Not To Be Wasted

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

The comment embargo period under Berg’s 18th Law of Media Latency has expired. My comment:

Six people were killed and 12 others injured in a mass shooting on a street of bars and nightclubs in Sacramento, California, at 2:00 in the morning on April 3, 2022. Law enforcement sources say a man drove a car up 10th Streetnear the K Street Mall and shot from the car. Another man also fired shots. The shooting may have been intended for rivals but by-standers were struck as well. Smiley Martin and his brother Dandrae Martin have been arrested.

Smiley was charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Possession of a Machine Gun (a pistol recovered at the scene had been converted to fully-automatic fire). He was released from state prison in February on probation despite a 2017 felony assault along with convictions for possessing an assault weapon and thefts. Prosecutors said Martin has displayed a pattern of criminal behavior from the time he was 18.

Dandrae Martin, who was held without bail, was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after serving just over 1 1/2 years for violating probation in separate cases involving marijuana and aggravated assault. He is charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Assault with a Firearm.

“President” Lesko Brandon, in response to the shooting, declared: “Ban ghost guns. Require background checks for all gun sales. Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability. Pass my budget proposal, which would give cities more of the funding they need to fund the police and fund the crime prevention and intervention strategies that can make our cities safer. These are just a few of the steps Congress urgently needs to take to save lives.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said: “Too many families and communities across the nation have been shattered by the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our nation, which steals more than 100 beautiful souls each day. Moved by the tireless activism of survivors and advocates, House Democrats have passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act: commonsense and urgent action that will help end the bloodshed. Democrats will not relent until we enshrine this life-saving legislation into law, because inaction is not an option.”

NBA Golden State Warriors basketball coach Steve Kerr spoke out: “It’s just mindboggling to me that we can just continue to cater to the very small minority in this country,” he said. “Again, 90 percent of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, support background checks. We go through drivers’ school and drivers’ safety. And we have to apply for a license to drive a car. Nothing like that with a gun? … A lot of us are just angry.”

California already has the nation’s strictest gun laws, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The suspects are felons who are prohibited by state and federal from purchasing or possessing firearms. 100 spent casings were recovered from the scene. Prosecutors have not said how the brothers acquired the pistol or ammunition, both of which require identification and a background check prior to purchase, in California.

None of the people calling for more gun control laws explained how their proposals would have prevented the Sacramento tragedy.

None of the people calling for more gun control laws called for longer prison sentences or tougher parole standards to keep dangerous offenders off the streets.

None of the people calling for more gun control laws are serious about crime prevention, only virtue-signaling, which is a shame because America does indeed have a problem with gun violence. But the problem isn’t the guns, it’s the people using them to commit violence, a very small, distinct, readily identifiable minority of the population but one that simply cannot be criticized in polite society. So the violence continues, more innocents die, other innocents are stripped of rights, to avoid committing the gravest offense of all: speaking the truth.

Joe Doakes

Rahm Emanuel told Democrats to “never waste a crisis“.

It’s one rule they follow to the hilt.