Mass Murder, USA — A Do List

1. The National Rifle Association is holding its convention this weekend in Houston. Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, ex president Trump, etc. will be there. The media should interview them and NRA officers — Wayne LaPierre, et al — and get them all on the record about the following gun control measures the GOP has repeatedly prevented from becoming law. This is Accountability reporting.

a. H.R. 8 https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8 would expand background checks for almost all gun sales, including online and gun show transactions between private buyers and sellers, with limited exceptions for family and temporary transfers.

b. H.R. 1446 https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1446 would close the “Charleston loophole,” which allowed white supremacist Dylan Roof to legally purchase a handgun before murdering nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015.

c. Renew the Assault Weapons Ban and close the loopholes that allow evasions.

d. Pass a national Red Flag law https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/10/05/red-flag-laws-are-saving-lives-they-could-save-more that allows people to petition civil courts to temporarily take away the firearms of a loved one in a mental health crisis who may harm themselves or others. 19 states and the District of Columbia have red flag laws now: Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Indiana, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and D.C.

2. We know that the Senators blocking passage of these and other gun safety measures will not change their minds, because they haven’t done yet, despite all the mass shootings — 237 in US schools since 1998.*

The NRA and allies such as Gun Owners of America spent a record $15.8 million on federal lobbying efforts in 2021 and $2 million in the first quarter of 2022, OpenSecrets reported. By contrast, gun-control organizations spent a record $2.9 million in 2021 and $609,000 in the first quarter of 2022. All the top congressional recipients of gun-lobby money are Republicans, including three from Texas, according to OpenSecrets, a watchdog group that tracks campaign finance and…