In the least surprising bit of news possibly ever, lawmakers in Texas don’t think gun control is the answer to preventing tragedies like the recent shooting in Dallas that claimed the lives of five people.
When I heard the news that somebody with a sniper rifle was shooting people in Dallas, my one of my first thoughts was, “How the fuck did somebody get access to a sniper rifle?” Then I remembered, oh yeah, America, and, especially, Texas.
Following the event, Dallas News reports that Dallas Police Chief David Brown asked lawmakers to get their shit together and pass some gun control legislation to make the jobs of the police easier and presumably (I hope) for the general good of the public safety.
They should “do their job,” he said Monday, passing gun legislation and shifting the burden of society’s ills away from overly taxed police officers.
Several state lawmakers told The Dallas Morning News this week that they are beginning to develop legislative proposals to address issues arising from the Dallas shooting and racial tensions between black communities and police.
Cool. Great. Definitely do that. But please try to focus on the change that would have the great impact on actually preventing shootings like this. As you’ve probably guessed, that’s not what they’re doing.
For some reason, state legislators think that stricter open carry laws are the solution. Of course, they would certainly help, but I feel like people who want to commit mass murders would just ignore that suggestion. You know what would make it harder for a mass murderer to mass murder, though? Stricter access to guns, especially automatic weapons.
This weak argument points to the confusion that followed when police officers incorrectly identified a suspect who was seen carrying a weapon at the event. They argue that open carry laws make it more difficult for them to weed out the “bad guy.” That is true, but it is also rather specific to this exact situation and doesn’t seem particularly helpful in preventing someone from shooting a bunch of people in the first place.
But remember, folks, this is Texas, so they almost certainly will never get a fucking grip and pass some gun control legislation because it’s much easier to pretend like they’re a bunch of cowboys who are going to secede from the Union one day.
Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who serves on the upper chamber’s criminal justice committee, said he was certain the shooting would not spur successful efforts to limit access to guns in Texas.
“This is not a gun-control problem,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any kind of real momentum to take guns out of law abiding citizens’ hands.”
He cautioned that legislation can’t change the hearts of people like Micah Johnson, the 25-year-old Dallas shooter, who don’t trust or respect police.
“I don’t know that there’s any piece of legislation Texas could draft to solve those problems,” he said.
No, gun control probably would not change the mind of someone who hated the police and wanted to shoot them, but access to guns would certainly change their actions. Do I sound like a broken record? I feel like one! I also feel insane listening to these people bullshit their way through these absurd arguments.
And it wouldn’t be an asinine gun control debate if mass shootings weren’t blamed on mental health issues.
To help people like Johnson, Rep. James White, R-Woodville, said Texas needs to improve its mental health infrastructure.
“We need to get our mental health response infrastructure up to standards,” White said. “It may definitely mean spending more money. I know it definitely means spending the money that we have more effectively.”
Right, right, yeah. That’s it. The best way to prevent someone from shooting many people (with a single round of ammunition!) is definitely not to stop them from getting a weapon that can shoot a bunch of people.
Never change, Texas. But actually, for the love of god, please fucking change.
Image via Getty.