Yet another mass shooting and people ask, “who’s to blame, how do we stop it, why are we the only country with this problem? Always asking the same questions doesn’t mean we don’t know the answers. We do. Everyone in this country knows the answer! The devil resides in our U.S. Senate.
Sen. Chris Murphy said, in the Senate chamber, after the most recent shooting, “I refuse to believe this is inevitable.” In reference to gun legislation, he said he believes a compromise is possible.
Sen. Joe Manchin said, after the shooting, “It makes no sense why we can’t do common-sense things to try to prevent some of this from happening,” after he rejected the idea of removing the filibuster (the rule giving the minority the right to overrule the majority). Following with, “the filibuster is the only thing that prevents us from total insanity.”
Insanity meaning, the right of the voting public to decide not only who governs, but what their vote represents while governing.
The filibuster overrules the “voting public,” and don’t forget its early history. Pro-slavery senators used it to protect the interest of Southern white landowner who depended on slave labor. Then more recently, to block civil rights legislation, especially during the Jim Crow era. We do know the answer to all those questions!
Robert Hoff, Taylorsville
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