Two mass shootings in less than 24 hours made common sense gun law reform a primary focus in the 2020 presidential campaigns, with each Democratic candidate calling for new legislation and the president insistent on holding those reforms hostage to get his immigration policies passed.
Trump said Toledo, Biden said Houston: https://t.co/3YSmpXLvh6
— Travis Bubenik (@travisbubenik) August 5, 2019
In a statement to the country, President Donald Trump flubbed the name of the city in Ohio where nine people were murdered and another 26 injured, calling it Toledo, Ohio instead of Dayton. Over the weekend, Democratic primary frontrunner Joe Biden flubbed the names of both cities before correcting himself later in his speech.
A local Fox affiliate in San Diego, California reported that:
‘Former Vice President Joe Biden reportedly misstated the locations of the two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend before correcting himself in his remarks later during a fundraiser near San Diego on Sunday.
‘The 2020 presidential candidate referred to the “tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before” when speaking at the home of businessman Mark Arabo.’
The 2020 presidential candidate referred to the “tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before." https://t.co/Can7D9gsG8
— KTVU (@KTVU) August 5, 2019
While both have taken criticism for the flubs, Biden is more focused on solutions than creating legislative opportunity for himself. He’s also pointed out the root cause of these mass shooting rampages: white supremacy inflamed by the president and resulting in threats and acts of domestic terrorism.
‘The American people may be running out of tears, but I pray to God we’re not running out of will. A will to do something about what we’re seeing. You know, we don’t need any more thoughts and prayers out of Washington. What we need out of Washington is a strength and resolve that I have yet to see. There are escalating acts that are occurring not of madness but of absolute, absolute hatred, and we have to call that hatred out and confront it.’
This must end. No more El Paso’s, no more Las Vegas’, no more Sandy Hooks
Here are the NRA ratings for some presidential candidates:
Biden: 7%
Sanders: 13%
Warren: 13%
Harris: 7%
Booker: 7%Trump (not yet rated out of 100): C-
Vote in local reps who favor gun control too!
— Kyle “🤳🏻” Ewert (@kyleewert) August 3, 2019
Trump, on the other hand, has decided to tie gun law reform to his immigration policies, ignoring the fact that it is his own rhetoric on immigration that sparked the El Paso, Texas shooter to kill as many as 20 people in a Wal-Mart. In his manifesto, the shooter referred to the “infestation” of undocumented immigrants, a phrase Trump has taken criticism for using in the past.
‘We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform. We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!’
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1158330513951735809
Featured image via Flickr by Kathy Kline under a Creative Commons license
