Just to set this up properly and get at exactly what Eric Swalwell wants to address, it is best to listen to a combat veteran who left part of her leg in Iraq during a war. Sen. Duckworth knows what war sounds like:
Duckworth: I just listened to the sound of that gunfire from one of the videos that was captured.
And let me tell you that the last time I heard a weapon with that capacity firing that rapidly on a fourth of July was Iraq. pic.twitter.com/dw7H1kAuj5 [1]— Acyn (@Acyn) July 4, 2022 [2]
There is a reason that the sound reminded Duckworth of war. The gun fired was a machine designed for warfare. It is an assault rifle that fires a round at a velocity that allows it to kill up to 300 yards and is meant to be able to stop cars by shooting through them. In order to do such a thing, one needs a high-powered rifle that puts a lot of “fire downrange.” This is what it sounds like:
#FamilyAgainst [3]
Shooting today in Illinois. Who are these people calmly riding bicycles and filming the carnage while shots are still being fired? pic.twitter.com/j3SKEUoWHl [4]— #FamilyAgainst (@FamilyAgainst1) July 4, 2022 [5]
Notice the rapid-fire? Only in America would a civilian be allowed to own a weapon like that. That is an assault rifle that is nearly fully automatic, meaning pull the trigger and it fires until one releases it. That weapon is not meant for hunting and it is not meant for defense unless one is in a war. It is meant for offense, to kill.
That is why it is the weapon of choice for both mass shooters and the weapon of choice for pictures of MAGA politicians. Eric Swalwell is smart enough and courageous enough to start drawing “straight lines,” unapologetically linking those guns and the damage they do, to the people who advertise for them, people like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor-Greene:
Letβs start drawing straight lines. pic.twitter.com/md1xKqoo6O [6]
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 5, 2022 [7]
And, of course, there is also Marjorie who is talking about shooting up socialists in her picture.
How did I forget about this other straight line? Thanks @BillyRay5229 [8]. pic.twitter.com/lOQNaw08Jq [9]
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 5, 2022 [10]
Twitter obviously agreed with Swalwell:
Every time someone buys an AR-15, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) should get a notification to contact the seller and purchaser. We need to get out front of this deadly craziness.
— πΎππ-πππππ π¨ (@SubZeroPoet) July 5, 2022 [11]
When a product like a baby swing or a vehicle maims or kills people (under normal use or even abuse), itβs immediately pulled from the market. The same should be true for weapons of mass destruction like the AR-15.
— Brian Caskey (@BrianCaskeyNC) July 5, 2022 [12]
pic.twitter.com/yPl6HYsc02 [13]
— Melissa (She/Her) πππ (@NiteniteMelissa) July 5, 2022 [14]
He fits right in! pic.twitter.com/gBiD9e0Up6 [15]
— Lauren Tran (@laurentranm) July 5, 2022 [16]
pic.twitter.com/fw49mGzW7D [17]
— πΎπππππππππ (@deOrygun) July 5, 2022 [18]
How about this: a national database of every legal owner of an assault rifle. Background and social media reviews of each and every one of them. Use a national red flag law to take their guns if there are any red flags.
No one needs these things. Enough of this madness.
— Scott Wilson (@RScottWilson) July 5, 2022 [19]