The Washington Post - 06.08.2019

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A23

TUESDAY Opinion

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ack-to-back massacres in El Paso and Dayton kill 31. Cue the thoughts and prayers! “Melania and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers,” tweeted President Trump, who vows to veto gun control. “Elaine’s and my prayers go out to the victims,” tweeted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blocks votes on gun control. Do they not realize that “thoughts and prayers” has become a meme, a cynical punchline conveying inaction on guns? It’s what people say when they plan to do nothing. Thoughts and prayers are always welcome, but Republicans’ reflexive response to the endless massacres has become a cruel joke, as effective as a Hallmark sympathy card. They seem to realize how weak it sounds: CNN reported that it invited 50 Republican lawmakers to talk about the shootings; only one ac- cepted. In fairness, Republicans offer more than “thoughts and prayers.” They also praise first responders, make various references to heart- break and promise to “stand” with victims. “Our thoughts are with the people of Day- ton and El Paso. We are praying for them,” tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). “Let’s stand united in condemning this evil.” Thoughts and prayers stand united! And bonus points if you speak for your wife. “Mylene and I send our prayers,” tweeted Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.). “Wrenzie and I are praying.” — Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.) “Jean and I are praying.” — Sen. Mike Rounds (S.D.). “Tara and I are praying.” — Rep. Dan Cren- shaw (Tex.). Enough prayers. How about some thoughts? “Mikey and I mourn.” — Sen. John Hoeven (N.D.). “Kay and I are continuing to grieve.” — Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.) “Renee and I are saddened.” — Rep. Richard Hudson (N.C.). “Lucy and I are shocked.” — Rep. George Holding (N.C.). “Maureen and I are deeply troubled.” — Sen. Mike Braun (Ind.). And I pray that Mylene, Wrenzie, Jean, Tara, Mikey, Kay, Renee, Lucy and Maureen tell their husbands to stop blocking common- sense gun laws. Some Republicans offer thoughts and prayers as if using GPS. Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.) reported that his “prayers are with the families and victims.” Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) furnished three locations: “My prayers are with the victims, their families, and the first responders.” Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.) pro- vided a location update: “My prayers remain with those affected.” A few thought and prayed in fragments: “Praying for comfort for all the families affected” (Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, W.Va.) or “Heartbroken for the people of El Paso, TX & Dayton, OH” (Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.). Still others were observers, calling the play- by-play: “Our nation mourns... and is praying” (Rep. Tim Walberg, Mich.), “Our hearts are with the victims” (Rep. Drew Ferguson, Ga.), “Our prayers go out” (Rep. David McKin- ley, W.Va.). It’s a bit like Madlibs: My heart breaks for- ____. I pray for____. Rep. Jason Smith (Mo.): “My heart breaks for the communities” and “I pray for healing.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alas- ka): “Our hearts break for the senseless violence” and “my prayers are with the victims.” Democrats mentioned thoughts and prayers too — as insufficient. Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.) complained: “My Republican col- leagues cut and paste the words ‘thoughts and prayers’ into a tweet and then do nothing on gun violence.” But Republicans don’t just cut and paste. They take positions! “I stand with the grieving communities,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.). A more flexible Rep. Mark Green (Tenn.) reported that “our entire nation stands — and kneels.” They also join. “I join our entire country in mourning,” tweeted Rep. John Ratcliffe (Tex.). “I join Americans across the country,” reported Rep. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio). Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) offered a provi- sional prayer pending further developments: “While we are still learning more about the details... we are praying.” And Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Ga.) preemp- tively chided those who “criticize our calls for earnest prayer.” Actually, we criticize prayer in lieu of action. Trump proposed action, tweeting Monday in support of “strong background checks.” But, as after Parkland, Fla., he quickly dropped the idea, omitting it from his on-camera remarks. Instead: More thoughts and prayers! “The first lady and I join all Americans in praying,” disclosed Trump, so deep in thought and prayer than he said “Toledo” instead of “Dayton.” Trump, who previously said white national- ism is not a growing threat, announced that “our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.” Trump, who said nonwhite lawmakers should “go back” to other countries, asserted that “hatred warps the mind.” Trump, who last week shared the sentiment that “DEMOCRATS ARE THE TRUE EN- EMIES OF AMERICA,” said “now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside.” Eventually, disgusted Americans will force Republicans to act. Until then, here’s a thought: We don’t have a prayer. Twitter: @Milbank

DANA MILBANK WASHINGTON SKETCH

Cue the

thoughts

and prayers!

