Representative Jared Golden of Maine, a centrist Democrat, called for a ban on assault weapons Thursday afternoon, reversing a long-held stance after 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Lewiston.
It was both a remarkable change on a polarizing issue for a politician who has held onto one of the most competitive seats in the House and a familiar response for a person deeply shaken after a mass shooting happened close to home.
Mr. Golden, a Marine Corps veteran, has repeatedly broken with his party to oppose legislation that would ban assault weapons, a policy that Democrats have repeatedly tried and failed to revive in the nearly two decades since it lapsed. Last July, he was one of just five Democrats to oppose such a measure, which has failed to secure enough Republican votes in the Senate.
That position, Mr. Golden said on Thursday, reflected in part “a false confidence that our community was above this, and that we could be in full control, among many other misjudgments.”
That position, Mr. Golden said on Thursday, reflected in part “a false confidence that our community was above this, and that we could be in full control, among many other misjudgments.”
So it’s okay so long as they’re only shooting up everyone else’s families? Be nice if he could’ve given the matter deeper thought before the leopards ate his constituents.
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reversing a long-held stance after 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Lewiston
How brave of him.
I mean he changed his mind. That’s important and not something many people are willing to do publicly.
Criticism is fair, but Jesus. Do you want people to never change their minds? Even in the face of new evidence or experience.
Comments like the one you replied to are what keep people dug-in
Do you want people to never change their minds?
Well, for starters I want people to stop taking my words out of context.
I have no problem with Golden changing his mind.
I do have a problem with him waiting too long.
Sandy Hook happened over a decade ago, then Parkland five years later, then Uvalde last year. That should’ve been more than enough.
Yeah, this dude didn’t grow or change his mind at all.
His mindset was “Your problems don’t matter to me.” It’s still the same as before. He only cares when people close to him are threatened.
I think you’re missing the actual motivation.
Know what far more noteworthy thing happened recently? Republican leadership totally lost control of the party.
If you’re smart and know American political history, the writing is on the wall… The Republican party has gone from death-spiral to deathbed. The party is fragmenting, and the neoliberal Democrats are pretty far right…a new party is likely to form to the left, so if you’re concerned with your long term political career, starting to brand yourself as sympathetic towards Democrat positions might be the play
Or, being more charitable, the party line doesn’t exist right now - maybe he has genuinely long held this position. The party leadership isn’t going to excommunicate a congressman over one issue when they’re struggling to elect a speaker… If he actually cares about the issue, this could be his first chance to actually advance the cause instead of giving up his political capital pointlessly.
I’m inclined to not give politicians the benefit of the doubt, especially Republicans…I don’t know the guy, but it seems to me like championing reform of such a charged issue would make him very relevant.
It’s certainly an opportunity, and it won’t entirely alienate him from the Republican base, it just cuts off large sources of funding. But if he wins, he gets a shot at the throne
You have no idea what’s going on.
He’s a Democrat, not a Republican.
While I am glad he changed his mind, it had to personally impact him before he did, which is where I take issue.
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Here’s a crazy idea we could also maybe implement: how about we take someone’s guns away, at least temporarily, after they get checked into a mental health facility and/or report hearing voices…like this shooter did A FEW MONTHS AGO!
Which is legal in Maine. Laws don’t help if nobody enforces them
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This is actually already a thing, federally. He was IVCd, they are supposed to confiscate and input that into NICs, but people didn’t do their damn job.
Funny how in Washington the gun stores that used to have wall to wall AR variants and now wall to wall lever action and turkey guns. Love me a good lever action.
My uncle gave my brother a 30-30 trapper back in the mid 90s. He still has it and maintains it to this day, and my brother-in-law has a sweet black powder .50 that I love to shoot. Can’t imagine doing that shit whilst taking shot from the British lol.
I’ve got a Marlin 45-70 SBL, and it’s my favorite gun by far. Shooting a box of 550gr P+ leaves my shoulder bruised and I love it.
Is that the one that Chuck Connors used in the Rifleman? Certainly looks like it. Only his had the massive lever loop so he could do that cool move with it.
It’s the T-rex gun from Jurassic World. There are not many things in this world it can’t put down.
Beautiful review in that picture. Took down a T-rex.
Yep, Chuck Connors had a Marlin 1895 with the big loop.
“I used to think letting disturbed idiots own an arsenal of semi-automatic rifles had no downside. It made them feel like they were in a video game and kept the Red Coats away. But now that I see that these guns can be used for their original and intended purpose, I think a bolt-action rifle and a Desert Eagle or two is enough for any mass-shooter to get his manifesto distributed across the World Wide Web.”
It only took a truckload of corpses from his constituency to come to his senses.
nimbys lead to deaths.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Representative Jared Golden of Maine, a centrist Democrat, called for a ban on assault weapons Thursday afternoon, reversing a long-held stance after 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Lewiston.
It was both a remarkable change on a polarizing issue for a politician who has held onto one of the most competitive seats in the House and a familiar response for a person deeply shaken after a mass shooting happened close to home.
Standing by him at a news conference, Senator Susan Collins, a centrist Republican, declined to back a ban on assault weapons.
The senator, who helped negotiate a compromise measure that broke a decades-long stalemate on any legislation aimed at changing the nation’s gun laws last year, instead said lawmakers should look at banning “very high capacity magazines.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, one of the most liberal lawmakers in the House, called Mr. Golden’s comments “powerful, brave and moving” on social media.
But it is all but guaranteed that a divided Congress will not move on any gun legislation given deeply entrenched conservative opposition to any measure that could be perceived as an infringement of the Second Amendment.
The original article contains 412 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 53%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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Dumbass Democrat, in this instance. But still a dumbass.
Oh I misread.
Did they catch this guy? Sure hope they take his weapon and give him a gun-ema with it. You like your guns so much? Let’s see how you like them from the other end!
It’s totally understandable to have this reaction to a mass-murderer. But even still, celebrating violence against anyone is a breach of rule 6, so please be conscious of that.
Still on the run as of my posting this
In Maine people walk into the woods and are never seen again.
