Thoughts, if Not Prayers

NRA Victory in Colorado: ICYMI: A Colorado judge gave law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate. In an @NRAILA-supported case, he ruled that the city of Boulder’s ban on commonly-owned rifles (AR-15s) and 10+ round mags was preempted by state law and STRUCK THEM DOWN.

–March 16 tweet from the National Rifle Association

Active shooter at King Soopers in Boulder. [Niece] Ellie is safe in her apartment.

–text from my sister Terri, 3:15 p.m. Monday

10 victims of Boulder King Soopers shooting identified; those killed ranged in age from 20 to 65

–Tuesday headline in the Colorado Sun online newspaper

Boulder’s assault weapons ban, meant to stop mass shootings, was blocked 10 days before grocery store attack

–Tuesday headline in the Washington Post

“I hope and pray we never have a mass shooting in Boulder,” City Attorney Tom Carr told the Daily Camera in March 2018. “What this ordinance is about is reducing, on the margins, the ease with which somebody could do that.”

–from the Washington Post story

But the Colorado State Shooting Association, one of the plaintiffs that sued Boulder over the assault weapons ban, rejected that sentiment, arguing in a statement that “emotional sensationalism” about gun laws would cloud remembrance of the victims.

“There will be a time for the debate on gun laws. There will be a time for the discussion on motives. There will be a time for a conversation on how this could have been prevented,” the group said in a statement. “But today is not the time.”

–from the Washington Post story

“It is easier to buy a gun here than it is to vote”: Georgia State Senator Michelle Au proposes gun control measure amid wave of violence against Asian Americans

–CBS News story, March 21

We can’t become numb to stories like this.

–Colorado Gov. Jared Polis at Tuesday morning news conference in Boulder

–Image from Wikipedia 2021 mass shootings entry. 109 entries in the table as of today.

My colleague Wendy’s kids were going to go there [King Soopers] about an hour ago, but her son decided to read instead . . . they would have been there at the time.

–text from my sister Terri, 3:31 p.m. Monday

Wendy just checked in. She didn’t recognize any names but she shops there regularly and knows checkers and the pharmacist. Turns out Andrew was reading and ignoring her commands to get out the door. She had just set a timer to get him out of the house when they heard. So so close. She’s sad, freaked out, and mad. About like the rest of us, I think.

–text from my sister Terri, 9:12 this morning

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

–Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1788

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

–Ninth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1788

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

–The Declaration of Independence, 1776

All I wanted was a soda. A soda, and some chips.

–Ryan Borowski, King Soopers shopper Monday afternoon