Being here in Las Vegas, it's been a mixed bag of emotions as we've all watched the news throughout the day regarding the horrific mass shooting at singer Jason Aldean’s performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival that left 59 dead and 527 injured.
On one hand, there's a numb sadness hanging in the air.
But the incredible acts of kindness by folks across the city are deeply inspiring as we see folks donating blood, blankets, water and more.
Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas, set up a
GoFundMe campaign to assist the victims of the tragic Las Vegas shooting.
Funds will be used to provide relief and financial support to the victims and families of the horrific Las Vegas mass shooting.
At this writing over $1.6 million has been raised in only 10 hours.
Earlier today, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that this isn't the time to address any kind of gun control policy.
But, if not now, when?
After past mass shooting incidents, we've seen up to 90% agreement by the American people that there should be at the very least commonsense background checks for folks buying guns.
Sen. Chris Murphy
called on Congress to "get off it's ass and do something."
“My heart goes out to the victims, their families, the first responders, and the entire Las Vegas community. Nowhere but America do horrific large-scale mass shootings happen with this degree of regularity. Last night’s massacre may go down as the deadliest in our nation’s history, but already this year there have been more mass shootings than days in the year.
“This must stop. It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.”
Bolding is mine.
But Congress won't touch the issue.
According to reports, the NRA pumped $30 million into getting Donald Trump elected president. And tons of money goes into Congressional Republican election coffers.
And according to these figures being shared on social media, these nine Republican senators received 22 million by the NRA:
•Mitch McConnell (R-KY): $1,262,189
•Roy Blunt (R-MO): $1,433,952
•Pat Roberts (R-KS): $1,584,153
•Tom Cotton (R-AR): $1,968,714
•David Perdue (R-GA): $1,997,512
•Bill Cassidy (R-LA): $2,867,074
•Joni Ernst (R-IA): $3,124,773
•Cory Gardner (R-CO): $3,939,199
•Thom Tillis (R-NC): $4,418,833
So, even though you'll see expressions of "thoughts and prayers" across the nation, don't expect any gun policy changes anytime soon.
As Dan Hodges, a commentator for
The Mail once wrote, "In retrospect, Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over."
Still, folks took to Twitter to express their outrage. One thing folks made note of was the White House's clear reticence to use the term "terrorist" in describing the man who terrorized tens of thousands of people.
Nevada law states an “act of terrorism means any act that involves the use or attempted use of sabotage, coercion or violence which is intended to cause great bodily harm or death to the general population.”
In other words, the shooter in Las Vegas was a domestic terrorist.
