Tuesday Thought #2

The United States of Guns: Background Checks and Three-Day Waiting Periods Don't Work

Those of us who fall on the side of sensible gun control should be worried; very worried.

Background checks and waiting periods don’t work; we found that out here in South Carolina last year when a murderer was “mistakenly” sold a gun that he then sued to murder nine people at a Charleston church. The 21-year-old charged — and, just so you know, his name will never appear on this blog — in those nine murders, was allowed to purchase a .45-caliber handgun at a Columbia store because federal authorities could not locate the arrest records within the three-day period; the murderer had a drug charge on his record that would have disqualified him from purchasing a gun.

In 2015, over a quarter of a million background checks were left incomplete after the federal government’s three-day waiting period, meaning that 271,359 guns were sold before the purchasers background check was even finished.

Bad? What’s worse is that when the background checks were completed it was discovered that 9,063 guns had been sold, in South Carolina, to people whom the FBI had determined after-the-fact should never have had a gun. But those nine thousand folks got their guns because the FBI could not complete a background check in time.

Now, to be fair, the FBI doesn’t know how many background checks actually resulted in a gun purchase, so there’s no way of actually knowing how many of those 9,063 people who weren’t checked before purchase actually left the store with a gun. But even if one person who should not be allowed to own a firearm was allowed to purchase one because it just takes too darn long to finish the background check, then maybe the background check and waiting period needs to be longer, huh? Maybe we should oh, I don’t know, make people WAIT until the background check is done, however long that takes, before selling a weapon.

And we do know how many people who do buy guns when they should not have been allowed because of the FBI's retrieval requests; the FBI sends a list of those folks to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms [ATF] and they go out and confiscate those weapons. In 2015, the FBI sent 2,892 such requests to the ATF, up from 2,511 requests in 2014.

Looks like more and more people, who shouldn’t have guns, are getting them.

Luckily South Carolina’s Congressman, James Clyburn, a Democrat because, of course, has proposed the Background Check Completion Act, which would prevent a gun from being transferred by a licensed dealer until the background check is finished no matter how long it takes.

“The latest numbers show the problem is not going away, but getting worse. Congress must pass my bill, the Background Check Completion Act, to close the Charleston Loophole and keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of people the law already says should not own them. The policy should be very simple: no check, no sale.” — Rep. James Clyburn

Doesn’t that seem right? You know, better safe than sorry; better safe, than dead.

Take a minute to get your Congressional representatives a shout out — find them HERE — and tell them that this loophole that allows people who should not have guns to purchase guns, needs to be closed.

One life saved would be enough.

The State

ISBL Asshat of the Week [Again]: Stacey Campfield

Stacey Campfield, a Republican state Senator from Tennessee and frequent Asshat of the Week here on ISBL, is at it again. See, in order to, as he now says, highlight the hypocrisy of lawmakers working for gun control, he posted an illustration of a pressure cooker—like the ones used in the Boston bombings—to mock gun control advocates.

“Here comes Feinstein again” Campfield titled the post, in a reference to Senator Dianne Feinstein, who authored an assault weapons ban after the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Campfield labeled the pressure cooker illustration with features similar to those of a gun – like a “tactical pistol grip” and “folding stock.”

“Large-capacity, can cook for hours without reloading,” it also says.

And, as gun control advocates and victims of gun violence asked him to remove the image and the commentary for its tastelessness, Campfield refused, telling ABC News:

“I think it’s tasteless when Obama will drag everybody he can up to Capitol Hill and try to pass gun control. I think that was classless and tasteless.”

Um, actually, Obama was putting a face, and faces, to the need to stricter gun control and backgrounds checks, Mr. Campfield. And maybe, had we had stricter background checks, Adam Lanza’s mother might not have had an arsenal in her home within easy reach of her son’s hands; and maybe, you delusional asshat, just maybe Newtown wouldn’t have had to bury twenty-six young souls.

Tasteless and classless? No, that’s on you. Campfield then said:

“I was showing the hypocrisy of Dianne Feinstein, the gun grabbers—of their inability to realize that it is a person that does activity, not an inanimate object, be it a gun or a pressure cooker.”

Yes, Senator Asshat, it is the person that does the activity, and had we had in place stricter background checks, maybe that person wouldn’t have had access to guns. And, to be clear, you lying pandering ass-kissing lapdog to the NRA, no one, not even Senator Feinstein, is trying to “grab” your guns. They’re trying to grab your attention and realize we have a problem with gun violence in this country and need to do something about it.

