Shame on Congress for Rejecting Reasonable Gun Control Measures

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate shamefully voted against background checks for gun purchasers. Those heartless chumps do not care about the victims in Newtown, Aurora, Tucson and Chicago. In a nutshell, the Senate decided that it was acceptable for criminals, gangsters, terrorists and crazy people to buy firearms. Those NRA puppets put profits over public safety. That is not leadership. That is cowardice.

Here are the Senators who voted against reasonable gun control legislation. Remember these faces. We must vote each and every one of them out of office.

Courtesy of The Huffington Post, here are their Twitter names. They need to hear from you.

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

No More Newtowns

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Good morning fam. On this issue, we must join the President. We must pressure Congress to enact effective gun control laws now! If we do not act, there will be another Newtown.

Obama Spoke the Truth in Chicago!

After the death of Hadiya Pendleton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Min. Louis Farrakhan and many other activists urged President Obama to come to Chicago and address the problem of gang violence. Following such calls, First Lady Michelle Obama attended Hadiya Pendleton's funeral and invited Hadiya's mother to attend the State of the Union. President Obama wrote a letter to Hadiya's family, mentioned Hadiya during his State of the Union address and traveled home to Chicago to speak about violence and poverty. This is a prime example how the voices of the people can make a difference.

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As the Chicago Tribune reports:

President Barack Obama returned to Chicago for a few hours Friday to address the high-profile gun violence that continues to plague his hometown and suggested the solution is not only more gun laws, but community intervention and economic opportunity in impoverished neighborhoods.  

The president didn't delve into his specific call for an assault weapons ban and other gun control measures, instead choosing to illustrate Chicago's plight by comparing it to the December elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six adults were shot.  

"There was something profound and uniquely heartbreaking and tragic, obviously, about a group of 6-year-olds being killed," Obama told an audience in the gymnasium of Hyde Park Academy High School, less than a mile from his home. "But last year, there were 443 murders with a firearm on the streets of this city, and 65 of those victims were 18 and under. So that's the equivalent of a Newtown every four months."  

The president's visit brought a national and international spotlight on Chicago's gun violence. Emanuel sought to make the case Chicago's struggles aren't particular to this city.  

"Like every major city in the country, Chicago faces two critical challenges: the strength of our schools and the safety of our streets. Our streets will only be as safe as our schools are strong and our families are sound," Emanuel said.  

But the president brought the violence issue back to the city's streets, talking about the impact the shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton has had on him and first lady Michelle Obama, who attended the band majorette's funeral last weekend. Hadiya was shot in Harsh Park in North Kenwood after returning from Chicago from inauguration weekend festivities.  

The teen's mother, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, joined the 700 or so students, politicians and religious leaders in the audience, sitting with a group of other mothers of slain children.

During his speech, President Obama said that:

"No law or set of laws can prevent every senseless act of violence in this country. When a child opens fire on another child, there is a hole in that child's heart that government can't fill. Only community and parents and teachers and clergy can fill that hole...There are entire neighborhoods where young people, they don't see an example of somebody succeeding. For a lot of young boys and young men in particular, they don't see an example of fathers or grandfathers or uncles who are in a position to support families and be held up and respected. And so, that means this is not just a gun issue... Nothing that would be more important for us reducing violence than strong stable families. We should do more to promote marriage."

 

Some progressives take issue with the President talking about fatherhood and marriage. After some reflection, I don't. I strongly sympathized with the President when he said, "I wish I had a father who was around and involved." It may be uncomfortable to hear, but the President is speaking the truth about fatherhood and community. Although the presence of strong fathers in the home is not a solution to all of the problems plaguing the black community, strong fathers and strong mothers together forge strong communities. Please stop pretending that fathers don't matter.

Without love, support and guidance from family and community, all of the government programs in the world will not save our children. Even if the schools have equal funding and resources, students will not succeed if they do not value education. If even if there are jobs available for our young people, without the proper guidance and values, many of them will continue to chose dealing drugs over legitimate lower paying jobs. When the family is absent, many young people turn to gangs to fill that void. Gangs give them that missing sense of identity, brotherhood and manhood. Without strong and positive men in their lives, many young men turned to thugs, gangsters and dealers as role models to emulate.

Today's popular mainstream hip hop music reinforces and perpetuates this self-destructive behavior. Many hip hop songs feed and glorify gangs, violence, drug use and drug selling. Instead of instilling pride and celebrating true African American heroes, mainstream rap idolizes notorious drug dealers like Big Meech, Larry Hoover and Frank Lucas.  That ignorance is epitomized by the controversy regarding Lil Wayne's despicable lyrics referencing Emmett Till. Unfortunately, many young people have more respect for a minstrel like Lil Wayne than they do for the President of the United States.

The broken families and degenerate music are not the only problems in the black community. The churches and mosques have failed our communities as well. Sadly, too many religious leaders are more concerned about building beautiful cathedrals and large congregations than they are about building our communities. Instead of concentrating on enriching their bank accounts, our religious leaders must focus on saving souls and lives. So, yes. The President is correct for stressing the importance of family, community and clergy.

