Immediately after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the largest mass shooting in the modern history of the US, former Sec. of State and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted about a gun bill currently going through Congress. The stated bill (The Hearing Protection Act), supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA), would make it easier to purchase silencers which can muffle the sound of a gunshot. Clinton stated in her tweets that people in Las Vegas fled the scene after hearing gun shots and to think of the more who could have been killed if a silencer was in place. The Hearing Protection Act is supported by Donald Trump Jr., and many other right-winged politicians with the aim to lower hearing loss among avid hunters. Right now many policies are in place to make it harder to purchase silencers including background checks and a $200 tax. However this bill would relax these policies. Many politicians are scared that if the bill is passed, we will see more mass shootings with higher casualty rates.
The article comes from a CNN article published on October 2nd as the tragedy unfolded. While I agree with all of the points made by Clinton and other politicians, I don't think that the tweets happened at the right time. There should have been some time to mourn the deaths before it was made into a political issue. On the other hand, the bill that is being proposed has the potential for very deadly consequences. If we make it easier for gunman to acquire tools that can help them eliminate more people faster, than we are just as guilty of doing nothing to stop these tragedies from happening again.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/02/politics/hillary-clinton-tweet-gun-silencer-bill/index.html
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