Sen. Joe Manchin contradicts himself. Immediately after the first-grader massacre in Connecticut, he called for national discussion on how to prevent gun tragedies. He said he doesn't need an assault rifle for hunting, and never needs more than three bullets at a time.
Sen. Joe Manchin contradicts himself. Immediately after the first-grader massacre in Connecticut, he called for national discussion on how to prevent gun tragedies. He said he doesn't need an assault rifle for hunting, and never needs more than three bullets at a time.
Everyone assumed he was calling for a ban on mass-murder military weapons and 30-shot magazines. But on a Sunday TV news show, he said he will oppose "an encroachment on your Second Amendment rights" -- which generally means the right to carry assault guns with 30-shot magazines.
Will Manchin try to prevent school massacres, or won't he? West Virginians need to know -- especially Tuesday, as Vice President Biden delivers recommendations to curb America's horrible gun murder rate.
Here's a quiz: Do you think Americans are 32 times more murderous than Australians, Britons and Frenchmen are?
If you answered no, then why does America have 32 times more gun killings per-capita than those nations do?
The answer, obviously, is because those countries have strong gun control laws to protect people, while America doesn't.
Harold Meyerson, editor of The American Prospect, wrote in The Washington Post:
"I've never heard even the staunchest gun advocate make the case that Americans are inherently more homicidal than everyone else. They repeat ad nauseam that people, not guns, kill people -- but they don't argue that there's something about Americans that make them kill more than their counterparts in other nations ....
"Want to argue that we have 32 times the rate of dangerous mental illness that they have in Australia? That Americans are characteristically 16 times more murderous than Spaniards or Germans? I thought not."
Newsweek international editor Fareed Zakaria wrote:
"The number of firearms deaths in the United States was 32,000 last year. Around 11,000 were gun homicides .... England and Wales have about 50 gun homicides a year .... The U.S. gun homicide rate is 30 times that of France or Australia ...."
It's utterly insane that America has 11,000 annual gun murders while England has only 50. These numbers make it seem that Americans are vicious monsters, prowling to kill -- but everyone knows this isn't true. People are mostly alike, everywhere.
The only explanation is that America is polluted with 300 million guns, easily available to every drunk, drughead, psycho, sicko, criminal or schoolboy. And most politicians won't try to prevent the slaughter because they're terrified of the powerful gun lobby.
Will Sen. Manchin try to protect Americans from gun murder -- or not? Maybe his response to Biden's report Tuesday will provide a clue.
Sen. Joe Manchin contradicts himself. Immediately after the first-grader massacre in Connecticut, he called for national discussion on how to prevent gun tragedies. He said he doesn't need an assault rifle for hunting, and never needs more than three bullets at a time.
Everyone assumed he was calling for a ban on mass-murder military weapons and 30-shot magazines. But on a Sunday TV news show, he said he will oppose "an encroachment on your Second Amendment rights" -- which generally means the right to carry assault guns with 30-shot magazines.
Will Manchin try to prevent school massacres, or won't he? West Virginians need to know -- especially Tuesday, as Vice President Biden delivers recommendations to curb America's horrible gun murder rate.
Here's a quiz: Do you think Americans are 32 times more murderous than Australians, Britons and Frenchmen are?
If you answered no, then why does America have 32 times more gun killings per-capita than those nations do?
The answer, obviously, is because those countries have strong gun control laws to protect people, while America doesn't.
Harold Meyerson, editor of The American Prospect, wrote in The Washington Post:
"I've never heard even the staunchest gun advocate make the case that Americans are inherently more homicidal than everyone else. They repeat ad nauseam that people, not guns, kill people -- but they don't argue that there's something about Americans that make them kill more than their counterparts in other nations ....
"Want to argue that we have 32 times the rate of dangerous mental illness that they have in Australia? That Americans are characteristically 16 times more murderous than Spaniards or Germans? I thought not."
Newsweek international editor Fareed Zakaria wrote:
"The number of firearms deaths in the United States was 32,000 last year. Around 11,000 were gun homicides .... England and Wales have about 50 gun homicides a year .... The U.S. gun homicide rate is 30 times that of France or Australia ...."
It's utterly insane that America has 11,000 annual gun murders while England has only 50. These numbers make it seem that Americans are vicious monsters, prowling to kill -- but everyone knows this isn't true. People are mostly alike, everywhere.
The only explanation is that America is polluted with 300 million guns, easily available to every drunk, drughead, psycho, sicko, criminal or schoolboy. And most politicians won't try to prevent the slaughter because they're terrified of the powerful gun lobby.
Will Sen. Manchin try to protect Americans from gun murder -- or not? Maybe his response to Biden's report Tuesday will provide a clue.
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