders refuse to do anything about the proliferation of guns in the United States.
One top Republican donor has had enough, The New York Times reports. The Florida-based Al Hoffman Jr. says that he will no longer be contributing any cash at all to GOP candidates or causes until the party supports an assault weapons ban like the one that was in effect until Republicans allowed it to expire in 2004. In the years since — indeed, in just the past few years — there have been numerous incidents of assault weapons being used to carry out mass shooting incidents like the one that took place earlier this week in Parkland.
In an interview reported on by The Times, Hoffman commented:
‘For how many years now have we been doing this — having these experiences of terrorism, mass killings — and how many years has it been that nothing’s been done?’
The same kind of weapon used by the Parkland attacker — an AR-15 — has been used in some of the highest profile mass shootings in recent years, stretching all the way back to the infamous Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre — the same massacre that a media personality associated with the president, Alex Jones, has questioned ever happened.
Although starting with the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, Democrats have pushed for a renewed assault weapons ban, Republicans have done nothing while numerous attacks continue to be carried out using the weapon.
Hoffman pointed out the history of the AR-15 being used for high profile mass killings in the email in which he announced his choice to stop funding GOP candidates and causes, which he sent, according to The Times, to half a dozen GOP leaders, including Jeb Bush and Rick Scott, the latter of whom is the current governor of Florida and is widely considered to be mulling a Senate run.
Hoffman has contributed millions to the GOP over the years and hopes to get other donors on board with him.
He wrote:
‘If we go from Orlando to Las Vegas, and now Parkland, you just have to know that there are others around the country dreaming about staging another mass murder.’
In that light, he wrote that he will “not write another check” until GOP candidates support a ban on assault weapons, saying “Enough is enough!”
In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, it’s not as though Republicans have rushed to impose meaningful gun control regulations.
The president, instead, has focused on the need to reform our nation’s mental healthcare system — which is ironic considering his past efforts to cut back on access to health care across the U.S.
This past Friday, in the face of protests over his inaction on gun control, the president visited Parkland, including in his visit a stop at the hospital where victims are being treated.
Featured Image via Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
