Congress March 23, 2021

Opinion: Republicans Indicate No Desire For Gun Reform After Latest Shooting

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 23: Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence" on March 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. Many senators spoke both for and against gun control the day after a shooting in Boulder, Colorado where a gunman opened fire at a grocery store, killing ten people. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

It’s become sadly predictable how Republican lawmakers respond after another mass shooting.

During a previously scheduled Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, Senators John Kennedy and Ted Cruz dutifully trotted out two well-worn GOP remarks as democrats argued that the Boulder incident as well as last week’s shooting in Atlanta demand action. Sen. Kennedy said this:

Hours after America’s second mass shooting in a week, Sen. John Kennedy downplays the gun problem by noting that “we have a lot of drunk drivers in America that kill a lot of people. We ought to try to combat that too … the answer is not to get rid of all sober drivers.” pic.twitter.com/BvqhNvuWRJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2021

Sen. John Kennedy is a gun lobby lackey who knows we reduced car accident deaths through a whole host of solutions, including seatbelts, speed limits and enhanced car technology. Congress hasn’t even tried trying to do anything like that when it comes to reducing gun deaths. https://t.co/y8bZrS9Osu
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 23, 2021

Not to be outdone, Sen. Cruz issued his “thoughts and prayers” and then accused Democrats of using the latest mass shooting to push for gun reform that he claims would only hurt law-abiding citizens. He also dismissed efforts like this as “ridiculous theater.”

An angry Ted Cruz says “what happens in this committee after every mass shooting is Democrats propose taking away guns from law abiding citizens.” pic.twitter.com/DXaixXxdyp
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2021

If the American people are waiting for any kind of good-faith bi-partisan discussion about meaningful gun reform, then get comfortable. That will be a very long wait.

.@tedcruz, you are full of it. Gun safety is not about making it harder for law abiding citizens to own firearms and repeating the lie wont make it true. It is about making it harder for those who intend harm to themselves or others to have the ability to do so.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) March 23, 2021