S

enate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and the Repub- lican Party might not have pulled the triggers, but they still bear some responsibility for the weekend’s atrocities. The only way to keep military-style weapons of war out of the clutches of would-be mass killers is to take away McConnell’s power — which means electing a Democratic majority in the Senate next year. It is also necessary, of course, for a Democrat to defeat President Trump, whose racist rhetoric gives aid and comfort to white supremacists such as the gunman who allegedly killed 22 innocent people at a Walmart and shopping center in El Paso. But even with Trump gone, McConnell will con- tinue using his power over the Senate’s agenda to keep sensible gun-control measures from even being considered. The Republican Party’s absurd “analysis” of the weekend’s double horror — first El Paso and then, just hours later, the killing of nine men and women in Dayton, Ohio, by a young gunman — would be laughable if this were a moment for laughter. Trump blamed the carnage on the Internet, violent video games and mental illness, in that order. But all of these phenomena are present in every other industrialized country, yet none suf- fers the kind of horrific gun violence we routinely experience in the United States. Japan, where a culture of violent video gaming is deeply rooted, has essentially no gun violence at all. The difference? Our nation is awash in guns, and anyone can obtain one. In Sydney or Seoul or Stockholm, a delu- sional racist bent on a killing spree cannot easily, quickly and legally get his hands on an AK-47-style assault rifle. Here, no problem. Yet the Republican Party is so under the thumb of the National Rifle Associ- ation that even the mildest, least intrusive gun-control measures do not get a hearing. The Democratic- controlled House has passed legislation mandating universal background checks for gun purchases, an idea supported by more than four-fifths of Americans. McConnell won’t let it come to the Senate floor for a vote. Even when Trump’s presidency is reduced to a nightmarish memory, nothing will change as long as McCon- nell and the Republicans control the Senate. Even as minority leader, Mc- Connell would have considerable power — but much less than he has now. The Senate’s arcane rules would allow him to delay and obstruct. But the Republican senators who are crying crocodile tears over El Paso and Day- ton could at least be forced to go on the record as opposing common-sense gun laws that the American people, including those senators’ constituents, over- whelmingly support. Now for the hard part. It will not be easy for Democrats to win the Senate in 2020, given which seats are being contested. But for the party to have a fighting chance, it needs to run its very best Senate candidates — several of whom are instead running for president. They need to reconsider. One of them is Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who is polling at less than 1 percent nationally in the overcrowd- ed Democratic presidential field. Bull- ock has been elected and reelected in a deep-red state that Trump carried by 20 points in 2016. He would have an excellent chance of knocking off Re- publican incumbent Sen. Steve Daines, whose blind support of Trump rubs some Montanans the wrong way. Another is former Colorado gover- nor John Hickenlooper, also polling at less than 1 percent. The incumbent I’d love to see him face, Sen. Cory Gard- ner, is widely considered the most vulnerable Republican senator because of Colorado’s purple status and his slavishness to Trump and McCon- nell. Gardner described himself as “devastated” by the “tragic events” in El Paso and the “senseless violence” in Dayton. Too bad he’s not in a position to do something about it. The third presidential contender I’d love to see run for the Senate is Beto O’Rourke, who left the campaign trail Saturday to rush home to El Paso. In his emotional interviews, you could see how deeply the El Paso killing spree has affected him. O’Rourke came within 2.6 points of knocking off incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz last year. His presence on the 2020 ballot against Republican Sen. John Cornyn would help put Texas, long a GOP stronghold, in play. And O’Rourke might just win. I also wish the electrifying Stacey Abrams, currently not running for anything, would take on Sen. David Perdue in Georgia — putting another Republican state up for grabs. If Democrats are serious about tack- ling gun violence, if they’re serious when they say this is an emergency, then this is a moment for discipline and sacrifice. Sensible gun control requires taking the Senate. Think about it, please. [email protected]

