Rick Perry: No Gun Law Could Have Saved Sandy Hook Students

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM



DAVID TAINTOR 1:04 PM EST, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 16, 2013

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Wednesday released the following statement in response to President Obama's gun control proposals:

"The Vice President's committee was appointed in response to the tragedy at Newtown, but very few of his recommendations have anything to do with what happened there.

"Guns require a finger to pull the trigger. The sad young man who did that in Newtown was clearly haunted by demons and no gun law could have saved the children in Sandy Hook Elementary from his terror.

"There is evil prowling in the world - it shows up in our movies, video games and online fascinations, and finds its way into vulnerable hearts and minds. As a free people, let us choose what kind of people we will be. Laws, the only redoubt of secularism, will not suffice. Let us all return to our places of worship and pray for help. Above all, let us pray for our children.

"In fact, the piling on by the political left, and their cohorts in the media, to use the massacre of little children to advance a pre-existing political agenda that would not have saved those children, disgusts me, personally. The second amendment to the Constitution is a basic right of free people and cannot be nor will it be abridged by the executive power of this or any other president."

-30-

Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rick-perry-no-gun-law-could-have-saved

[Archae]

1. "(H)aunted by demons?"

No, Guv'nor Goodhair, the guy was NUTS!

Take your fairy tales about demons and shove them back up your ass where you got them from.

[AtheistCrusader]

8. +1

Might as well have said 'the boogeyman did it'.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. Take my governor, please...

We are lucky the shooter wasn't a woman, because then he would have said she had the vapors.

[TXDemoGal]

24. Geez, you got that right!

If there's anything worse than having to live in Texas (and I do), it's having this wingnut "represent us" to the rest of the country and the world. And to think this fool might run for another term as Guvnor?!

And clue phone to Guv Good Hair: yeah, it takes a finger to pull the trigger. But when the trigger activates a weapon that can mow down dozens of people in seconds, it ain't just the people doin' the killin'! Fuckwad.

[hamsterjill]

37. I live in a state of embarrassment, it seems.

I never know what this looney bin is going to come up with next. One of these days, I hope Texas will be rid of him.

[flying-skeleton]

49. That is what we said about George W Bush ....

And look what Texas did ............. they dumped him on ALL of America !!

[RKP5637]

53. Why, does Texas keep voting this asshole back into office? Like WTF? n/t

[Tagish_Charlie]

56. They keep electing this asshole

because Texicans are assholes,like Rick Perry, Jerry Jones, George Bush, Ross Perot, TomDeLay... Need I say more?

[RKP5637]

59. In the big picture it's never really improved, has it ... decades and decades ago I heard similar

and today I hear the same. There are good Texans, I know that, but the effect overall is pretty negative. I was there once and couldn't stand it ...

[Justitia]

62. Our cities are good (Houston here!), it's the provinces that do us in.

All our major cities are blue thank God, but once you leave the city limits, look out.

Just like most places in America, it's not really state borders that differentiate us - it's urban vs rural.

But you should pity your poor liberal Democratic brethren here

[RKP5637]

63. I was thinking about that recently ... Here in KS, for example, some areas are border OK, and then

the less populated areas one has to also look out. ... well, populated areas too. ... it is really urban vs rural. I've been in many areas/countries in my career, and sure, I've felt out of place before, but in the US anymore I feel the same. I've been in some cities/stores/towns where the people just stare at you, 'casue you don't have the teabagger look. It's weird, really weird. As you were saying, state borders don't matter as much anymore. Pity us here too in this outpost called Kansas.

[arcane1]

2. Yes, because praying would have prevented it

[Tagish_Charlie]

57. Because prayer

Drives out the foul vapors

[Brickbat]

3. No, but universal health care, proper funding of mental health, a reduction in our culture of

violence and an elimination of the stigma against seeking help might have. What's Perry doing about that?

[antigop]

6. +1000 nt

[dkf]

51. No evidence any of that was lacking.

[riderinthestorm]

4. Wow, Rubio came out with almost a verbatim statement at 12:58 EST, and Perry's out by 1:04 EST

Do ya think there's some coordinating being done??!!