The President also realizes that government is vital to remedying the problems haunting urban areas. Although Obama did not use the words "black" or "African American", that speech focused on the Black Agenda. He described a multifaceted approach to addressing violence and poverty in the black community. He began by urging Congress to pass reasonable gun control laws. Further, the President talked about "building ladders of opportunities for everybody willing to climb it." Then, he talked about reforming child support laws to get more men working and engaged with their children. The President acknowledged that men without jobs will not be present and financially supportive.

Many of us have urged the President to develop targeted plans to specifically ameliorate the problems of high unemployment and poverty in the black community. Last night, Obama made steps in the right direction. He talked about creating tax incentives to encourage businesses to invest and hire in struggling urban communities like Chicago.  Such businesses would bring jobs and opportunities to economically depressed black communities. The President also talked about increasing the minimum wage. Such an increase will substantially benefit poor people who are disproportionately African American. The President talked about creating jobs through construction projects building affordable housing and repairing dilapidated buildings in blighted urban communities.

Finally, the President talked about ensuring that every child receives a quality preschool education. He went on to describe his plan to reform high school education.  His proposed reforms would give students the necessary skills to obtain good jobs upon graduation. In the words of Malcolm X, "education is the passport to the future." Providing quality education is the best way to fight crime.

Instead of wasting precious time debating about marriage and fatherhood, we should join the President and support his education, minimum wage, jobs and gun control initiatives.

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.

#SOTU13, Highlights and Questions

Last night, the President gave his State of the Union address.
My top five favorite moments from the State of the Union address were when:

1. The President said that the Newtown victims, Hadiya Pendleton, Gabby Griffords and other victims of gun violence deserve a vote.

2. The President said that he is going to form a non-partisan commission to address voting problems such as voters waiting in line for hours to cast their ballots.

3. The President mentioned ways to address poverty, i.e. increasing the minimum wage and making sure that quality pre-school education is available to all children regardless of family income. Obama proposed creating high school programs that would enable students to graduate with associate degrees.

4. The President said that he would end the war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

5. The President mentioned proposed legislation to eliminate the wage gap between men and women.

My top five questions for the President and Congress are:

1. Why is the U.S. waiting until the end of 2014 to leave Afghanistan? Al Qaeda is defeated in Afghanistan.

2. Will Congress pass any of the President's bold ideas? For example, President Obama has been talking about rebuilding American's infrastructure and closing tax loopholes for years. Yet, Congress has done nothing.

3. Is the Obama Administration going to continue to use drones to kill Americans without evidence or trial? The President conveniently glossed over that major issue with vague generalities and flowery pleasantries.

4. Does Obama plan to implement austerity measures such as cutting Medicaid and Medicare? The President talked about the need for compromise and about neither party getting everything that it wants. I just hope that he does not compromise too much.

5. Why did Obama deliberately avoid using the words "black" and "African American"? Obama directly addresses the needs of women, LGBTs and Latinos. However, when it comes to his most loyal supporters, African Americans, he has to communicate to us in code language. Why?

Any way, what did you think about the President's State of the Union address?

We Must Join the Fight for Reasonable Gun Control Laws!

"This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe." President Barack Obama

Today, the President signed executive orders and set forth his plan for gun control. His proposal has the following components: universal background checks for anyone seeking to purchase firearms, ban on military style assault weapons, ban on high capacity gun magazines, more police officers and harsher sentences for people who sell guns to criminals.

During the press conference, the President declared that "the only way we can change is if the American people demand it." We must demand that change. We must demand that our members of Congress support the President's reasonable gun control proposal. We must stand up to the NRA and their puppets in Congress. They have gone after the President and his children. So the gloves are off and the fight is on!

President Obama Discusses Gun Control

Good morning. Yesterday, President Obama laid the groundwork for new gun control legislation. During his press conference, he responded to questions regarding the so-called fiscal cliff.

"We Can't Tolerate This Anymore"

Tonight, President Barack Obama gave a moving speech at the vigil for the victims of the Connecticut tragedy. During the speech, President Obama asked a basic question. He asked, "Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm?" The President said, "The answer is 'no'." He noted that this is the fourth mass killing to occur during his presidency, and he proclaimed that "we can't tolerate this anymore."

I sincerely hope that strict gun control legislation follows the President's eloquent speech. We must contact our Senators and U.S. Representatives and demand that they enact laws to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future.

How Many More Wake Up Calls Must America Receive?!?

The Washington Post reports that:

A shooting rampage in this small Connecticut town on Friday morning left 28 people dead, including 20 children killed inside their elementary school, authorities said.

The dead included the suspected gunman, whom law enforcement sources identified as Adam Lanza, 20. Police said that Lanza first apparently killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at the home they shared in Newtown. Then he drove in her car to Sandy Hook Elementary, the school at which Nancy Lanza taught kindergarten.

In the car, authorities said, were three guns: a .223 caliber “Bushmaster” rifle and two pistols, a Sig Sauer and a Glock.

At the school, authorities said, Adam Lanza shot and killed six adults — including the school’s principal — and 20 children. They were shot in two different rooms of the school, police said.

How many more wake up calls must America receive? How many more innocent people must die at the hands of deranged shooters? When will this nation finally enact strict gun control laws to keep us safe at work, at school, at the movies and at our places of worship?

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.