Things That Go Bump in the Night

After the Las Vegas massacre, when the Trump administration proposed a ban on bump stocks, Republicans in Congress fell in line and loudly supported it.  (As did Democrats, of course).

When the Supreme Court recently ruled that a presidential action to create such a ban was illegal, it also said that if Congress passed a law to do the same thing, that would be fine.

So, Democrats have put forth a bill to ban bump stocks – which turns guns into essentially machine guns which have been illegal in the United States for almost a century.

And, not shockingly (though pathetically and shamefully), Republicans are blocking the bill.

Some are even almost mocking in their “disdain” for it, perhaps most notably JD Vance who asked, “are we legislating in a way that solves fake problems?”

This brought about a scathing, livid response from one of the quietest members of the Senate, Democratic Nevada senator Jacky Rosen.

“This is not a fake problem,” she said to reporters. “Let him come to Las Vegas. Let him see the memorial for those people who died. Let him talk to those families. It’s not a fake problem. Those families are dead.

“Las Vegas was changed forever because of what the shooter did, and the bump stocks helped him. And let JD Vance come — and I’m going to take him to the memorials. We’re going to talk to — talk about our first responders, our ambulance drivers, our police, our firefighters, people at the blood bank, regular people. Shame on him. Shame on him for disrespecting the dead.”  

To which Yahoo News added, “…the normally mild-mannered Rosen said in a rare flash of anger.”

There has been discussion among Senate Democrats as to whether they should go forward with the bill anyway, to – at the very least – put Republicans on the record whether they are for or against turning guns into illegal machine guns as mass weapons of death.  And to point to the next time bump stocks are used to massacre crowds of Americans.  Which, at some point, they will be.

There is no downside to Democrats to push the measure, since the only other response would be if Republicans recognize the corner they are painted into and enough vote to make bump stocks illegal.  Deeply unlikely, but not impossible.

Here's hoping it’s voted on.