Guns, God, and Gays

In the wake of the latest US mass shooting, this time in Lewiston, Maine, newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ran out the familiar, well-worn, and entirely bankrupt trope that now is not the time to consider reasonable gun legislation.

“At the end of the day, the problem is the human heart. It’s not guns, it’s not the weapons,” Johnson said. “We have to protect the right of the citizens to protect themselves. That’s the Second Amendment, and that’s why our party stands so strongly for that.”

There are more guns in the United States than there are people. Someone, please explain to me how even more guns are the answer to a uniquely American epidemic of mass shootings.

As Steven King posted on Twitter (call it X if you must), this doesn’t happen in other countries. This is how Speaker Johson sees “American exceptionalism.” The problem isn’t the guns; it’s the killing spirit in the hearts of Americans.

On their face, Johnson’s poorly thought comments, and those of the party he leads, are and always have been, ludicrous and deadly. This time, it’s 18 people dead. How many next time? We goddamn well know there will be a next time. And a time after that, and then again.

By all means, “now is not the time” to talk about it when it’s in our faces yet again. Instead, let’s give our thoughts and prayers…