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By Miriam Raftery
May 30, 2022 (San Diego) – After the massacre of 19 children and two teachers in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, four of San Diego’s Congressional representatives, all Democrats, called for legislative action to prevent gun violence. But a fourth, Republican Darrell Issa, offered only thoughts and prayers for the victims.
On Twitter, Congressman Mike Levin called the shooting “horrific” and “sickening. In a series of Tweets, he wrote, “This morning I dropped my own kids off at school. They’re in second and fourth grade. I can’t fathom the pain of the parents who did the same thing yesterday and won’t see their child again today. I'm so tired of excuses. The filibuster must go in order to save our children.”
He adds, “We should all be furious. 90% of Americans, across party lines, support background checks for guns. We're being held hostage by 50 Republican Senators who are unwilling to pass legislation to save our children…. What's maddening is that we know this will keep happening until Republicans finally join us in taking action on gun violence. For God's sake, these are our children.”
Congressman Scott Peters posted, “I beg my colleagues. Now can we please unite against gun violence and for stronger gun safety measures? We can't bring these beautiful lost lives back, but we must take action to save others. If we don't, we are grossly failing our children and the people we represent.”
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs called for action. “My generation grew up in the shadow of Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland and more,” she posted, adding, “This horror is only deepening in our country” as her generation drops off their own children at school. Jacobs says, “We have an obligation to act.”
Congressman Juan Vargas voiced anger and sorrow at the “loss of far too many innocent young lives.” He posted, “As a parent, I’m heartbroken. As a member of Congress, I’m angry. This was preventable. We NEED common sense gun laws.”
Vargas, continues, “Republicans are saying it’s still too soon to talk about preventing the next mass shooting. It’s too late,” he observes. Vargas notes that 88% of Americans support requiring background checks on all gun sales, and he makes clear, “My colleagues & I have passed legislation to require background checks & ensure firearms stay out of prohibited gun owners’ hands,” but those efforts were blocked by Senate Republicans. Vargas tweeted the hashtag #EndGunViolence and concluded, “Mitch McConnell & Senate Republicans need to do their job and pass common sense gun laws.”
Congressman Darrell Issa’s East County district includes Santana and Granite Hills High School, the sites of two mass shootings in the past. But unlike San Diego’s other four Congressional members, Issa offered no proposed solutions to the alarming rise in school shootings and other mass killings.
On his official Twitter feed, he posted, “Please keep the people of Uvalde, Texas in your thoughts. This is a terrible and tragic day.” On a second Twitter account, Issa wrote, “Our thoughts and prayers are with these families.”
Issa’s remarks drew a scathing response from Congressman Ruben Gallego, who posted a profanity, adding that prayers “haven’t worked for the last 20 mass shootings. How about passing laws that will stop these killings?”
President Joe Biden has called for a ban on assault weapons, stating in a press briefing, “It makes no sense to be able to purchase something that can fire up to 300 rounds.” He noted that the Second Amendment is not absolute, noting that the Founding Fathers allowed bans on ownership of weapons such as cannons.
Mass shooting deaths declined 15% while assault weapons were banned for 10 years, from 1994 to 2004. But after Republicans lifted that ban, mass shootings skyrocketed. The death toll from mass shootings went from an average of 4.8 per year during the ban years to an average of 23.8 per year in the decade afterwards, a study by New York University’s School of Medicine found.
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