Then, to show just how out of touch he is, Campfield had no idea he might offend anyone in Boston who was hurt or maimed by the bombs, or the families of anyone in Boston killed by the bombs:

“Really? If my post was inappropriate talking about ‘crock pot control’ then where is the outrage from the left when they push for gun control after the Sandy Hook shooting? I’m sorry if I exposed your double standard....Well, not really.”

Congratulation Tennessee, Stacey Campfield represents you, and you let him say the things he says, and spit in the faces of victims of gun violence, and victims of terrorism, because he wants to keep his hand out for an NRAS payoff. But, what can we expect from a man who tried to stop teachers and school administrators from saying the word ‘gay’ and the man who tried to force teachers and school administrators to ‘out’ any student they suspected might be gay.

He’ s so out of touch with what people want—90% of Americans want stricter background checks—and yet you keep sending him back into politics, Tennessee. Thanks so much for that.

source

more ISBL on Campfield: HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE

Random Musings

They’re Number 10!

Rhode Island has approved marriage equality in a 26-12 Senate vote. The House passed the bill in January, and it must get another, basically procedural, vote there again, but then it heads to the desk of Governor Lincoln Chafee who has said he will sign the bill. Once signed, same-sex marriage will become legal in August.

Governor Chafee issued this statement after the vote:

I am always proud to be a Rhode Islander, but never more so than today.

After yesterday’s Judiciary Committee vote, I expressed my hope that the full Rhode Island Senate would pass a bill that chooses tolerance and fairness over division and discrimination. In passing the Marriage Equality Act, they have done just that.

I thank the Senators who have taken a stand to move Rhode Island forward and commend the Senate President for calling the roll. Great credit should go to Ray Sullivan, everyone at Rhode Islanders United for Marriage, and the countless volunteers who knocked on doors and participated in phone banks. Finally, I want to applaud the pioneers, such as the late Julie Pell, who for decades have fought for the fundamental rights of gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders. This day would not have been possible without their efforts.

Pending the final vote by the House of Representatives, Rhode Island will no longer be an outlier in our region. We will have the welcome mat out. We will be open for business, and we will once again affirm our legacy as a place that is tolerant and appreciative of diversity.

Brava Rhode Island, the Little State That Could!

The French National Assembly has voted to approve marriage equality in a 331-225 vote. France now joins New Zealand, Uruguay, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, and Denmark as the 14th nation to offer its citizens nationwide marriage equality.

And here we sit, in the back seat twiddling our thumbs as the rest of the world progresses.

Senator Rob Portman has seen a loss of support from Republicans since he came out for marriage equality last month.

His approval rating has fallen from 44% to 40%, while his disapproval ratings have climbed from 34% to 31%.

He lost my support when he voted against gun background checks last week.

We have one movie theater in Smallville, a dusty crusty relic from the last century that once had a Negros Only balcony back in the day. But they rarely show anything other than G-rated kiddie films, so we usually drive the 25-miles to a Regal Theater.

Maybe we won’t be doing that anymore, though.

See, Regal Entertainment Group has announced in a company memo that it's cutting the hours for thousands of nonsalaried employees to avoid providing health care insurance under Obamacare. Yup, deny them healthcare coverage and then cut their hours so they can’t afford to even see a doctor without insurance. Nicely done Regal.

And this is from a company that posted a hefty $334 million in 2012 profits, and whose shares rose by 17%. This is a company that gave its chief executive a 31% pay increase:  Amy Miles earned $4.45 million in 2012, up from $3.4 million in the previous year. But they don’t wanna pay for healthcare because it’s too expensive.

Shame on you Regal.

But Regal Cinemas might be at the receiving end of one of the worst consumer backlashes yet. See, others have tried to do the same thing—like Appleby’s and Denny’s—and seen their own stocks take a tumble. Maybe, if that happens to regal, Amy Miles might take a pay cut? I laugh, because her greed apparently knows no bounds.

Regal is also facing pushback from employees; after getting their hours cut by 25% or more, some full-time managers have resigned.

Carlos and I love The Borgia’s on Showtime—even with Jeremy irons and his idiotic stance on same-sex marriage and incest—but we’ve also started watching Da Vinci’s Demons on Starz.

It’s really more of an Indiana Jones Da Vinci kind of show, but, well, as I like to do in my shallow moments, drool on some of the new hot mens on the show.

Blake Ritson plays the evil, really evil, so evil that when he’s done with you he has someone cut off your head, Count Girolamo Riario. But he does so with a smirk that is both, like I said evil, and kind of hot.

