John,

A new CBS poll shows that 44% of Republicans believe that mass shootings are “unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society.”

Excuse me, but … what?!!??!!!

Folks, I honestly don’t have the words to express how nauseated I felt when I first read this.

According to 44% of Republican voters, when classrooms full of children are slaughtered, and the ones who survive are systematically traumatized by lockdown drills, schools that look more like war bunkers, and the constant fear that their class will be “next”… well, that’s just the price we have to pay for “freedom.”

Well, pardon my French, but I think that’s bullshit.

This is something we must never allow to be the status quo. Our children's safety needs to be our top priority, and right now, guns are the number one cause of death for children in America! Shame on us for letting it get to this point.

But there’s still reason to have hope – not only do we Democrats outnumber our Republican counterparts, but when you poll Independents, they overwhelmingly agree with us on this issue (and many other subjects, too, but especially this one).

So, while 44% of Republicans might think this way, over 90% of Americans as a whole believe that more gun regulation is needed. 

We as Democrats are not interested in going house-to-house confiscating guns. We do, however, want to make it impossible for criminals, terrorists, and disturbed individuals to just roll up to the local Wal-Mart and purchase a weapon of war like they would buy a pack of gum. 

The NRA is an existential threat to our way of life; they value guns and the almighty dollar more than they do human life.

Let’s take a look at some of the most recent absurd NRA/Republican Party talking points:

• It's the violent music/movies/TV shows/video games! (Counter argument: Hmm … those are all globally popular, yet mass shootings are almost exclusively an American problem.)
• We need to arm our teachers! (Counter argument: Shut up, that sounded idiotic the first time it was mentioned, and it still sounds dumb. Teachers want to teach, not play Rambo against deranged child-killers, and storing a gun in a classroom full of kids is a recipe for disaster.)
• Harden the schools! Put in bulletproof doors and windows and keep everything locked up! (Counter argument: 🤦 🤦 🤦 )

Look, if it seems like I’m not taking their talking points seriously, it's because they’re liars, crooks, and con artists. We need to stop engaging them and start strategizing on how to defeat them.

We can do it, and it starts by unapologetically talking to our neighbors – all of them, even the Republican ones. They may not agree with us on everything, but many of them – more than half, according to the CBS poll – do agree with us on this issue.

Unless you live next to this nut job:

… and if you do, you might want to consider moving. 

Look, Republican lawmakers are terrified of the NRA, but what they should be terrified of is us.

We’re going to go out, organize, knock on doors, and win in November … because that’s the only way we can make sure our kids don’t grow up in a country where mass shootings are “just a part of life,” and where classrooms full of slaughtered children are just “the price we pay for freedom.”

We need to defeat the jackaloons who find that kind of thinking acceptable, and we need to do it together. Please, chip in what you can, and let’s do this thing.

Sappers clear the way, Airborne all the way!

--Richard