Do Republicans Care About The Lives Of School Children?

There have been 28 shootings in schools this year in the United States. That's more than two for every month of the year (and we still have nearly a month to go before the year is over). This doesn't happen in any other developed nation, and there's no reason for it to be happening here.

So, why does it continue to happen? Why have there been 655 mass shootings this year? Why have 41,672 people died from gun violence this year? 

The reason for all of the above is the refusal of Congress to do anything to restrict access to guns by the dangerous individuals who shouldn't have them -- primarily Republicans. These Republicans fall back on arguing that they are protecting the Second Amendment. That's mendacity!

No right is without its restrictions. Free speech has its limits. You can't yell fire in a crowded place, or encourage anyone to harm another person. Even the right to vote has restrictions. A resident of this country must be a citizen, and must be registered.

The right to own a firearm also has its limits, even though many Republican officials don't like that. The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can restrict who can own or buy a firearm, and even restrict the type of firearm that can be bought or owned. These restrictions don't keep any honest and law-abiding person from buying or owning a firearm.

We may not be able to stop all gun violence or deaths, but we can pass some laws that would significantly reduce the gun violence and deaths -- some common sense laws that would save lives without violating the Constitution.

The most obvious one is to plug the loopholes in the background check law, so felons, abuser, terrorists, and other dangerous people can't legally buy a firearm. This is supported by about 90% of the population, including most gun owners. But Republicans continue to block it, afraid they might lose the NRA money for their re-elections.

Evidently, NRA money is more important than the lives of Americans -- including school children.

No one is trying to take away the right of law-abiding people to buy or own a gun. But some restrictions are necessary to save lives. Good people must step up and vote against any politician that refuses to vote for sensible and constitutional legislation. The school shootings, and other mass shootings, will not stop until this is done.

The Republican officials have blood on their hands -- but so do the people who vote for them (knowing they will do nothing to protect American lives).