Whenever there’s a mass shooting, there’s a frame. Were they brown? Terrorist. Black? Terrorist. White? Uh, did it happen in a state with any sort of gun safety regulation, no matter how lax? Gun control doesn’t work! Also … they were (of course) mentally ill. Here—have some extra prayers.
During a morning press conference, local officials in Texas mentioned that the Sutherland Springs shooter didn’t have a concealed carry permit. Which has immediately become the preferred Republican frame for this tragedy.
Oh, well then, it was an illegal gun. So the next step is obviously …
Except, dumb ass AP and dumber ass junior, there’s no such thing as a ‘license to carry a rifle.’ Texas does still require a license for the concealed carry of a handgun—which Devin Kelly did not have. Even that is a “shall-issue” license that’s essentially automatic on request. There’s no license for a rifle. None.
There’s no doubt that Kelley shouldn’t have had a weapon, based on his history of domestic abuse—though Republicans have worked to keep those guns flowing—but it also seems clear enough that he purchased his church-slaughtering weapon right there at a San Antonio gun dealer. Also, that law-abiding citizen didn’t stop one child from being massacred.