It’s Monday 4/17/2023 – Jefferson County Democrats of PA

IT’S MONDAY! and a discussion of intent may be in order. Whether you follow her or not, Rachel Maddow has a directive we should all heed, “Watch what they do, not what they say.” This is good advice to follow in all aspects of life, but we are going to apply it here to the Republican Propaganda Machine.

We hear a lot of talk about respecting life but when children are being shot in their classrooms, we are told that nothing can be done to prevent that. The fact is that gun violence is the leading cause of child death is lost on them, and the fact that the majority of the American public is screaming for a solution to that problem is largely ignored. I beg you to read the Second Amendment to the Constitution of The United States and show me where the wording guarantees an individual right to gun ownership. The whole thing is about militias, which are regulated by the states, i.e. the National Guard.

Even if we can somehow eke out individual rights here, the government has the right to regulate the types of arms and accessories available to individuals. To my point, we are not permitted to own machine guns, rocket launchers, and hand grenades, so why not prohibit assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and fragmenting or armor-piercing ammunition? If you want to realize where the bulk of the country is on this just take a look at Tennessee. Two black legislators were ejected from the State Legislature, in a very racist way, for joining a protest on the house floor demanding action on gun violence. They were both reinstated in a week by their districts.

Thoughts and prayers are not the answer, nor are they an effective deterrent to gun violence. Blaming it on mental health is also not the answer. In recent mass shootings, these weapons were legally bought by people who had, known at least by their families, to be having emotional issues that would be inconsistent with gun ownership. The common denominator here is the gun, had it not been there, there would not have been an incident. More mass shootings than days in the year so far. We, as a nation, are unique in this problem worldwide. We, as a nation, are the only ones who can solve it, and we must for our children’s sake. (Sandy Hook victims are pictured above.)

PARTICIPATE! DONATE! VOTE!
John Huot, JeffDems Chairperson
From the Editor: Another mass shooting, 4 dead, 28 injured in Alabama Saturday night. Contact Rep. Glenn Thompson and Senators Casey and Fetterman. We as a nation must get assault weapons off the streets.

CALENDAR
Apr 20 – 7pm Ex Bd Mtg, Winslow House B&B, 200 Pine St., Punxsy
May 1 – Last day to REGISTER to vote before the Primary.
May 9 – Last day to apply for a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot.
May 16 – Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted mail-in and civilian absentee ballots (by 8pm).
May 16 – Primary Election Day (polls open 7am – 8pm)

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Jefferson County Democratic Committee
c/o Jane Halin, Treasurer
PO Box 266
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
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