Most Americans back tougher gun laws, but support among Republicans plummets even after Atlanta, Boulder shootings, exclusive poll finds https://t.co/3xjWgDPosw
Nine in 10 Americans (89%) – including 98% of Democrats, 88% of independents and 84% of Republicans – say they support requiring background checks for all gun buyers via new Quinnipiac poll.
Majorities of Black adults (75%), Asian adults (72%) and Hispanic adults (65%) say that gun laws should be stricter, compared with 45% of White adults. https://t.co/TLNaz34qGLpic.twitter.com/yTh01NQx7r
Two policies that would restrict access to guns garner clear majority support from both Republicans and Democrats: preventing those with mental illnesses from purchasing guns and subjecting private gun and gun show sales to background checks. https://t.co/YcGaNbfBUTpic.twitter.com/JpKJ1CDjfw
You have to be out of your mind at this point to believe that the American people need to be more heavily armed. Or a Supreme Court justice, I guess. https://t.co/u5pdOYvqdy
Let’s see: Many of them think the election was stolen, many won’t take the COVID-19 vaccine and now they won’t do anything to prevent mass shootings. It’s amazing that Republican support for gun safety laws has actually gone down even though there were two mass shootings within a week.
Republicans are a big threat to future of our country now. They are out of step with the majority of the country but their power in Congress and the states can hold the rest of us back. It won’t matter how many people support tougher laws. Republicans have gotten so much money from the NRA that they will never do anything to cross them. Remember when Trump talked about doing something about guns? He always backed down after talking with the NRA.
Most Americans back tougher gun laws, but support among Republicans plummets even after Atlanta, Boulder shootings, exclusive poll finds https://t.co/3xjWgDPosw
Donald Trump this morning proudly retweeted the video of “Ken and Karen” pointing their guns at black people in St. Louis. Trump never misses an opportunity to fan the flames of white resentment and racial unrest. pic.twitter.com/zdSi7GReAX
Garibaldi had his redshirts; Mussolini his blackshirts; Godwin's Law Violation his brownshirts.
Trump has his pinkshirts, who are just as important in his coalition as working-class guys wearing MAGA hats and sitting in diners. pic.twitter.com/TuKNqNlaHp
Everybody who said, during the primaries, that racism and Trump's populism is the product of economic anxiety, I want you to take a good look at the St. Louis gun-toting couple, their mansion, and then shut up forever and ever and ever and ever you're stupid and wrong forever. pic.twitter.com/BQEAeeQqjK
I don’t want hear any crap from the right wing about Antifa. There were marches and rallies protesting Trump’s election but they didn’t involve guns.
Make no mistake, our GOP legislators are showing their true colors – They don't care about the people, they care about power and trying to take down a Democratic Governor – a woman, no less. https://t.co/SLgDNbRCg8
Let’s be clear about something. Cammo-clad paramilitary fetishists festooned in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles storming our state capitols while “protesting” is obscene. It is an assault on the sanctity of representative democracy and our American system.
Protesters, some carrying firearms, storm Michigan Capitol as state lawmakers debate an extension of Gov. Whitmer’s state of emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic; lawmakers expected to vote on 28-day extension before it expires at midnight. https://t.co/vveNSmA8LP
Forget “the age of Trump” shit. That frames it as if it has only been around the last few years. He is an accelerant, yes. But white men have used firearms to convey their vitriol, bigotries, and insecurities since the very founding of this republic. This has always been America. https://t.co/kyy8PXxcVt
If they were black or brown or Muslim it would have been a bloodbath. Cops would have unleashed hell on them. Fox News would be ranting about "terrorists!" https://t.co/KtfaM7iAeU
Armed extremists are threatening Michigan lawmakers who are meeting at the statehouse to consider extending the governor's stay-at-home order before it expires tonight. They demanded to be let onto the House floor, chanting, “Let us in!" #mileghttps://t.co/QGo1TQlJ9D
Trump won’t even go for universal background checks which are supported by 90% in polls. McConnell won’t hold hearings or votes on gun safety bills passed by the house. Republicans won’t do anything to stop mass shootings. This is a partisan issue. Scott (see tweet below) is wrong. Republicans are wrong. Sad!
