A senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School weeps in front of a cross and Star of David for shooting victim Meadow Pollack while a fellow classmate consoles her at a memorial by the school in Parkland, Florida, U.S. February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
President Trump said that the shooter who slaughtered 17 people at a South Florida school was “mentally deranged.” That’s possibly true, but the millions who keep voting for legislators who defend virtually unrestricted sales of semi-automatic weapons are also responsible for the insanity of America’s mass shootings.
The Republican majority in the U.S. Congress has been so supportive of virtually unrestricted gun sales — even for people with serious mental health problems — that the Senate in 2016 voted down a bill to prohibit gun sales to people who are on the U.S. terrorism watch list. A potential terrorist cannot board an airplane in this country, but can buy a semi-automatic rifle.