EUGENE ROBINSON

Democrats

must take

BY GEORGE T. CONWAY III the Senate AND NEAL KATYAL

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he senseless shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, should lead every American to contemplate what to do about guns. Policymakers have large- ly been paralyzed, partly because the public debate has been dominated by extremes. The loudest voices on the political left seek to take away as many firearms as it can, of all kinds, and to overturn Supreme Court decisions recognizing the Second Amend- ment right of individuals to keep and bear arms. The loudest voices on the political right, for their part, oppose virtually all gun regulation, both on policy and constitutional grounds, fearing that a slippery slope will lead to the abolition of firearms. But both are wrong, because of one simple reality. And acknowledging that reality opens up the space for sensible regulation of firearms, regulation that both owners and non- owners of guns should embrace. The reality is, guns in America aren’t going away. That’s because the Constitution actually does protect an individual right to keep and bear them. Certainly there was an argu- ment to be made that the Second Amendment didn’t vest individuals with any rights at all, given its refer- ence to a “well regulated Militia.” But as the Supreme Court explained in two landmark decisions, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and Mc- Donald v. Chicago (2010), the weight of the evidence — including the Sec- ond Amendment’s textual structure and its historical context — makes clear that the right to keep and bear arms wasn’t meant to be confined to members of militias. The court’s recognition of an individual right to gun ownership should provide the foundation for sensible compromise on the regulation of firearms. In Heller, the justices made clear that reasonable regulations would pass constitutional muster — for example, that the court’s opinion “should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions” of various sorts of firearms ownership. Liberals should take solace in those limiting constructions of the Second Amendment, and in the fact that in the 11 years since Heller came down, there simply hasn’t been any judicial gutting of gun regulation across the land. More important, the same people who extol the virtues of adherence to judicial precedent when it comes to decisions such as Roe v. Wade should not be heard to urge the overruling of constitutional precedent under the Second Amendment.

Conservatives should take solace in the fact that, because of the Second Amendment and Heller, there can be no slippery slope to abolition. Guns are here to stay, and if you’re a law-abiding and competent citizen, no federal or state authority will ever be able to take them away from you. You may not have the right to every conceivable type of firearm or gun- related gadget conceived of in the two-plus centuries since the nation’s founding (automatic weapons, for example), but you’ll have plenty to choose from. Given all this, there’s no reason that compromise can’t be reached now on any number of sensible firearms regulations that could enjoy broad public support, even from many gun owners. Take, for example, bills the House passed in Febru- ary. That legislation would extend the waiting period for background checks from three to 10 days and would close the gun-show loophole, which outrageously allows individuals to buy weapons without any background check whatsoever if they buy their weapons on the Internet or at gun shows. Those reforms would seem pretty basic. Extending the waiting period would have kept the Charleston, S.C., church shooter, Dy- lann Roof, from getting his gun; and the gun-show loophole is one that the Islamic State — yes, the Islamic State — has urged its members to exploit. Nothing in the Constitution pre-

vents this type of moderate gun- control legislation, and nothing about the bills would lead the country down any slippery slope. Conserva- tives may find aspects of the bill to criticize, such as the possibility that its coverage may be too broad, but they would do better for the public — including their gun-owning constituents — to make good-faith sugges- tions to improve the bill, instead of reflexively blocking it. It’s time to debate gun legislation on its merits, not to hide behind arguments about judicial precedent or slippery slopes. Recognizing that a constitutional right to gun ownership exists, but that, like other constitutional rights, it can be reasonably regulated, is a crucial first step toward returning sanity to the discus- sion about gun ownership. What is true about guns is true about much else in American society today, where the loudest voices are those on the fringes, when much of the country doesn’t want to hear the bickering and just wants some common-sense solutions. The framers of the Constitution designed it to be capacious enough to permit democratic debate and to embrace these practical solutions.

George T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York. Neal Katyal, a law professor at Georgetown University, previously served as the acting solicitor general of the United States.

