A Deafening Silence

If there was ever a time that spoke to the intimidating power of NRA money, this is it.  If there was ever a time when the poisoning influence of political funding was apparent, this is it.  NRA's millions in campaign donations over the years have effectively silenced all debate on rational gun laws in this country.  Even after this weekend's tragedy, only a few politicians, such as New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg, are calling for tightening the nation's gun laws.  Even in something as basic as renewing the ban on assault weapons, Congress is intimidated. 

You can pretty much expect the Republican choir to sing out variations on the insane refrain that "guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Frankly, I'm not sure how 70 people would have been stabbed and 12 of them killed in Colorado if the deranged young man had attacked with a knife.  Many leading Democrats are also sitting this out for now.  An aide to Senate Majority Leader Reid says that the press of other business may prevent the Senate from taking up Lautenberg's legislation in the immediate future.  President Obama, whose ever shrinking lead over Romney has to be a cause of concern, has asked that we not "politicize" this tragedy. An Obama aide said that the focus should be on keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them by enforcing the existing gun laws.  Evidently this was not sufficient and did nothing to prevent the Colorado tragedy.

 In a hard-hitting HuffPost blog on Saturday, Cenk Uygur asks if we do not "politicize" guns now, then when?  What can you say about a country that's number 1 in per capita gun ownership, in child deaths by gunfire, and in overall gun violence?

Maybe politicization is not the right word.  We are long past that point.  The NRA has politicized gun control over the past few decades and they will not stop sending their millions to those that oppose gun control legislation.  Mayors Against Illegal Guns  stand in opposition to the NRA but have had only limited success in achieving any legislative victories. 

Maybe leadership is the right word.  That is what is needed now.  A leader shows people the way when they do not see it for themselves.  A leader stands up to moneyed interests and calls them out on their self-serving claims.  So far though...a deafening silence.