After an armed gunman, carrying an AR-15-style rifle, opened fire near the supermarket and then moved inside the store killing 10 people on Monday, progressives have intensified and now putting pressure on Democrats to remove the legislative filibuster and approve necessary weapon safety laws over foreseeable GOP obstruction.
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“We’re absolutely heartbroken for everyone who has been impacted,” said progressive advocacy group Indivisible in the wake of the massacre, the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than a week. “You’re going to see another round of ‘we can’t do anything yet, there was a tragedy’ hand-wringing, but we must end gun violence now. Let’s eliminate the filibuster and pass real gun violence prevention legislation.”
We’re absolutely heartbroken for everyone who has been impacted. You’re going to see another round of “we can’t do anything yet, there was a tragedy” hand-wringing, but we must end gun violence now. Let’s eliminate the filibuster and pass real gun violence prevention legislation. https://t.co/tjvWgmHvsJ
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) March 23, 2021
As the Washington Post noted, “There have been as many as nine school shootings in the area since the Columbine massacre in 1999, which left 12 students and a teacher dead. Four other major shootings have occurred within 20 miles of the suburban Columbine High School, including a 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora that left 12 dead.”
“Enough is enough,” Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) said in a statement late Monday. “Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theatres, and their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans—and Coloradans—are being murdered before our very eyes—day after day, year after year.”
The Boulder shooting came just days after a shooter killed eight people—most of them women of Asian descent—in a shooting spree at three separate spas in metro Atlanta.
“I said Atlanta was predictable and inevitable. So was this. I discussed this scenario with Republicans who bullshitted me about why they needed to vote no on H.R. 8,” Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter became a victim of such incidents in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, said of the Boulder shooting late Monday, referring to background check legislation that the House passed over nearly unanimous Republican opposition earlier this month.
At least 6 are dead. I said Atlanta was predictable &
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) March 23, 2021
inevitable. So was this. I discussed this scenario with Republicans who bullshited me about why they needed to vote no on HR8. End the filibuster. Gun safety needs to move forward without them. https://t.co/cVJzju24LG
“End the filibuster,” Guttenberg added. “Gun safety needs to move forward without them.”
Others supported that message, debated that the Democratic Party—which controls Congress and the presidency—cannot allow an archaic Senate rule to stand in the way of potentially lifesaving gun measures.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, executive editor of the Rewire News Group and a Boulder resident respondent with the following:
To folks checking in on me and my crew we are all safe and accounted for. Thank you.
— Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) March 23, 2021
Also. End the fucking filibuster and pass some gun reform because my hands are shaking with rage typing this and checking on friends and family. I still don’t know if we know any of the dead
In recent days, several prominent Senate Democrats, as well as President Joe Biden, have supported substantial changes to the filibuster, which in its current form requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass the upper chamber. It is highly unlikely that Senate Democrats would be able to get 10 Republicans on board for gun control legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared Monday night that “this Senate must and will move forward on legislation to help stop the epidemic of gun violence,” but he did not mention the filibuster issue.
We are closely monitoring the situation on the ground in Boulder, Colorado.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 23, 2021
I’m praying for the Boulder community and the first responders. I’m mourning for those we’ve lost.
This Senate must and will move forward on legislation to help stop the epidemic of gun violence. https://t.co/PrTeQeiw6F
“Democrats should put common sense gun control on the floor of the Senate tomorrow and force a talking filibuster,” said activist Ady Barkan, referring to a potential rule change that would require senators who wish to obstruct to speak continuously on the floor. “[West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin and Biden already said they support that rule change. So do it now.”
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Democrats should put common sense gun control on the floor of the Senate tomorrow and force a talking filibuster.
— Ady Barkan (@AdyBarkan) March 23, 2021
Manchin and Biden already said they support that rule change. So do it now.
This is the moment, and this is the issue. https://t.co/w9HSwSQCSM
“This is the moment,” added Barkan, “and this is the issue.”