A Moment of Silence

Every time I hear the words A Moment of Silence in reference to yet another shooting by some deranged bastard looking for either justification for his miserable existence or belief in some twisted version of religion X, makes me want to scream. 90% of us want GUN CONTROL! You know, something akin to the ATF version whereby citizen X is going to be fingerprinted, licensed and gun in hand, registered, or you go to jail. The ATF law, The National Fire Arms Act, has been in existence for over 80 years yet is NOT the law we need implemented. Now is the time to do this so when Ryan asked for, yet again, a moment of silence, some pols actually said F' you and rightfully stated the fact the moment of silence was a disgrace to the innocents killed. This is why we need referendums, this is why we need term limits, this is why we need to take back our country from the fools in congress because this crap cannot be allowed to continue. 

The charade of silence used to work for House Republicans. As the death toll from mass shootings rose, and rose, and rose, the feudal serfs of the NRA would engage in a moment of silence.

Then, satisfied that they had done something symbolic, they would do nothing of consequence to address the crisis.

On Monday night, however, the charade of silence did not work for Paul Ryan.

 During the first House session following the worst mass shooting in modern American history—which left 50 dead and 53 wounded, following an attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando—Speaker Ryan literally sought to silence the House of Representatives.

The speaker shushed the House and banged his gavel. Then he announced: “The chair asks that the House now observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack in Orlando.”

Ryan, a favorite of social conservatives, did not address what had happened as a hate crime, which targeted lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people and their allies.

Ryan, a favorite of the National Rifle Association, did not address the fact that the victims were gunned down in a country where innocents are gunned down so frequently that House “moments of silence” have become routine.

The speaker simply walked through the motions.

But something actually good happened ...

 A number of Democrats simply refused to join Ryan in what they decried as “the fetish of silence.”

Led by Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes, they left the floor in protest, rather than participate in Ryan’s charade. Himes, who represents a district that borders Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were slain in 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, referred to House moments of silence following mass shootings had become “obnoxious expressions of smug incompetence.”

“Our silence does not honor the victims, it mocks them,” declared Himes.

Inside the House chamber on Monday night, other Democrats they chanted “Where’s the bill?”—demanding a debate on gun legislation.

Where's the bill? We the people demand action, NOW!!!

Addendum:

Omar Mateen bought the assault rifle he used to kill 49 people at Pulse nightclub eight days before Sunday's shooting. The owner of the store that sold him the gun, St. Lucie Shooting Center, said on Tuesday that Mateen passed a background check. (In Florida, a background check is essentially just a query of several databases to determine whether the buyer has any felony convictions, active warrants or domestic-violence injunctions.)

But that was it! There was no waiting period. Under Florida law, he did not need a permit to purchase or carry the rifle, nor a license to own it. 

Here are five things that are harder to get in the state of Florida than an assault rifle.

1. Abortion
2. Drivers's License
3. Solar Panels
4. Voter-registration cards
5. An exotic animal

Am I missing something here?