As I was saying a few hours ago…and now more shootings in Texas. Always tragic, never surprising because Republican policymakers have made the political choice to allow frequent mass shootings to be a normal part of life in the United States. https://t.co/VMh2jDXZfF
Democratic leadership is again calling for immediate action on gun control legislation after another mass shooting in America left at least seven people dead https://t.co/Ib5chKjtIs
Sen. Rick Scott on how to explain to the American people why Congress isn’t acting toward mass shootings: “This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue about how do we keep Americans safe. I’m going to do everything I can” #CNNSOTUpic.twitter.com/Gyzf1CntpK
Today, the President said background checks would not have prevented shootings:
“For the most part, sadly, if you look at the last four or five, even going back further five, six, seven years… As strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it.”
Decades from now, when historians teach the survey course about the U.S. since the 1960s, undergraduate students will scratch their heads trying to figure out how any reasonable American opposed stronger gun control during the shooting crisis we are now living through.
As noted in this @washingtonpost article, for example, in 1998 the ATF determined that 6 out of 10 firearms used in crime could be traced (after the fact) to 1% of dealers…but federal law prevents the ATF from disclosing who they are https://t.co/CWPBo7rF7X
The two biggest drops in U.S. violence rates (1930s & 1990s) in the last century came directly after the two biggest bursts of anti-gun violence legislation in the last century.
That’s bc changes in gun laws don’t just have a practical effect – they send a moral signal too.
The New York Times analyzed every congressional grade the NRA has issued since 2008 and found that the group has significantly fewer allies in Congress than it did a decade ago https://t.co/1yilXsM57f
The 100-round magazine that allowed the Dayton shooter to fire 41 bullets in just 32 seconds was illegal in Ohio until the Republican-led state legislature began to roll back commonsense gun-safety laws. A federal ban on high-capacity magazines is long overdue. https://t.co/hcu9Z1ksTj
The NRA-supported Republican party won’t allow the passage of meaningful gun safety laws. It’s so frustrating that there’s about 90% support for universal background checks but McConnell won’t even allow a hearing on the issue. Mass shootings don’t matter – Republicans will just offer thoughts and prayers. Sad!
Why don’t these numbers move the political dial?
New Quinnipiac poll:
93 – 6% support for universal background checks 82 – 16% support for requiring a license to purchase a gun 80 – 15% support for a “red flag” law 60 – 36% support for a ban on assault weapons
Quinnipiac poll this week: – 93% support universal background checks – 82% support requiring licenses to buy guns – 80% back “red flag” law – 60% back assault weapons ban – 46% back mandatory assault weapon buyback https://t.co/rIm2dikiJD
Do you think Congress is doing enough to reduce gun violence, or do you think Congress needs to do more to reduce gun violence? Doing enough 21% Needs to do more 72% (Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 8/21-26/19) trend: https://t.co/bJH1AgxG9N
Do you support or oppose stricter gun laws in the United States? ALL Support 60% Oppose 34% REP. Support 30% Oppose 62% DEM. Support 89% Oppose 9% IND. Support 61% Oppose 33% (Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 8/21-26/19) trend: https://t.co/w8yT5dzmoM
Is being the victim of a mass shooting something you personally worry about? ALL Yes 41% No 58% Rep. Yes 24% No 75% Dem. Yes 58% No 41% Ind. Yes 37% No 62% (Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 8/21-26/19) more: https://t.co/bJH1AgxG9N
A private poll conducted by a top GOP firm discovered that passing stricter gun laws is the NO. 1 priority for suburban women in swing House districts right now, eclipsing health care. Moderate Republicans are sounding the alarm that action is needed. https://t.co/BYAZ6NuDG8
Originally, he said he was supporting of background checks (like about 90% of the public). Now, he has caved in again to the gun lobby and is blaming shootings on mental illness. Doing this also means he doesn’t have to deal with the issue of white supremacists and his role in inspiring them with his hateful rhetoric. Sad!
"Mental illness is certainly a problem in this country. But hate is not a mental illness. Neither is murder."
Americans are 25x more likely to die by gun homicide than in peer countries. It's not because of mental illness; it's because of lax gun laws. https://t.co/dLejvqZTfl
After a week at his golf club, and with the conversation around Dayton and El Paso waning, Trump has — at least publicly — scaled back his emphasis on reforms to the nation's gun laws. Instead, he focused almost exclusively on the issue of mental health. https://t.co/YhQG5xWULH
Watch what Trump does, not what he says: On February 28, 2017 Trump signed his first bill as President of the United States – a bill to roll back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun.#DonTheConhttps://t.co/YhNLqdT8Cl