Yet Another "NRA Day" in America
Iowa's Congressional Delegation is Part of the Problem, Not the Solution
First things first -
Dear National News Media: Let’s get our terminology straight. When a white supremacist commits bigoted, racist mass murders - as one did in Jacksonville, Florida, Saturday - and then kills himself, he doesn’t leave behind a “manifesto.”
The note he left behind is, at best, a “suicide note.” More directly, with less sugar coating, it’s a “hate message” or a “screed.”
The word “manifesto” implies that some rational thought was involved. There was no rational thought in what the Jacksonville shooter did or what he wanted people to know about why he mass murdered African-Americans.
Just bigotry. Hate. White supremacy.
No doubt fueled by the rolling racism and easy hate talk by the MAGA crowd and its leader. To be fair, law enforcement has formally announced no such such link. But they don’t have to do so. We know Trump eggs on weak-minded white supremacists and those inclined toward violent expression of the bigotry they all share.
There is also no doubt that white supremacists who turn to gun violence are also enabled by the likes of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its trained lap dogs in Congress who make sure semi-automatic weapons, the weapon of choice in most of mass shootings, remain as easy to get as a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread at Hy-Vee.
I call days like Saturday - days when mass shootings tragically occur - “NRA Days” because (a) they happen so frequently, and (b) the NRA and its congressional allies do so much to enable them by doing so little to prevent them. I include most of Iowa’s all Republican congressional delegation among the allies enabling the NRA.
The partial exception is Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA). She is usually a reliable supporter of NRA positions on gun issues, but last year - in June 2022 - she voted for the bi-partisan “Safer Communities Act,” and I give her credit for that. It was the first significant gun safety reform legislation Congress enacted in three decades. She was one of only 15 Republicans in the Senate to vote for it.
The rest of Iowa’s current House and Senate delegation? They were too timid to stray too far from the NRA’s apron strings. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) , Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-1st IA), Ashley Hinson (R-2nd IA) and Randy Feenstra (R-4th IA) all stood with the NRA and voted against it.
The votes they cast on that legislation last year are worth remembering today.
Just to be clear: They voted against legislation that even Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said would save lives and not infringe on the rights of any law abiding citizen.
Zach Nunn (R-3rd), who had not yet been elected to Congress in 2022, is a reliable booster of NRA positions in the US House, just as he was in the Iowa Legislature before being elected to Congress. So, I include him as a member of the the enabling bunch, too.
By the way, no one in Iowa’s delegation in Washington has sponsored or co-sponsored any other legislation that would meaningfully help reduce gun violence and mass shootings. They have put their names to nothing that the NRA couldn’t cheer wildly.
The “Safer Communities Act” was a pretty modest proposal, to be sure.
It extended background checks for gun purchasers, clarified firearms licensing requirements, and provided funding for state “red flag” laws and other crisis intervention programs. It strengthened the mental health system and school safety programs, and closed the “boy friend” loop hole. It also strengthened laws against gun trafficking and straw purchases, among other changes.
Semi-automatic gun ownership - the weapon of choice for mass shooters - was untouched.
As I said, it was a pretty modest proposal. But was progress and it had been a long time coming.
Apparently, however, it was still too much for the NRA which opposed it. Like good little ducklings on an Iowa farm pond with their Mom, Iowa’s congressional delegation lined up in a row and paddled obediently behind the NRA and cast their votes accordingly.
Preventing mass shootings is not rocket science. The pattern is pretty well established by now.
The shooter - not always - but more often than not, is a white supremacist, or hater of some group of Americans.
The weapon of choice is nearly always a semi-automatic rifle.
So why don’t we disrupt that pattern and stop them? You know, work the prevention side of the street. Do a better job of keeping guns - especially semi-automatic rifles - out of the hands of people who have no business being near them, much less being able to fill their basement with them.
The answer? The NRA and its gang in Congress make sure that never happens. You can absolutely count Iowa’s congressional delegation as part of that problem.
Senator Joni Ernst deserves credit for bucking the NRA and voting for the bi-partisan gun safety reform law in 2022. It passed the Senate by a vote of 65-33 and passed the House by a vote of 234-193, with just 8 Republicans - none from Iowa - voting for it in the House. President Biden signed it into law on June 25, 2022.
It will save lives.
The rest of Iowa’s all Republican congressional delegation?
Every time you hear of a new mass shooting in America - and, sadly, you will hear about new mass shooting many times until Congress acts - just know that the rest of Iowa’s congressional delegation Iowa is part of the problem. They are not even trying to be part of a modest solution.
More deadly “NRA Days” in America?
Apparently, “NRA Days” are not a problem for Iowa Republicans in Congress.
Keeping the NRA happy is more their priority.
Barry Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains is a weekly column that is part of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative. The Collaborative links some of Iowa’s best thinkers and writers directly with readers to help fill the gap left as many of Iowa’s traditional newspapers cut back on opinion, analysis and even reporting on a wide range of topics. Please review the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative columns listed below and consider subscribing - either for free or with a paid subscription - to help ensure that readers continue to have access to informed and thoughtful opinion, analysis, commentary, and reporting. Your subscriptions, especially paid subscriptions, are what makes this effort work and allow these columns to be available.
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