President Biden isn’t messing around on this
Early last month, the Biden administration announced reasonable actions to address what it properly labeled the “gun violence public health epidemic.” It didn’t take long for the cash-strapped National Rifle Association to then announce a $2 million lobbying and advertising campaign to oppose these actions, even while their leaders testified in the failing organization’s bankruptcy trial.
It’s not terribly surprising that the NRA is throwing its last pennies at deifying the Second Amendment while smearing any politician who believes in commonsense restrictions. However, the NRA’s level of depravity in pursuing its extremist goals is off the charts. The NRA had every right to tweet “Happy Mother’s Day to all NRA moms!” as it did yesterday afternoon. But what followed that message was a new, dangerous low.
“On top of the millions of other jobs moms have, NRA moms fight for our right to self-defense, while also defending themselves, their families, and communities,” the tweet continued. “We are forever grateful for these fierce women.” Following this text is a photo of a woman and a young girl, smiling and holding large guns in a combative stance underneath the words “MAMA DIDN’T RAISE A VICTIM.”
This is the NRA’s perverse message on Mother’s Day. Rather than stop at honoring moms, the NRA took advantage of the day to promote the false and twisted notion that mothers who wish to raise their daughters well and keep them safe must introduce them to assault weapons at a very young age.
A couple of hours before the tweet, the Colorado Springs Gazette broke the news of the year’s 194th mass shooting very early that morning at a mobile home park in Colorado Springs. A gunman shot and killed six family members at a birthday party before turning his gun on himself. The fact that this shooting is only the fourth deadliest mass shooting in Colorado history is another painful reminder of the out-of-control nature of America’s gun problem.
In his recent address to Congress, President Biden pointed out that reasonable reforms enjoy overwhelming support from the American people, including many gun owners. “No amendment to the Constitution is absolute,” he pointed out, and “from the very beginning, there were certain guns, weapons, that could not be owned by Americans.” Biden then summed up the situation perfectly: “We’re not changing the Constitution. We’re being reasonable.”
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month