House Republicans ran away from gun legislation and called it leadership today.
Declining to pass a bill to even stop terrorists from legally buying guns in this country, House Republicans ran for their summer recess while telling reporters that their flight was “leadership” because real leadership involves taking a “step back” to “reflect” while people continue to get massacred.
Speaker Ryan and House Republicans seem to think that if they dare to take action to stop terrorists from buying guns legally, it would “inflame” the situation. The Hill reported:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The latest shootings across the country led Republican leaders to believe that debating and voting on contentious gun control bills now would only inflame an already violent situation.
…The decision means the House, which has been wrestling with gun control legislation for weeks, will not consider bills to prevent suspected terrorists from obtaining guns until at least after its seven-week recess, which is set to begin at the end of this week.
“Given the events … we need to take a step back and show some real calmness and some real leadership and reflect on what’s happening in this country, and pursue the gun issue at a further date,†Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.), the freshman class representative to GOP leadership, told The Hill after a meeting in Ryan’s office.
They did this as President Obama prepared to give remarks in Dallas Texas to honor five slain police officers.
Reuters reported that the Dallas police chief said that laws that allow open carry present a “growing challenge” to law enforcement.
The Dallas police chief stepped into America’s fierce gun rights debate on Monday when he said Texas state laws allowing civilians to carry firearms openly, as some did during a protest where five officers were killed, presented a growing law enforcement challenge.
Our gun laws are a problem for our police officers. They are a problem for our children. They are a problem for our families. Our teachers. Our people. Our gun laws are absurdly indulgent, asking no responsibility and giving no comfort or protection.
As Obama “worked late into the night consulting scripture” to write his speech for the Dallas memorial, House Republicans were eying the door to flee home on Friday, leaving American citizens unprotected from terrorists and suspected terrorists.
Even the deaths of police officers won’t stir Republicans to action on the gun issue. They’re heading for recess, hugging the NRA, and giving Americans the middle finger.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
