This isn’t going to be a long diary, just wanted to note that while Beto’s having a moment (two diaries on the rec list as I type), for truly capturing the frustration and agony most of us feel about the endless gun violence and hatred gripping the country (I live in Pittsburgh, by the way) — It was Kamala Harris’s August 4 response email that got me cheering, and if a diary went by about this, I missed it. Harris not only pegged the visceral revulsion and horror we all continue to feel, but said, immediately, precisely, and convincingly, exactly what she would do as president to stop it:
Content warning: this email contains references to gun violence and mass shootings that some readers may find upsetting.
Yesterday in El Paso, 20 people lost their lives at a shopping mall. It was a Saturday afternoon. They were killed by a man with an assault rifle, and it was over in minutes.
And then, late last night, nine people were killed during a mass shooting at a bar in Dayton, Ohio, by a man wearing body armor, wielding what has been described as an “assault-style weapon.” The shooting lasted no more than 1 minute.
This is life in America in 2019. People are killed by guns in schools, at festivals, at concerts, at places of worship, in malls, and at picnics -- everywhere people live their lives. El Paso was the 250th mass shooting in America this year, and Dayton is 251.
This doesn’t happen anywhere else. It happens in America because our so-called leaders lack the courage to act. And frankly, I’ve had enough. Have you?
As President, I will ask Congress to place comprehensive gun reform on my desk within 100 days. If they fail to act, I will take action. Here is what I will do:
- I will revoke the licenses of gun manufacturers and dealers that break the law and take the most egregious offenders to court.
- I will mandate the most comprehensive background checks in history by requiring anyone who sells more than five guns in a year to run a background check on all gun sales.
- And I will ban the importation of AR-15-style assault weapons into the United States.
These are actions well within the powers of the presidency. And I will take them. This is a public health emergency that needs to be addressed.
DONATE LINK TO GUN SAFETY GROUPS
Thank you for adding your voice to this fight. We can’t accept this as normal in America. We have to act, and we have to act now.
For the People,
— Kamala Harris
I’ve actually been favoring Warren in this crowded field, but Harris moved up a few notches with this message for me. In fairness, six days later, I did get an email from Warren’s campaign about her plan. It goes into more detail, but I have to say that the executive action piece looks very similar:
I'll do as much as possible from the White House, including extending federal rules to cover the vast majority of gun purchases — that means requiring background checks for sales at gun shows and online.
My administration will investigate and prosecute all those who circumvent or violate existing federal gun laws — including prosecuting gun traffickers, revoking licenses for gun dealers who break the rules, and investigating the NRA and its cronies for exploiting laws on nonprofit spending.
We'll use existing rules to protect survivors of domestic abuse by closing the so-called "boyfriend loophole" to cover any form of romantic partner with a domestic violence conviction, rescind the Trump-era rules and policies that have weakened our gun safety system, and restrict the movement of guns across our borders.
And instead of having a president who winks and nods as white nationalism gets stronger in this country, we will call it out as domestic terrorism and prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law.
Have seen an impassioned statement (but no actual plan) from Beto, which seems about par for the course. Maybe I missed it and am not on the right lists. Feel free to add in the comments.