Then we have Elliot Cowan, who plays Lorenzo Medici. He does wear the really bad sideburns, but he also oozes some of the sexy.

As does Tom Bateman who plays his drool-worthy brother, Giulino Medici. He has a kind of Henry Cavill thing about him, and, of course, leather pants.

The show is mildly entertaining but becomes better when these three appear onscreen, especially Blake Ritson, who looks a little like Carlos, without that whole 'Off with your head' thing..

Just sayin’.

Y’all know that I’ve yet to meet a curse word I didn’t like, but even I know when it’s appropriate to talk like a longshoreman and when it’s not.

AJ Clemente, however, does not.

On his first day, FIRST DAY, on the job as news anchor for KFYR, an NBC affiliate n Bismarck, North Dakota, he opened the broadcast with the words “gay … f**king … sh*t”. His co-anchor Van Tieu stumbled as she heard what he said, though she maintained her composure.

I might have gone all, “You f**king a**hated dipsh*t! What the f**k were you thinking?”

But then we’d both be out of a job.

Clemente, for his part, Tweeted on his, now closed, account, "That couldn't have gone any worse!"

Clemente was suspended and then fired from his one day, first day f**k up.

But, he did try to explain that he wasn’t say ‘gay’ but that he was trying to pronounce Tsegaye Kebede, the winner of the London Marathon, panicked, and began cursing.

Either way, he’s up sh*t creek without a motherf**king paddle, eh?

Good news on the equality beat …

Nevada's Senate took the first step toward recognizing same-sex marriage this week when, by a vote of 12-9, passed the Senate Joint Resolution 13, which repeals a constitutional provision passed by voters ten years ago to ban same-sex marriage. The legislation also declares that Nevada recognizes all marriages regardless of gender and, if the measure is passed by the Assembly this year and again next year, it will go to the voters for ratification in 2016.

Time moves slowly in politics, no?

But, of note, is that one, just one, Republican joined with Democrats to vote in favor of the resolution, and then one other lawmaker, Democratic Sate Senator Kelvin Atkinson publicly declared for the first time that he is gay.

"I’m black. I'm gay," Atkinson said, after describing his father's interracial re-marriage that would have been banned earlier in American history. "I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay male."

Atkinson went on to rebut the argument that gay marriage threatens any other definition of marriage: "If this hurts your marriage, then your marriage was in trouble in the first place."

Nicely put, Senator Atkinson, and Welcome Out!

Of course, here at HOMO HQ, we’re already shipping out your copy of The Gay Agenda and a Coming Out Toaster Oven.

Welcome Out!

Well, if you don’t follow Princess, at the Palais de Steff, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Fabulous fashion design, a view of life from Down Under, and a bevy of beautiful arses.

Seriously, it’s a lovely place to stop into and see what’s happening.

And, well, I’m flummoxed, because Princess has awarded me the coveted "Reality" award...and I don’t know why! This award is, as Princess said, a "mini meme" and since I haven't bothered to do one for a spell, I thought I'd give it a little go...

1. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?

Oh, I loathe these questions because I am quite off on this topic. See, I could change a million things, I guess, right some wrongs, maybe make some better choices, but, and it’s a big but, would I be who I am, and where I am, and with Carlos, if I changed a thing?

If that’s the case, then, No, I wouldn’t change anything. All that I’ve done and said, and not done and said, the good, the bad, the horrific, has kinda made me who I am today and I’m okay with that.

2. If you could repeat any age... Which would it be?

I feel like I’m sort of dodging the questions, but I wouldn’t want to live any age that I’ve already lived, over again. Been there, done that, have the scars to prove it.

But I am fascinated by the years I haven’t lived and am interested to see what they bring. I liked my 20s—boy, did I like my 20s-and loved my 30s and 40s, but, yeah, done it. No need to rehash. I prefer to look ahead to 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and well beyond.

3. What really scares you?

Ignorance, a general lack of intelligence; a lack empathy; selfishness. I am always the one to point out, whenever someone is fighting with someone else, that old Rodney King mantra, Can’t we all just get along?

That’s what I fear, and what scares me, is that we can’t all get along.

4. If you could become someone else for the day... Who would you be?

Just for a day? Well, I could do this though I have so many options.

I’d like to be Rosa Parks, that day on the bus. That would be huge.

I’d like to be a friend of Harvey Milk’s. To be in that man’s space, open and honest and so so far ahead of his time; I’d like to be around that and drink it in.

I’d like to be Cher, just for the fun of it all.

