Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Congress will begin hearings Wednesday titled “What Should America Do about Gun Violence," for bills introduced in Congress calling for new gun safety regulations in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December, in which 20 first graders and six adults were slaughtered by a deranged gunman who gained access to his weapons from his mother, whom he also killed (his mother was an avid gun enthusiast and obtained her guns legally).
On the schedule to testify today is the NRA's vice president and public spokesman, Wayne LaPierre, who will essentially argue that "the perfect should be the enemy of the good," i.e., since no one law is the perfect solution, we should do nothing. NRA's LaPierre to tell Congress more gun laws 'not a serious solution'.
Also on the schedule to testify today is astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who survived an assassination attempt in a mass shooting by a deranged gunman (who obtained his guns legally) in Tucson, Arizona. Giffords and Kelly have launched Americans for Responsible Solutions, which they say is meant to “balance the influence of the gun lobby, and will line up squarely behind leaders who will stand up for what’s right.”
One congressional source tells CBS News that Giffords herself is expected to attend the hearing; she is expected to accompany her husband and there are reports she will address the committee, although she's not officially scheduled to testify. NRA vs. Giffords' husband at Senate gun control hearing – CBS News. UPDATE: The Washington Post reports that Gabrielle Giffords will make an opening statement. Gabrielle Giffords to speak at Senate hearing on gun violence.
The NRA has issued an alert to its members to attend the congressional hearing today. NRA Urges Members To Attend Senate Hearing To Offset 'Anti-Gunners'. In an email titled "URGENT: Please Attend U.S. Senate Gun Control Hearing Tomorrow! Show Your Support for The Second Amendment and NRA!," sent from the NRA's political arm, the nation's largest gun lobby told its 4 million-plus members, "You can bet the anti-gunners will be trying to mobilize their supporters to pack the hearing room, so we need to make sure the room is filled with supporters of the Second Amendment!"
The rallying call to attend the hearing at the U.S. Capitol came less than a day after gun rights advocates heckled the father of a boy who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, as the man testified before a Connecticut state General Assembly task force hearing. The hecklers, some wearing hats and shirts with NRA logos, yelled "the Second Amendment!" when Neil Heslin questioned why the state permitted certain assault-style weapons to be sold.
The depth of depravity of these gun worshipers knows no bounds. Will they also heckle Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords today as well?
Lawrence O'Donnell took apart the NRA supporters who heckled Neil Heslin after his emotionally moving testimony in this Rewrite segment on Tuesday.
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