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\nRepublican voters deserve better than this. They deserve leadership in Washington that cares about more than just the next news cycle. Mass shootings are, unfortunately, inevitable until the nation gets ahold of the mental health crisis gripping isolated, depressed young men. The foolish decision to pretend as if passing some federal law would stop them has only backed Republicans further into the corner. Will any lessons be learned? Don\u2019t count on it.<\/p>\n
Republicans Play the Fool After Compromising on ‘Gun Control’<\/a><\/p>\n With the recent mass shooting in Highland Park that took the lives of seven people, a renewed call for \u201cgun control\u201d from Democrats has begun. That comes just weeks after Republicans lined up to sign on to a\u00a0gun control bill<\/a> (now passed into law) with the idea that doing so would provide common ground on the issue.<\/p>\n As predicted, though, that didn\u2019t even buy the GOP enough goodwill to make it through the next mass shooting, much less did it put the issue to bed for any length of time. Here\u2019s\u00a0what I wrote<\/a>\u00a0when Sen. John Cornyn was first announced to be negotiating with Democrats on gun control.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the thing, though. When whatever red flag laws that get passed fail to stop the next mass shooter, the call to \u201cdo something\u201d will only grow louder. And the next \u201csomething\u201d will be an even further encroachment. I understand the desire to act in good faith and attempt to take some of the heat off, but Republicans have to understand that the Democrat push for gun confiscation and an \u201cassault weapons\u201d ban will not stop with whatever compromise legislation arises here.<\/p>\n That leaves the obvious question for Republicans: Is it smart to give ground when the end goal of the Democrats is being telegraphed to you? I know my answer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the case of the Highland Park shooter, he had every red flag imaginable and Illinois\u2019 red flag law still failed to stop him from obtaining guns. That was always the problem with any GOP compromise on this issue. When you concede ground, all you are doing is providing gun control proponents fodder to say \u201cSee, your solutions didn\u2019t work so we need to do it my way now.\u201d<\/p>\n I also shared similar thoughts on social media after the text of the then-bill was leaked.<\/p>\n Whether this is reasonable or not, and we'd need a lot of details to know what these vague provisions actually do, there will be another mass shooting. When there is, the calls to "do something" won't be quelled by passing this. <\/p>\n The GOP is getting played. Bookmark it. https:\/\/t.co\/fsjwS4TEVk<\/a><\/p>\n — Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) June 12, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n