After the Sandy Hook tragedy, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) was one of very few Republicans to even whisper the
possibility of gun restrictions.
"Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table," he said less than a week after the Newtown shootings. He told a local TV station that he wanted to see more research done to understand mass shootings. "Let's let the data lead rather than our political opinions."
That sounds downright reasonable. Particularly the research part, the "let the data lead." Except, of course, that
Congress has shut down gun violence research at the federal level. ProPublica
points out that "CDC's current funding for gun violence prevention research remains at $0." Guess who's chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that traditionally sets CDC funding? Yep. Jack Kingston. That aside, guess who has also completely changed his tune on guns, now that he's in a clown-car primary to be the Republican running for Senate this fall.
In a statement to ProPublica, Kingston said he would oppose a proposal from President Obama for $10 million in CDC gun research funding. "The President's request to fund propaganda for his gun-grabbing initiatives though the CDC will not be included in the FY2015 appropriations bill," Kingston said.
So, I guess that means guns aren't on the table anymore. Not when Kingston's got a boatload of crazy to compete with in his primary.