McConnell wishes someone would figure out a way to keep 'these troubled young men' from getting guns

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/6/2108737/-McConnell-wishes-someone-would-figure-out-a-way-to-keep-these-troubled-young-men-from-getting-guns

McConnell wishes someone would figure out a way to keep 'these troubled young men' from getting guns
Laura Clawson
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday July 06, 2022 · 9:21 AM EDT
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After years of standing in the way of any legislation that might really do something to prevent mass shootings, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had a lament in the wake of the killing of seven people and wounding of dozens more in Highland Park, Illinois. “We have got to figure out some way to identify these troubled young men & it's very complicated because after every one of these shootings there are people who say ‘Oh you know I thought he was pretty strange. I wish I notified somebody about it,’” McConnell said.

Funny story: Members of the alleged Highland Park shooter’s family called the police on him twice in 2019 and he still got a gun license in early 2020, and repeatedly passed background checks allowing him to purchase firearms that year. Does that mean Mitch McConnell would support tightening the licensing and background check process to exclude people with the alleged shooter’s record?

Ha ha ha ha ha. Yeah, right. This is a guy who only in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers even allowed the Senate to close the boyfriend loophole, taking guns away from people with convictions for domestic violence against people they were only dating and not married to, living with, or have a child with. Prior to that, Democrats had tried to close the boyfriend loophole in a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and McConnell and his Senate Republicans blocked the entire bill until that part was removed.

So, no, Mitch McConnell is not serious about keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, and the fact that after 19 children were slaughtered he relented and allowed a law to pass blocking people with domestic violence convictions from having guns does not signal some kind of change of heart. It signals how extreme he is and how much pressure it takes to get him to shift even a little bit to allow the most obvious policy.

McConnell’s entire career is about backing the gun ownership rights of people like Robert E. Crimo III, right up until he piously says it’s just too bad there wasn’t a way to keep them from killing seven people.

In September 2019, a relative of Crimo’s contacted the police because the then-19-year-old had a collection of knives and “said he was going to kill everyone,” according to a police spokesman. Police took the knives, then returned them the same day because his father said the knives belonged to him and were just being stored in his son’s closet. I’m just going to float the thought that perhaps knives also shouldn’t be returned to someone with the poor judgment to store them in the closet of a disturbed teenager making death threats.

Earlier in 2019, police were called to the Crimo residence because of an alleged suicide attempt by the younger Crimo—another reason his father’s judgment might be called into question on those knives. But that’s nothing compared to the fact that after the visit in which the knives were confiscated because the son was saying “he was going to kill everyone,” the father helped him get a license to buy guns. At 19, he needed a family member to sponsor him, and his father did so.

This is how our nation’s latest mass shooter got his weapons: legally, because law enforcement didn’t have a reason to block him despite multiple calls about him intending to harm himself or others. He told us he wasn’t going to hurt anyone, the police say in defense of the decision. Okay, guys. But those are the laws. And those are the laws directly because of Mitch McConnell.

If anyone suggests to you that this shows that gun laws are not the answer because these guns were obtained legally, please point out that this shows that much, much stronger gun laws are needed. Here’s a thought: What if the presumption wasn’t that of course you can have high-powered rifles unless you have been extensively caught up in the criminal justice system? What if the presumption was that you had to show you would be a responsible gun owner, had to get trained, and still probably couldn’t have the kind of gun designed for mowing down dozens of people within moments?

“We have got to figure out some way to identify these troubled young men,” says McConnell, as he defends a system in which two calls to the police about a troubled young man threatening harm are not enough to keep him from legally acquiring guns months later. There’s a clue here! But of course McConnell doesn’t actually care. He’s just saying what he has to say to keep pressure from building up for Congress to take more serious action on guns.

[milestogo]

1. He could figure out a way if he wanted to, but he doesn't.

[tanyev]

2. Kind of like the school police chief in Uvalde wishing that somebody else had done something.

And I don't know if Arredondo ever used words to that effect, but that seems to be what his actions (or lack thereof) indicated.

[Srkdqltr]

3. Anyone wanting to buy a firearm is "troubled ".

If one wants an assault rifle they are seriously troubled.

[gohuskies]

4. Moscow Mitch is an intentional enabler of mass shootings

Make no mistake, he doesn't give a shit about stopping mass murder in America. To him, governing and control is all about retaining power and supporting his fascist accomplices in the destruction of the nation. Mass murder to him is simply 'decreasing the surplus population'. He is an evil and malignant force.

[Mad_Machine76]

5. If he could poke his head out of his shell once in a while

Or more accurately take his fingers out of his ears for five seconds, maybe he would figure it out. God I hate him so much.

[delisen]

6. Mc Connell is complicit and lacks the character to resign. nt

[Baitball Blogger]

7. You can't make this shit up.

And, how many times did McConnell vote against gun regulation?

[Ferrets are Cool]

8. That quote could have come straight

From the Onion.

[MyOwnPeace]

9. I can only think one thing........

What a STUPID, EVIL old fuck he is!!!!

[llmart]

10. I heard on one news report that the shooter was living with his uncle.

Did the parents kick him out of their house because of his behavior? I haven't followed every aspect of this story, but it sure seems to me that the father is probably one stupid son of a bitch if he knew all this and proceeded to vouch for him to buy guns.

Young boys need better role models in their fathers. There are still way too many fathers who think that their main purpose in parenting a son is to teach them all the wrong things about what it takes to be a "man".

[eppur_se_muova]

11. This sounds almost like something out of "Yes Minister" ....

The important thing is not to be doing something, nor to be seen to be doing something, but to be seen to be trying to do something.

[Emile]

12. Republicans sense of humor is pretty pathetic.