SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Healthcare workers walk out of a King Sooper's Grocery store after a gunman opened fire on March 22, 2021 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo: Chet Strange/Getty Images)
'End the Filibuster and Pass Gun Safety Laws. Now': Colorado Massacre Intensifies Demands for Action
"You're going to see another round of 'we can't do anything yet, there was a tragedy' hand-wringing, but we must end gun violence now."
Mar 23, 2021
After a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle killed 10 people in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, progressives intensified pressure on Democrats to use their slim majority in Congress to finally eliminate the legislative filibuster and approve substantial gun safety laws over foreseeable GOP obstruction.
While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans--and Coloradans--are being murdered before our very eyes--day after day, year after year."
--Rep. Joe Neguse
"We're absolutely heartbroken for everyone who has been impacted," progressive advocacy group Indivisible said in the wake of the massacre, the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than a week. "You're going to see another round of 'we can't do anything yet, there was a tragedy' hand-wringing, but we must end gun violence now. Let's eliminate the filibuster and pass real gun violence prevention legislation."
In the middle of Monday afternoon, a gunman entered a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder and opened fire as horrified employees and customers attempted to hide and flee. The building was soon surrounded by law enforcement, and about an hour later--after 10 people were killed, including a city police officer who responded to the scene--a shirtless man with blood running down his right leg was escorted from the building in handcuffs. Authorities did not confirm that the man was the shooter but said the suspect has been taken into custody.
As the Washington Post noted, "There have been as many as nine school shootings in the area since the Columbine massacre in 1999, which left 12 students and a teacher dead. Four other major shootings have occurred within 20 miles of the suburban Columbine High School, including a 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora that left 12 dead."
"Enough is enough," Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) said in a statement late Monday. "Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theaters, and in their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans--and Coloradans--are being murdered before our very eyes--day after day, year after year."
The Boulder massacre came just days after a gunman killed eight people--most of them women of Asian descent--in a shooting spree at three separate spas in metro Atlanta.
"I said Atlanta was predictable and inevitable. So was this. I discussed this scenario with Republicans who bullshitted me about why they needed to vote no on H.R. 8," Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, said of the Boulder shooting late Monday, referring to background check legislation that the House passed over nearly unanimous Republican opposition earlier this month.
"End the filibuster," Guttenberg added. "Gun safety needs to move forward without them."
Others echoed that message, arguing that the Democratic Party--which controls Congress and the presidency--cannot allow an archaic Senate rule to stand in the way of potentially lifesaving gun measures.
"End the fucking filibuster and pass some gun reform because my hands are shaking with rage typing this and checking on friends and family," wrote Jessica Mason Pieklo, executive editor of the Rewire News Group and a Boulder resident. "I still don't know if we know any of the dead."
In recent days, as Common Dreams has reported, several prominent Senate Democrats as well as President Joe Biden have voiced support for substantial changes to the filibuster, which in its current form requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass the upper chamber. It is highly unlikely that Senate Democrats would be able to get 10 Republicans on board for gun control legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared Monday night that "this Senate must and will move forward on legislation to help stop the epidemic of gun violence," but he did not mention the filibuster issue.
"Democrats should put common sense gun control on the floor of the Senate tomorrow and force a talking filibuster," said activist Ady Barkan, referring to a potential rule change that would require senators who wish to obstruct to speak continuously on the floor. "[West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin and Biden already said they support that rule change. So do it now."
"This is the moment," added Barkan, "and this is the issue."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle killed 10 people in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, progressives intensified pressure on Democrats to use their slim majority in Congress to finally eliminate the legislative filibuster and approve substantial gun safety laws over foreseeable GOP obstruction.
While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans--and Coloradans--are being murdered before our very eyes--day after day, year after year."
--Rep. Joe Neguse
"We're absolutely heartbroken for everyone who has been impacted," progressive advocacy group Indivisible said in the wake of the massacre, the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than a week. "You're going to see another round of 'we can't do anything yet, there was a tragedy' hand-wringing, but we must end gun violence now. Let's eliminate the filibuster and pass real gun violence prevention legislation."
In the middle of Monday afternoon, a gunman entered a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder and opened fire as horrified employees and customers attempted to hide and flee. The building was soon surrounded by law enforcement, and about an hour later--after 10 people were killed, including a city police officer who responded to the scene--a shirtless man with blood running down his right leg was escorted from the building in handcuffs. Authorities did not confirm that the man was the shooter but said the suspect has been taken into custody.
As the Washington Post noted, "There have been as many as nine school shootings in the area since the Columbine massacre in 1999, which left 12 students and a teacher dead. Four other major shootings have occurred within 20 miles of the suburban Columbine High School, including a 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora that left 12 dead."
