Two Mass Shootings Miles Apart _ The Gov. Reactions Were Also Miles Apart

 

The following is part of a post by Dan Rather:

Over the weekend, two senseless shootings were separated by 10,000 miles. During both, innocent people were murdered, but the reaction of the countries’ leaders was as far apart as the deadly incidents.

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
On Saturday afternoon, a man gained access to an engineering building at Brown University and opened fire on a group of students reviewing for an upcoming exam. According to people in the first-floor classroom, the gunman entered wearing a face mask and carrying a rifle, yelled something and started shooting students arrayed in the stadium-style seating. Two students were killed; nine were injured. . . .

Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
On the other side of the world, just 11 hours later, a deadly mass shooting unfolded on a beach in Australia. As hundreds gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, two men positioned themselves on an elevated footbridge above the beachside party. Then they opened fire on the crowd. . . .

Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, said, “The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws … People can be radicalized over a period of time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity.” His proposal could include limiting the number and type of firearms an individual can own.

Donald Trump’s reaction to the Brown University shooting was not quite as strong. “All we can do right now is pray,” he told reporters on Air Force One. . . .

The president restored gun rights to felons, closed the White House office of gun violence protection, and canceled funding for mental health and community anti-gun violence programs.

Australia, which has some of the world’s strictest gun control measures, had two mass shootings in almost three decades. The United States, with some of the least restrictive gun laws, has had hundreds, perhaps even thousands (depending on the reporting organization and the criteria they use), in the same time period. . . . 

Regardless of the number, if you want to prevent mass killings, it is clear that the only way to do so is to control who can own guns.

And if you think for a second that new gun laws will be proposed in this country after Saturday’s shooting, let alone passed into law, think again. We have a three-word phrase that has benignly become the go-to from anti-gun control politicians, “thoughts and prayers” — which has as much chance of making things better as saying “good luck.”