What can we say about last night’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? Certainly not “never again,” because no one really believes the Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump will actually do anything at all to restrict guns beyond offering meaningless “thoughts and prayers.”
Nearly 60 people are dead, and more than 500 have been wounded–thoughts and prayers will do nothing for them, their loved ones or the victims of future American mass shootings. Twenty-eight people–most of them children–died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. If Congress couldn’t find the courage to act back then, why the hell should they do anything now?
In the last hour a few Hawaii officials have released brief statements on the shootings. Here’s Hawaii Governor David Ige, who uses a lot of words to say very little beyond the obvious:
I am shocked and terribly saddened by the news of an unbelievable act of mass murder in Las Vegas. We call it The Ninth Island because we have so many family and friends living there, and most of us have visited for entertainment or for business. Today we grieve with those who have lost loved ones and pray for the injured.
And here’s U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, D–Hawaii, who takes a somewhat different approach:
Today, our hearts are with the people affected by this tragedy, and with all of Las Vegas. But warm words are not enough. Thoughts and prayers won’t stop this from happening again. It’s time for Congress to finally stand up against gun violence and take action so this never happens again.
Schatz is, of course, correct. Warm words are not enough. They have never been enough and will never be enough.
But I digress. This is a America, which means mass shootings like last night’s are good for business. That’s right: the value of gun manufacturers’ stocks is up–way up!–in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre.
“Shares of Sturm Ruger (RGR) were up 6%, while American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), the company formerly known as Smith & Wesson, gained nearly 7%,” CNN Money reported this morning. “Both stocks have tended to rally in the immediate aftermath of mass killings, which sadly have become more routine.”
Photo: Pixabay.com
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