A sensible compromise on

regulating guns is within reach

I

t’s almost funny, in a twisted sort of way. Election after election, Repub- licans have based their core political appeal on fear. And yet — as dual gun massacres this weekend starkly illustrate — they refuse to offer solutions to any of the mortal threats Americans actually face. President Trump’s closing (losing) message in the midterms was “Be afraid, be very afraid”; he and his co-partisans have lately doubled down on it for 2020. Of course, the perils that Republicans promise to rescue us from are often fictional, or of their own making. We must fear the coming scourge of socialism (no matter that Trump himself so often advocates command-and- control-style economic policies). Trump likewise stokes public anxiety over “a Market Crash the likes of which has not been seen before” if “anyone but me takes over in 2020” (never mind the market sell-offs triggered by his own trade wars, including on Monday). Trump and allies urge us to cower in trepidation from helpless parents and children seeking asylum, a threat so grave they needed to be separated from one another and caged. We must also fear the supposed Muslim and Latino hordes, who threaten to wipe out Ang- lo-European culture and displace white babies with their own. These are hardly the only foreigners who should inspire existential dread, according to right-wing fever dreams. Rogue nations should, too, thus justify- ing enormous increases in our defense budget. Of course, all the nukes and jets in the world won’t protect us from the assault our enemies abroad are currently waging against us, and that Republi- cans resist confronting: the one on our electoral system. What of the other threats actually endangering American lives? July was the hottest month on record, and deadly natural disasters wors- en. Yet, according to Republicans, cli- mate change is not a hazard but a hoax, or, alternatively, it’s real but not man- made — or perhaps it’s real and man-

made but too expensive to do anything about. Whatever the case, move along, nothing to see here. Keep those oil- extraction subsidies and coal bailouts flowing. Health care likewise tops Americans’ list of worries, and has for the past five years, according to Gallup surveys. But as Americans ration their insulin and panhandle for co-pays on GoFundMe, Republicans offer plans that will reduce lifesaving coverage and shift more costs onto sick patients. Which brings me to the uniquely American epidemic of gun violence, particularly that perpetrated by white supremacists and other far-right terror- ists. This year alone, there have been at least 255 mass-shooting incidents, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Americans cannot worship, dine, shop, browse a food festival or pass notes in homeroom without worrying about being gunned down: As of 2017, 4 in 10 Americans said they feared being a victim in a mass shooting. Immigrants and members of other minority populations have heightened reason for fearing firearm violence given the murderous anti-immigrant attacks in El Paso on Saturday that left 22 dead; the slaughters at synagogues

in Pittsburgh and Poway, Calif., that together took 12 lives; and other recent hate-filled attacks targeting blacks, Muslims and members of the LGBTQ community. But when it comes to addressing this mortal fear — as with the others — Republicans suggest there’s simply nothing to be done. No, Republicans say: We mustn’t admonish political leaders (ahem) whose fearmongering about immigrant “invasions” and “infestations” is echoed in the manifestos of alleged murderers. Nor should we try to undertake common-sense gun-reform policies that voters from both parties support, such as universal background checks or bans on high-capacity magazines. Re- call that Trump threatened to veto two background check bills that passed the House back in February, and that con- gressional Republicans overwhelming- ly opposed. The real thing to fear, according to Republicans and the gun lobby that controls them, isn’t gun violence but rather liberty-crimping policies that might curb gun violence. The best effort Republicans make to address American fears of gun massacres involves appeals to mental health improvements. Or, as Trump put it in his speech Monday morning: “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.” But even this suggestion rings hol- low, given that Republican officials across federal and state governments are actively working to reduce access to mental health care. A federal suit brought by 20 red states and supported by the Trump administration seeks to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act, which extended behavioral health coverage to millions through Medic- aid and the essential health benefits required in individual market plans. Republicans thrive on imagined menaces. Yet when a real-life menace demands action, they dismiss it. What, pray tell, is the party so afraid of? [email protected]

CATHERINE RAMPELL

The GOP’s answer is always more fear

EDEL RODRIGUEZ FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES A potential buyer tries out a gun, which is displayed on an exhibitor’s table during the Nation’s Gun Show in November 2016 in Chantilly.

The Washington Post - 06.08.2019

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