Hurricane Dorian and another mass shooting in Texas...
Though we can not do anything about a hurricane, we can and must prepare for it eventually making landfall. What we also know is that storms like Dorian and becoming more frequent and more intense.
This is where was can do something. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks sensibly on the topic of hurricanes, having a lot of experience in dealing with them as governor of the state, which is more than we can say for his answers on gun legislation. The senator explained that residents now have to build their houses up to standard, a standard we presume means that the houses should be elevated and not built in high-risk areas.
But these are patches on the bigger problem that Mr. Scott and other Republicans will not acknowledge, which is a changing climate. How far do you pull back from the coast until it's safe? The answer is farther and farther back as time goes on, and until there is common consensus or just any sense of the part of Republicans, things will continue to get worse and the money for disaster relief will become any even more contentious issue. Mr. Todd asked Mr. Scott about 'adaptation and mitigation, to which Mr. Scott answered with building standards but this is just the adaption part. Mitigation is to address climate change and the warming of the oceans that cause these storms to become more intense. Individuals can do their part but it's only government that can move on policy to address this growing threat. Congress could do something but they choose not to.
Speaking of another instance in which Congress, namely Republicans in Congress could do something but choose not to is on gun legislation. The second mass shooting in Texas (Midland/ Odessa area) this month occurred yesterday leaving 7 dead and over 20 injured. Today's panel was divided on whether they can now see Congress doing something with regard to gun legislation when it comes back in session.
Fmr. Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson felt that it's different this time and that since there is a campaign coming up, Republicans will want to show that they have done something on guns. However, some on the panel cited the upcoming election season as the very reason that Republicans running for reelection won't do anything. They'll cater to their respective conservative bases and won't go 'soft' on guns. Conversely, fmr. HUD Secretary and Mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro (D-TX), said that if he were president he would push for limiting high-capacity magazines, banning assault weapons and instituting universal background checks. These is standard in terms of the Democratic platform on guns though a majority of Americans are in favor of these measures. However, even on background checks, little, if anything, will change.
The president, Mr. Castro noted, has said after Parkland and after El Paso and Dayton that he would push for universal backgrounds but has since walked that back and will inevitably follow the intransigence of congressional Republicans, which would be Rick Scott who said that he was focused on mental illness. Mr. Scott, like other Republicans, mentioned red-flag laws, in which firearms can be taken from an individual if the person presents a danger to others or oneself. However, how many times do we find out after the fact of these mass shootings that the perpetrator had a manifesto or that friends thought something was 'wrong' with the person? Mr. Scott and other Senate Republicans will not bring a universal background check bill to the floor. That would be a slippery slope to an assault weapons bans or limiting magazine capacity.
In both cases, when Congress comes back from the August recess, these are two issues that Mr. Trump will dutifully distract us away from.
Panel: Andrea Mitchell, NBC; Jeh Johnson, fmr. Homeland Secretary; Shawna Thomas, Vice News; Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute
No comments:
Post a Comment