MENTALLY ILL!!111!!!!!

PRAY!!!111!!!!



Yeah, the ONLY commonality that would have helped prevent ALL of these mass shootings is easy access to guns and ammo. Period.

[DonViejo]

15. yes, I think it's coordinated...

flying monkey see; flying monkey do

[Botany]

20. Just about word for word Rubio = Perry

“Nothing the President is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook,” Rubio said in a statement.

[Bigredhunk]

5. I See The Talking Points Are Being Circulated

SMH

[onehandle]

7. Really? How many Kindergartners could he had killed with no gun at all? nt

[Shadowflash]

13. Exactly.

If the guns used were illegal to own to begin with and his mom (who owned them legally) didn't have them, then he, obviously, wouldn't have killed her to get guns she didn't own. So, 1) Mom would probably still be alive and 2) the guy would have had to use something other than a gun designed for the military and the body count would (most likely) have been much lower before someone stopped him. It's hard to kill 26 people with a 6 shot handgun you bought from some thug on a street corner.

So, saying there are no gun laws that could have prevented or reduced this is just NRA butt kissing and has no basis in reality.

[HockeyMom]

9. Nancy Lanza could have

by not have an arsenal in her own home and letting her son (or ANY family member) has access to her own "legal gun owner's" guns.

[KatyMan]

10. so why is weed illegal?

After all, it takes a person to smoke it...

[tblue]

33. Cocaine too. It takes a person to sniff it.

So why have laws against anything? Last I checked crazy wasn't illegal.

[abelenkpe]

11. There is evil prowling in the world - it shows up in our movies, video games and online fascinations

movies and video games didn't convince a well to do suburban mother living with a kid in need of mental health care that she needed an arsenal to protect her stockpiled food and rations in the event of social collapse. But right wing news, blogs and radio surely had a hand in that. If one is going to point the finger at media at all that's where it should focus, not on games or movies.

[tblue]

35. Oooh! Good call!

Right wing paranoia and hate talk.

[Historic NY]

12. How does he know? He doesn't.

As far as Executive orders they played along with Bush's and now they're unhappy.

[kelliekat44]

14. But it might prevent the next one. nt

[uppityperson]

16. Well, hell. We need to fund Exorcists, right? Hey Gov Perry, fu. eoom

[callous taoboy]

17. Ah, prayer trumps laws. Only in Good-Hair land. Twit.

[caseymoz]

18. He certainly has faith in outlawry.

For all they talk about the "rule of law," it seems law can't do anything in their minds.

[indepat]

21. Governor Perry is right. But banning and rounding up all assault-type weapons from the public

through an equitable buy-back, imposing severe punishment for failure to do so, and requiring law enforcement to provide the most stringent storage of these legally-held weapons would go a long way. Nothing short of these measures will imo dramatically reduce the carnage caused by these weapons.

[AAO]

25. Governor Perry is right??

About what exactly? That we all need to pray instead of using any "secular" methods?

The guy is a nut!

[indepat]

29. Governor Perry is imo right that what has been proposed so far will NOT stop the carnage to a

Last edited Wed Jan 16, 2013, 04:37 PM - Edit history (1)

substantial degree.

edited to add NOT

[AAO]

39. I thought he said it WOULDN'T stop the carnage?

[indepat]

45. My egregious boo-boo: will try to edit

[oldbanjo]

58. Millions of these guns have been purchased, how

would you find them?

[indepat]

61. Don't know the specifics for mandatory buy-back program, but if millions of assault

weapon continue to be held by the public, I don't readily see how the number of incidents of mass carnage will be substantially curtailed.

[AAO]

22. Big ol' Texas sized piece of shit.

[marshall]

23. Sandy Hook was primarily a mental health issue

The President addresses that in his plan. The shooter's mother was desperately trying to get a guardianship over her son so she could have him committed to a mental health facility, but she was fighting an uphill battle. We need laws to make it easier to force treatment on such people.

