Just My Opinion: If not now…when?

Republicans, who have received millions of dollars in contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun rights’ groups, have said this isn’t a time for “politics,” but a time for “thoughts and prayers.” Numerous sources, including Fortune Magazine and the Center for Responsive Politics, list President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr among the top recipients of funding from gun rights’ groups, including the NRA.

In their clamor to not only prevent additional gun control measures, these well-funded legislators are eager to reduce restrictions, without regard to the carnage to which it could lead. The House of Representatives was reportedly poised to approve the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Legislation that would have legalized silencers, loosened regulations on armor piercing bullets, and recognized other states’ sales permits that allow residents to carry concealed weapons.

The NRA argued that legalizing silencers was a health measure, helping to protect the hearing of hunters. Opponents suggested, if approved, it would help mask an attack similar to that in Las Vegas, adding to the devastation.

If it isn’t a time to debate gun control, then when is it a good time?

Honolulu – 1999 – 7 dead
If not now … when?
Marysville, Washington – 2014 – 5 dead
If not now … when?
Fairchild Air Force Base – 1994 – 5 dead
If not now … when?
Thurston High School – 1998 – 4 dead
If not now … when?
Umpquah Community College – 2015 – 9 dead
If not now … when?
Alturas, California – 4 dead
If not now … when?
Carson City, Nevada – 2011 – 5 dead
If not now … when?
Santa Barbara, California – 2014 – 6 dead
If not now … when?
San Bernardino, California – 2015 – 14 dead
If not now … when?
Tucson, Arizona – 2011 – 6 dead
If not now … when?
Salt Lake City, Utah – 2007 – 6 dead
If not now … when?
Dallas, Texas – 2016 – 5 dead
If not now … when?
Hesston, Kansas – 2016 – 3 dead
If not now … when?
Virginia Tech – 2007 – 33 dead
If not now … when?
Charleston, South Carolina – 2015 – 9 dead
If not now … when?
Washington, DC Navy Yard – 2013 – 13 dead
If not now … when?

Wakefield, Massachusetts – 2000 – 7 dead
If not now … when?
Lancaster, Pennsylvania – 2006 – 5 dead
If not now … when?
Columbine, Littleton, Colorado – 1999 – 13 dead
If not now … when?
Sandy Hook, Newtown, Connecticut – 2012 – 26 dead
If not now … when?
Orlando, Florida – 2016 – 53 dead
If not now … when?
Las Vegas, Nevada – 2017 – 58 dead (so far)

IF NOT NOW … WHEN?