I’d like to be myself on the day my mom died and make sure I said all the things I wanted to say before she left.

Well, then, there you have it. I don’t think I’ll nominate anyone for the award, but it would be interesting to see if any of you might like to play along and open the door to your inner self and show us all who you are, want to be, or were.

Any takers?

TWEET OF THE WEEK: It's a tie!!!

A Tale of Two Americas

I think most of us can safely say that we were raised to do the right thing. I mean, isn't that what parents teach their kids? i know that's one of the lessons I got from my Mom and Dad: do the right thing. Play nice. Be fair. Sure, there are times we forget to do it, when we're rushing though our day, or we've had a tough time at work, but it's always there in the back of our minds, ready to come forward when we need reminding.
That's what happened in Boston this week, as the runners closed in on the finish line and the unthinkable happened. As the bombs exploded people began running, but not all of them were running away.Quite a few were running toward the explosions, helping people up, and pulling away fences so First responders could more easily reach the victims. They were doing what was right.
I saw pictures of men carrying victims down the street; women helping children who were crying. All over the web you could see one hand reaching out to help, and another hand reaching up to be helped. Playing nice, and doing the right thing.
In the midst of that terror, and in the hours that followed, I tried to focus more on those who helped rather than those who caused this because that's what i think America is: we help those who've been hurt, or beaten, or attacked. We get there first and lend a hand.
So I was sort of bursting with that patriotic pride on Monday afternoon, into the night and all day Tuesday when I read the stories of heroism and bravery and compassion and doing the right thing.
Unfortunately, though, that bubble burst Wednesday when I learned that the Senate--our elected officials, remember--had voted against expanding background checks before guns are sold. Yes, they decided that it isn't necessary to check who is buying guns, and how many and where, because, you know, we don't have a gun problem in this country.
Forty-six members of the US Senate decided that the Gun Lobby, the NRA, matter more to them than the lives of Americans, young and old. Forty-six Senators don't think that we just need to be more careful to whom we sell guns. Forty-six Senators slipped back inside the pocket of the NRA.
Think what might have happened had those forty-six senators been there on Monday. How fast they might have run to get in their cars and go home? How swiftly they might have jumped over the bodies of the victims and run to save themselves first. Think about that the next time you stand in a voting booth and one of these forty-six names is up for re-election:

• Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) -- @SenAlexander Email: HERE
• Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) -- @KellyAyotte Email: HERE
• Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) -- @SenJohnBarrasso Email: HERE
• Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) -- @MaxBaucus Email: HERE
• Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) -- @SenatorBegich Email: HERE
• Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) -- @RoyBlunt Email: HERE
• Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) -- @JohnBoozeman Email: HERE
• Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) -- @SenatorBurr Email: HERE
• Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) -- @SaxbyChambliss Email: HERE
• Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) -- @SenDanCoats Email: HERE
• Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) -- @TomCoburn Email: HERE
• Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) -- @SenThadCochran Email: HERE
• Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) -- @SenBobCorker Email: HERE
• Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) -- @JohnCornyn Email: HERE
• Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) -- @MikeCrapo Email: HERE
• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) -- @SenTedCruz Email: HERE
• Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) -- @SenatorEnzi Email: HERE
• Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) -- @SenatorFischer Email: HERE
• Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) -- @JeffFlake Email: HERE
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) -- @GrahamBlog Email: HERE
• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) -- @ChuckGrassley Email: HERE
• Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) -- @SenOrrinHatch Email: HERE
• Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) -- @SenatorHeitkamp Email: HERE
• Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) -- @SenDeanHeller Email: HERE
• Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) -- @SenJohnHoeven Email: HERE
• Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) -- @jiminhofe Email: HERE
• Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) -- @SenatorIsakson Email: HERE
• Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) -- @Mike_Johanns Email: HERE
• Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) -- @SenRonJohnson Email: HERE
• Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) -- @SenMikeLee Email: HERE
• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- @McConnellPress Email: HERE
• Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) -- @JerryMoran Email: HERE
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) -- @lisamurkowski Email: HERE
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) -- @SenRandPaul Email: HERE
• Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) -- @robportman Email: HERE
• Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) -- @SenMarkPryor Email: HERE
• Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) -- @SenatorRisch Email: HERE
• Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) -- @SenPatRoberts Email: HERE
• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) -- @marcorubio Email: HERE
• Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) -- @SenatorTimScott Email: HERE
• Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) -- @SenatorSessions Email: HERE
• Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) -- @SenShelbyPress Email: HERE
• Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) -- @SenJohnThune Email: HERE
• Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) -- @DavidVitter Email: HERE
• Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) -- @SenatorWicker Email: HERE