[frazzled]

26. No laws will prevent every crime: it doesn't mean we don't have laws

Maybe Ricky wasn't listening to the president today: even if we can prevent one incident, even if we can save one child's life.

Traffic laws won't stop people from continuing to run red lights; does that mean we don't have any traffic laws? This argument by Perry is nonsensical.

[SAY]

27. people break laws every day

The government passes laws every day people break I see a lot of law breaking going on

[HangOnKids]

36. Your Point?

Besides a very poorly constructed sentence?

[NoOneMan]

28. "let us choose what kind of people we will be"

Sure, let people choose to be assholes. But that doesn't let their victims choose not to be shot.

[Kalidurga]

30. He started off good then landed in bat shit crazy...

The fact is that gun laws aren't going to stop a host of gun violence issues. Like suicide, accidents, and individual murders. Also as some gun experts have pointed out legal guns can be modified into being weapons of mass destruction.

What is will work is laws like they have in England and Canada. Mass shootings are rare in these two countries. The only thing that will prevent massacres is to take the tools away that accomplish that. It has also been shown time and time again people don't need guns to commit a large amount of blood shed and when that becomes apparent laws are made to make it harder for terrorists like McVey to get a hold of the means of that kind of destruction. The same thing needs to be done with guns.

I would push for a gun ban if I thought that could be accomplished. But, I would settle for millions of guns being turned in and people being educated on more effective and safer means of self and property protection.

[bowens43]

34. "The fact is that gun laws aren't going to stop a host of gun violence issues. "

If they are strict enough, of course they would. Mass shootings are a smoke screen concealing and confusing the real issue, the easy accessibility of guns and ammunition.

[Kalidurga]

42. Well a ban would be pretty strict.

I don't think we need to do a total ban. But, we probably need something close to it. Probably won't happen though. I wish I knew the tipping point because there has to be one. Over 10,000 murders and 30,000 suicides and I don't know how many accidents doesn't seem to be it. This is not to mention serious and/or minor injuries due to guns and intention to commit violence with guns.

[AAO]

40. What about the 2nd Amendment? We get rid of that?

[Kalidurga]

43. Not at all...

I am totally in favor of a well regulated militia.

[Paladin]

31. I Got Your "Redoubt Of Secularism," Perry.

Fuck you where you breathe, governor.

Such nice company you're keeping, Gun Enthusiasts.

[bowens43]

32. ricky gets dumber and dumber

if the guy wasn't able guns or ammunition, obviously he would not have been able to shoot 30 people.

gun nuts are ridiculous, they blame everything but the gun.....

""There is evil prowling in the world "

Yes there is and that evil is in the form of 'gun rights advocates'.
They are pure evil. They thrive on death and fear.

[cbrer]

38. HEY RICKY...

How about some investment in health care, especially mental disease? Or maybe some investment on research into possible psychoactive drug interactions?

You fucking idiot.

[Aerows]

41. And since we can't do everything

let's just do nothing. Sorry, that excuse isn't going to fly anymore.

[Javaman]

46. and no amount of brains could make perry any smarter.

so there, we're even.

[and-justice-for-all]

47. he is an idiot and completly wrong...nt

[allan01]

48. re:Rick Perry: No Gun Law Could Have Saved Sandy Hook Students

meh. i am so sick and tired of the neocons blaming the movie industry and gaming . i wish theyd focus on the bulling and so forth which is prevelant in many schools.

[HuckleB]

50. Hogwash. Hogwash. Hogwash.

Ugh.

[Skittles]

52. WE ARE NOT LISTENING TO YOU ASSHOLES ANYMORE

FUCKING JUST GO AWAY

[handmade34]

54. He didn't

write that statement... not the way he talks... but,

Yes, appropriate guns laws most certainly could have saved people

[Tagish_Charlie]

55. So Rick, since you want us all to go to church

do we pray for theLord to cast out the foul vapors and solve the gun violence problem?

[kestrel91316]

60. Oh, don't you WISH, Ricky. But gun restrictions might very well have saved those kids and many

thousands of other Americans if we had enacted them years ago.

Perry's lack of concern for victims masquerading as fatalism is duly noted.