"Enough is enough," Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) said in a statement late Monday. "Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theaters, and in their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans--and Coloradans--are being murdered before our very eyes--day after day, year after year."
The Boulder massacre came just days after a gunman killed eight people--most of them women of Asian descent--in a shooting spree at three separate spas in metro Atlanta.
"I said Atlanta was predictable and inevitable. So was this. I discussed this scenario with Republicans who bullshitted me about why they needed to vote no on H.R. 8," Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, said of the Boulder shooting late Monday, referring to background check legislation that the House passed over nearly unanimous Republican opposition earlier this month.
"End the filibuster," Guttenberg added. "Gun safety needs to move forward without them."
Others echoed that message, arguing that the Democratic Party--which controls Congress and the presidency--cannot allow an archaic Senate rule to stand in the way of potentially lifesaving gun measures.
"End the fucking filibuster and pass some gun reform because my hands are shaking with rage typing this and checking on friends and family," wrote Jessica Mason Pieklo, executive editor of the Rewire News Group and a Boulder resident. "I still don't know if we know any of the dead."
In recent days, as Common Dreams has reported, several prominent Senate Democrats as well as President Joe Biden have voiced support for substantial changes to the filibuster, which in its current form requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass the upper chamber. It is highly unlikely that Senate Democrats would be able to get 10 Republicans on board for gun control legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared Monday night that "this Senate must and will move forward on legislation to help stop the epidemic of gun violence," but he did not mention the filibuster issue.
"Democrats should put common sense gun control on the floor of the Senate tomorrow and force a talking filibuster," said activist Ady Barkan, referring to a potential rule change that would require senators who wish to obstruct to speak continuously on the floor. "[West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin and Biden already said they support that rule change. So do it now."
"This is the moment," added Barkan, "and this is the issue."
After a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle killed 10 people in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, progressives intensified pressure on Democrats to use their slim majority in Congress to finally eliminate the legislative filibuster and approve substantial gun safety laws over foreseeable GOP obstruction.
While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans--and Coloradans--are being murdered before our very eyes--day after day, year after year."
--Rep. Joe Neguse
"We're absolutely heartbroken for everyone who has been impacted," progressive advocacy group Indivisible said in the wake of the massacre, the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than a week. "You're going to see another round of 'we can't do anything yet, there was a tragedy' hand-wringing, but we must end gun violence now. Let's eliminate the filibuster and pass real gun violence prevention legislation."
In the middle of Monday afternoon, a gunman entered a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder and opened fire as horrified employees and customers attempted to hide and flee. The building was soon surrounded by law enforcement, and about an hour later--after 10 people were killed, including a city police officer who responded to the scene--a shirtless man with blood running down his right leg was escorted from the building in handcuffs. Authorities did not confirm that the man was the shooter but said the suspect has been taken into custody.
As the Washington Post noted, "There have been as many as nine school shootings in the area since the Columbine massacre in 1999, which left 12 students and a teacher dead. Four other major shootings have occurred within 20 miles of the suburban Columbine High School, including a 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora that left 12 dead."
"Enough is enough," Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) said in a statement late Monday. "Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theaters, and in their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans--and Coloradans--are being murdered before our very eyes--day after day, year after year."
The Boulder massacre came just days after a gunman killed eight people--most of them women of Asian descent--in a shooting spree at three separate spas in metro Atlanta.
"I said Atlanta was predictable and inevitable. So was this. I discussed this scenario with Republicans who bullshitted me about why they needed to vote no on H.R. 8," Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, said of the Boulder shooting late Monday, referring to background check legislation that the House passed over nearly unanimous Republican opposition earlier this month.
"End the filibuster," Guttenberg added. "Gun safety needs to move forward without them."
Others echoed that message, arguing that the Democratic Party--which controls Congress and the presidency--cannot allow an archaic Senate rule to stand in the way of potentially lifesaving gun measures.
"End the fucking filibuster and pass some gun reform because my hands are shaking with rage typing this and checking on friends and family," wrote Jessica Mason Pieklo, executive editor of the Rewire News Group and a Boulder resident. "I still don't know if we know any of the dead."
In recent days, as Common Dreams has reported, several prominent Senate Democrats as well as President Joe Biden have voiced support for substantial changes to the filibuster, which in its current form requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass the upper chamber. It is highly unlikely that Senate Democrats would be able to get 10 Republicans on board for gun control legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared Monday night that "this Senate must and will move forward on legislation to help stop the epidemic of gun violence," but he did not mention the filibuster issue.
"Democrats should put common sense gun control on the floor of the Senate tomorrow and force a talking filibuster," said activist Ady Barkan, referring to a potential rule change that would require senators who wish to obstruct to speak continuously on the floor. "[West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin and Biden already said they support that rule change. So do it now."
"This is the moment," added Barkan, "and this is the issue."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.