RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 1/14
Gun Violence is something the GOP has wished for since the lapse of the assault weapons ban that passed during the Clinton Administration. How did this happen, and what can be done about it? Let's explore and find out.
04:16 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 2/14
This started in the 1970s...1977 to be exact when the NRA was taken over by extremists who believed that gun safety and public safety should take a backseat to having everybody being armed. This is how the trouble began.
04:17 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 3/14
The reason for that change was simple. Those extremists were angry that federal agents then had to kill an armed suspect who was a member of the NRA. Of course, this was something that caused them to snap.
04:21 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 4/14
From there, the NRA, and the ILA decided that less gun restrictions was the answer, a complete 180 from their original goal of supporting gun laws, and gun safety. The NRA would gain their greatest power from 1998, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
04:23 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 5/14
They experienced some very sever setbacks in the 80s and 90s. The biggest of which was the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. While he and his press secretary James Brady were hit, this angered Americans as they did not want another JFK, Bobby Kennedy, or MLK situation.
04:24 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 6/14
Another major setback for them was in the 1990s when the Brady Law was passed by Bill Clinton. This included mandatory 72-hour wait periods, and mandatory background checks, as well as an assault weapons ban.
04:25 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 7/14
However, the NRA has managed to put in a 10-year sunset into the law that if it wasn't renewed it was going to die. Again let's not get ahead of ourselves, and let's get to 1998.
04:26 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 8/14
That year Charlton Heston took over as president of the NRA from 1998-2003. His biggest words in that time were from my cold dead hands. Also around this time, the NRA has produced slick infomercials to scare Americans from gun safety. Though this was not in the best of tastes.
04:28 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 9/14
This was around the Columbine shooting, and the feelings then were raw. However, it didn't matter, since the NRA had brought in people whom actually believed the hype.
04:29 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 10/14
After 2003 Wayne LaPierre took over, and the NRA became a huge force, with lawsuits stilted towards the gun lobby under the guise of the 2nd amendment. This lead to two significant events. The death of the Assault Weapons Ban, and a law to protect gun manufacturers.
04:30 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 11/14
That's right, before the GOP lost control of the House, and ultimately Congress, they made sure at the behest of Mitch McConnell to protect the gun Manufacturers.
04:31 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 12/14
However, as you can well figure from here...with the Heller decision, stand your ground, and now administered GOP states wanting open "constitutional" carry has made our situation worse, and we're fast becoming numb to it.
04:34 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 13/14
What can we do about it...we can surely make e-mails and calls to our state and federal legislatures to tell them to do something about it...and start marching in the streets to demanding something being done, and ultimately not getting numb and tired.
04:36 PM - May 03, 2023
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RobPalmerIRL (he/him/his)
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thread 14/14
Ultimately when we keep our eyes on the prize, and can make gun manufacturers responsible for their actions the same as the tobacco industry, we will make great strides.
04:37 PM - May 03, 2023
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