If they’re not careful, gun-loving Republicans might soon finally run out of things on which to blame the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 dead—and all mass shootings, really. But Louie Gohmert isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
As Mediaite reports, the kooky Texas native—whose tooth once fell (or possibly jumped) out of his mouth while he was addressing a crowd—pleaded with his fellow congresspeople to consider that the reason America might be the world capitol of mass shootings is because we don’t pray enough.
“It’s been difficult in debate last week and even today to be told that we have no courage,” Gohmert said of the ongoing argument between Democrats and Republicans about how to fix America’s gun problem. “We were told in debate last week, ‘Don’t want to hear any more about social media, violent video games, Hollywood, mental illness.’ And they sure don’t want to hear any more about prayers. They’re disgusted hearing about prayers.” But as far as Gohmert is concerned, the old “thoughts and prayers” chestnut that Dems are sick and tired of hearing is exactly what’s needed to save America’s school kids.
“Look, maybe if we heard more prayers from leaders of this country instead of taking God’s name in vain, we wouldn’t have the mass killings like we didn’t have before prayer was eliminated from school,” Gohmert suggested.
What Gohmert failed to add is that the Supreme Court ruled that school-led prayer was a violation of the First Amendment back in 1962—a full 60 years ago—so it’s hardly ripe for comparison. Even more importantly, the NRA didn’t establish its lobbying arm until 1975; their Political Victory Fund, a political action committee, came one year later.
In late May, The Dallas Morning News reported that the NRA spends more money lobbying Texas lawmakers than they do any other state. Which could help explain why Lone Star legislators have been so aggressive in blaming everything but guns for the tragedy in Uvalde. While Ted Cruz says it’s a door problem, congressman Pat Fallon is blaming our “dang smartphones.”
Maybe a lack of prayers isn’t the worst excuse after all.
(Via Mediaite)