The Moments of Silence in the House have become an abomination. God will ask you, "How did you keep my children safe"? Silence.
— Jim Himes (@jahimes) June 13, 2016
God will ask you why you did not defer to the will of the people as children poured out their blood. And we will answer with silence.
— Jim Himes (@jahimes) June 13, 2016
If whatever God you worship is in fact a God of love and peace you had better use the Moment of Silence to pray for our souls.
— Jim Himes (@jahimes) June 13, 2016
Still reeling from the news from Orlando about the worst mass shooting in American history, Sunday night Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes watched a documentary about the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Himes, a Democrat, has represented a district near the school since 2009. Newtown follows parents, teachers, first responders, and others in the years following the Connecticut shooting. (The film is scheduled to go into wide release this fall.) Consumed by “an immense feeling of frustration,” Himes, an elder in his Presbyterian church, began tweeting a remarkable and righteous jeremiad against the “moments of silence” that have become Congress’ standard response mass shootings.
I wrote recently of my contention that, if you believe in monsters, you’d have to believe that not only do they exist, but that they’re Republicans walking the halls of Congress. How else could you explain the intransigence of a caucus immune to the widespread loss of life via gun violence?
Quick to hold moments of silence and look appropriately solemn for the occasion, Congressional Republicans steadfast refuse to do anything that might have a shot at reducing the need for such moments of silence. It stands to reason that, if Republicans truly respected those killed by random, senseless gun violence, they’d actually do something to save innocent lives. Unfortunately for Americans, Republican intransigence would seem to indicate the occasional loss of life in a mass shooting is merely a cost of doing business for their owners- the National Rifle Association (NRA)- and business is very, VERY good.
We’ve long since reached the point where Congressman tweeting out “thoughts and prayers” and holding moments of silence are frankly offensive. Such rote, empty gestures have become meaningless substitutes for taking action that might result in fewer innocent Americans dying horrible, senseless deaths.
Only in America could “gun rights” be valued more highly than the right of human beings to not be killed by gun violence.
Despite the crying need for action (How much bloodshed can Republicans tolerate?), nothing has changed. Even in the wake of the horrific tragedy in Orlando, nothing is likely to change…because the Congressional Republican Caucus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association(NRA).
We’ll mourn. We’ll move on. In a few days or weeks, we’ll do it all over again.
Republicans should be ashamed of the fruits of their intransigence and corruption…but that presumes they even possess the capacity to feel shame. Yes, Virginia; there are indeed monsters among us…and they’re walking the halls of Congress.
