Just eight days ago, a gunman stormed several spas in Atlanta, Georgia, and shot eight women. Yesterday at 2:30 p. m., 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, armed with an AR-15 style rifle, entered the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, and opened fire. Ten people died. The assassin was arrested.
Once again, far too many people lost their lives because someone took up a gun. Once again, calls for stronger gun laws are being made. And once again, they won’t be successful.
We have long known that American gun law plays a decisive role. It is no coincidence that Boulder, Colorado passed an assault weapons ban in 2018, which was struck down in March 2021 after the NRA (National Rifle Association) sued the city. Only days later, the Boulder shooter legally bought the gun he used to take 10 lives.
And there’s another side to this tragic story: In the same area 1,5 years ago 23-year-old Elijah McClain was killed by police after they restrained him with a chokehold. Elijah was unarmed and after his death, an investigation found that the police officers involved did not have the legal basis to stop, restrain, or frisk him. Elijah happened to be black. The Boulder Shooter is white.
#1:
The time to ban assault weapons is not now, it was yesterday.
It was before this tragedy in Boulder.
It was before Aurora, Parkland, Pulse, Las Vegas and Columbine.
Nobody NEEDS an AR-15-style assault rifle.
We need to get these weapons off our streets. #EnoughIsEnough
— Rep. Diana DeGette (@RepDianaDeGette) March 24, 2021
#2:
Why should we care what the “founding fathers” thought about guns or statehood for DC. That was 200 years ago, guns were muskets and Georgia was “the west.” Plus they enslaved human beings so maybe i don’t give a shit what they thought.
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) March 23, 2021
#3:
The Boulder suspect was born three days before the Columbine shooting. That's how long we've failed to take action.
— Kathleen Belew (@kathleen_belew) March 23, 2021
#4:
A white man walked into a grocery store in Boulder, killed 10 people, and was apprehended by the police and walked out of the building completely unharmed.
Right down the street, police killed Elijah McClain while he apologized for not doing anything wrong.
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) March 23, 2021
#5:
a dog bites ONE dog and is banned for life from the dog park but we keep letting white men with guns go outside
— Ely Kreimendahl (@ElyKreimendahl) March 23, 2021
#6:
Just now: The flag at the White House was just lowered to honor the victims in the Boulder shooting. It was raised last night following the Atlanta killings, up for less than 24 hours.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 23, 2021
#7:
I cannot stop thinking about how during the press conference after the Colorado shooting the cop there said “many people lost their lives, but even worse than that so did one police officer”
— Barry (@BarrettGay3) March 24, 2021
#8:
This was another let down by FBI, the Colorado shooter was on the FBIs radar and yet again, they did nothing.
— Joy Villa (@Joy_Villa) March 24, 2021
#9:
2 cases of voter fraud in 2020: let’s make it harder to vote
38,000 gun deaths a year in US: let’s make it easier to buy guns
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) March 23, 2021
#10:
Photographs of the 10 people killed by suspect Ahmad al-Issa in #Boulder, Colo. I was told a few days ago that the race of victims in shootings matter even if there is no evidence of race playing a role in the attack. pic.twitter.com/fxiG4jGbdM
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) March 24, 2021
#11:
Politicians
who took active steps
to help the Boulder shooter
get an AR-15
don't get to offer
passive thoughts & prayers
for his victims.— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 24, 2021
