US President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) termed the school shooting at Nashville which claimed the lives of six people as “sick” and said that the US has to do more about gun violence and stressed that “it’s ripping the soul of this nation.”
Biden’s remarks come after a person killed six people, including three children at Covenant School in Nashville.
He also called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban and said that the shooter in Nashville reportedly had two assault weapons and a pistol.
So the President urged Congress to pass an assault weapons ban. High-capacity magazines, allowing allowing users to get off numerous rounds of ammunition in an instant, have no legitimate recreational use. They are used to kill lots of people, quickly. Admittedly, banning muskets, as intended by the Framers, could be violative of the Second Amendment.
Nevertheless, it was bad when Biden added
It’s just sick. You know, we’re still gathering the facts of what happened and why. And we do know that, as of now, there are a number of people who are not going to, did not make it, including children. And it’s heartbreaking. A family’s worst nightmare.
Commission of a horrific act we could not imagine ourselves or our loved ones does not qualify the act as sick. It would be more accurate to characterize it- as Democrats assiduously avoid doing- as evil. We probably will never know for sure because assailant Audrey Hale was killed by police but
The shooter had drawn detailed maps of Covenant School, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a press conference. Drake said that the suspect in Monday’s shooting was armed with three firearms, CNN reported.
Drake further said that the shooter entered the school by shooting through one of the doors. The shooter was once a student at the school, CNN reported citing initial findings from police.
According to CNN, John Drake said, “We’ve also determined that there were maps drawn of the school in detail of surveillance, entry points, et cetera. We know and believe entry was gained through shooting through one of the doors, is how they actually got into the school.” (ANI).
As I'm writing (typing) this, Nashville Police is revealing that Hale possessed seven weapons bought- legally- at five different stores.
This was not an impulsive act but one which was carefully planned. Thus, one cannot suggest (as Biden did) that the murderer was "sick" simultaneously from disregarding the possible impact of her identification as transsexual. I wouldn't go there- but neither would I blithely refer to an evil act as sick.
But while Biden should be lauded for reminding the public that assault weapons should not be possessed by non-civilians, he ought to be condemned for flippancy at the planned event. The conservative daily rag New York Post notes
My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband,” the 80-year-old president began his remarks at an East Room gathering of women-owned businesses.
“And I eat Jeni’s ice cream — chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream,” he said.
“By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs,” Biden added at his only scheduled public appearance of the day. “You think I’m kidding? I’m not.”
After addressing the murders in Nashville, the President
returned to the subject of ice cream with another shout-out to a rep from Jeni’s, an Ohio-based chain with shops across the country, including a location near the White House.
“The businesses represented in this room stretch across industries, from restaurants to architectural firms to hardware stores, plus Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. And by the way — by the way, it is splendid,” Biden gushed.
“If I were allowed to take you upstairs, you got a whole freezer full of Jeni’s chocolate chip ice cream,” Biden went on — closing his eyes slightly as if to reminisce about taking a bite.
“You know it’s pretty dull when you’ve been in public life as long as I have and you’re known for two things: chocolate chip ice cream and Ray-Bans sunglasses, but what the hell,” the president added.
Joe Biden does very good stand-up. However, whatever the original purpose of the gathering, this occasion called for solemnity and was not the time to be jocular. As I'm writing (typing) this, Nashville Police is revealing that Hale possessed seven weapons bought- legally- at five different stores. This highlights both the horrid nature of the act committed and the need to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of these deadly weapons.
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