Monday, June 06, 2022

Buttigieg called blaming mass shootings on school design the 'definition of insanity'

salarshani@businessinsider.com (Sarah Al-Arshani) - Yesterday 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, seen here in Glasgow in November 2021, called blaming mass shootings on the doorway designs in schools 'the definition of insanity' in an interview Sunday. Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images


After the Uvalde elementary school shooting, some lawmakers proposed changing school design.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it's insane to say school design is to blame.
Democratic lawmakers have pushed for stricter gun control in the aftermath of the shooting.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was insane to blame mass shootings on the design of schools.

"And the idea that us being the only developed country where this happens routinely, especially in terms of the mass shootings, is somehow a result of the design of the doorways on our school buildings, is the definition of insanity if not the definition of denial," Buttigieg said during an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that aired Sunday .



The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said if he was mayor during a local mass shooting, like the one recently in Uvalde, Texas, the worst part would be having to talk "to families of people who have lost their loved ones and knowing that nothing you can do will bring those loved ones back."

"We have a horrific scourge of gun violence in this country and you know, as mayor -- as every mayor is doing around the country, you take the steps that you can to reduce community violence, to invest in partnerships, to make sure that you've taken the steps you can locally," he said.


In the aftermath of the shooting in Uvalde, where an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in a classroom at Robb Elementary School killing 19 children and two adults, some GOP lawmakers suggested mass shootings are a result of faulty school designs or not arming teachers.

During an interview with Fox News' Jesse Watters, Sen. Ted Cruz said adding bulletproof doors and glass to schools would keep them safe.

"Have one door into and out of the school and have that one door, armed police officers at that door," Cruz argued. "If that had happened, if those federal grants had gone to this school, when that psychopath arrived, the armed police officers could have taken him out and we would have 19 children and two teachers still alive."

Many Democratic lawmakers have pushed for stricter gun control measures as more and more mass shootings rattle the country.

Other lawmakers have said resolutions like those Cruz proposed are not useful.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told Politico he didn't want to revive ideas that haven't worked.

"What we do not need are solutions that have already been tried and done," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation. "I visit schools every day in Kansas City. Almost all of them are fortified. Most of them have armed guards these days, at least one. So these types of solutions they keep saying have been done."


Scalise pins blame on Democrats for gun violence

Brad Dress - Yesterday 


House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Sunday blamed Democrats for a rise in gun violence across the U.S., blaming the “defund the police” movement and local authorities for being lax on criminals.


Scalise pins blame on Democrats for gun violence
HE CLAIMED THE SAME THING AFTER BEING SHOT, BLAMED BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN FOR INCITING HIS SHOOTING

In an interview with “Fox News Sunday” guest host John Roberts, Scalise said the reason gun violence and crime rates are so high in the U.S. compared to other countries is because of the “defund the police” movement and loose policies from city district attorneys, who he claimed release prisoners early or hand down lighter sentences to violent criminals.

“You look at America in the last couple of years, you’re seeing this crazy ‘defund the police’ movement. But you’ve also seen a movement that’s been going on for a few years in big cities where the [district attorneys] aren’t even prosecuting criminals until it is a shooting,” he said.

“They’re letting criminals back out on the streets and inevitably what you see is higher rates of crime,” Scalise continued. “And what you’re also seeing is more and more American citizens, law abiding citizens, buying guns to defend themselves.”


Scalise joins a number of Republicans pushing back against gun control measures to curb a rising number of mass shootings and gun violence across the country. A group of bipartisan senators have been meeting to determine if they can come to any agreement on a gun-related measure following the killing of 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last month.

The Louisiana Republican told Roberts on Sunday he does not support red flag laws despite a majority of Americans expressing support for measures that take guns away from individuals a court deems a threat.

Scalise repeated a GOP talking point that Congress should address mental health and other societal factors that cause mass shootings. He said everyday gun violence on the streets, which are less high profile but take far more lives than mass shootings, are rising because Democrats are lax on the “out of control” crime.

“Look at the smash-and-grab crimes. Do you think it’s going to end there?” he told Roberts on Sunday. “If they think they can get away with a crime, they’re not going to be charged, they will go on to commit other crimes. It’s happened in other places. Let’s get back to regular policing.”

4 in 10 Republicans think mass shootings are 'unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society': CBS/YouGov poll



Katie Balevic
THE HILL
Sun, June 5, 2022

Some 44% of Republicans say mass shootings are "something we have to accept as part of a free society," a poll found.

The poll found that a majority of Democrats and Independents said shootings are preventable "if we really tried."

The survey comes after a string of mass shootings have again prompted Congress to assess gun control.


More than 4 in 10 Republicans think mass shootings are inevitable in a "free society," according to a new poll by CBS News and YouGov.

The survey results came on the heels of a string of mass shootings across the country that have prompted Congress to once again consider legislation on gun control.

One of the questions in the poll asked respondents if they feel that mass shootings are "unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society" or "something we can prevent and stop if we really tried."

In response, 44% of Republicans said mass shootings are inevitable "as part of a free society." Meanwhile, 85% of Democrats and 73% of Independents said mass shootings are preventable "if we really tried."

The survey had a sample size of 2,021 US adults that were interviewed between June 1 and June 3, per CBS News, which noted the margin of error is ±2.6 points.

Following the shooting in Uvalde, President Joe Biden insisted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is a "rational Republican" who could agree to gun control measures, despite the party's longtime refusal to seriously entertain policy changes on firearms.

McConnell signaled his willingness for Republican senators to work with Democrats on a bipartisan push for gun safety legislation, but he did not endorse any specific proposals. The Minority Leader said he had "encouraged" Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, to talk to key Democrats "who are interested in trying to get an outcome that's directly related to the problem."

Days later, a conservative radio host tweeted that Cornyn was "open to making gun laws more restrictive." Cornyn responded to the tweet, saying it was "not gonna happen."

In the CBS/YouGov poll, respondents from political parties across the board seemed to agree that it is unlikely Congress will "pass any laws in the next few months that will make significant changes to gun policy."

A total of 66% of Democrats, 72% of Independents, and 71% of Republicans indicated that they think it is "not very likely" or "not at all likely" that Congress passes significant, new gun policies in the coming months.


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