Go! Pray! Texas!
Please meet Texas State Representative Matt Schaefer. He put the nuts in gun nuts.
Following the latest mass killing in Texas by a young white male, Schaefer took to Twitter in an attempt to top Trump in the wacky twitter wars.
‘Do something!’ is the statement we keep hearing. As an elected official with a vote in Austin, let me tell you what I am NOT going to do. I am NOT going to use the evil acts of a handful of people to diminish the God-given rights of my fellow Texans. Period. None of these so-called gun-control solutions will work to stop a person with evil intent.”
Schaefer says NO to background checks, No to banning AR-15s, NO to banning high-capacity magazines, NO to mandatory gun buybacks.
Why the hell are we paying this guy money to be a state rep. when all we need to do to fix things is pray. I tell ya what – pay me his salary plus the cost of keeping him in the Lege and I’ll pray.
Matt Schaefer lives in East Texas and is pretty much in-training for Louie Gohmert’s job when Louie retires.
Damn, even Guv Greg Abbott and the rest of Texass Rethugs have noticeably backed off on that “thoughts and prayers” bullshit.
1But the Rethugs ‘bible bench’ runs deep, and dumber than ever.
All this praying ain’t going make a bit of difference.
My big question is – why does the Texas Legislature only meet every two years? Did I misunderstand when I heard this on TV this morning? Next session starts in January 2021?
2Translation(-ish?):
The ones protected by God need not fear, the rest are damned anyway…
31smartcanerican, short answer seems to be, politically, etc., Texas is stuck in the 1870’s, when the current Texas Constitution was developed [post-Reconstruction, iykwim]
4Part of the problem is, we AREN’T paying him.
If legislators were paid a living wage, we might not only have independently wealthy douchebags as legislators.
5Some days the only solace is in knowing that if these people’s professed beliefs are true then they will spend eternity regretting their complete failure to live up to them. And that’s just fine with me.
6Republicans learned from the collapse of the Soviet Union that taking effective action against a perceived threat lowers voters’ fears – and they stop voting for Republicans. Thus, Republicans feel it essential to make sure that no effective gun safety laws are enacted.
Gotta keep the fear alive.
7Oh, Lord, protect me from these simple-minded a**holes who manage to get elected and then do nothing useful for the rest of us.
8‘Do something!’ is the statement we keep hearing. – Matt Schaefer
In response to that request Rep. Schaefer floats a cliche ridden mini-manifesto of ‘do nothing.’ Do his supporters say thanks for nothing, or applaud and then vote again for nothing?
9Jim Carrey singing about Charlton Heston and the NRA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0Wn3Eey6dY
10@old fart – you would think they would back off on that prayer thing, considering all the people gunned down in places of worship, including one in Texas.
11So…having an AR-15 is a “God-given right”? What a moron.
12I’d like to to ask this moron: What are the G-d-given rights of the victims?
13Let’s see, Papa, if I understand. Gun ownership rights supersede victims right to life? Sounds like a fair christo-fascist trade off. Of course, this bird represents more like him.
14Until the s*** hits their fan.
Cheryl, “…considering all the people gunned down in places of worship, including one in Texas.”.
You’re referring to the Sutherland Springs church massacre [~26 dead, ~40 wounded]. I live fairly close to there.
Guess what?
The preacher at that church, Frank Pomeroy, has shown himself to be pretty close to a fullblown RWNJ, imo [his own adopted daughter was killed].
I sympathized with them, but seeing Pomeroy in the news, etc., afterwards has sort of revolted me. He was also able to raise an enormous amount of money ‘for the church’ rebuilding.
The church went from a little typical small town one, to a huge new multi-million dollar megachurch palace [SuthSpgs pop. 600].
Pomeroy has now filed to run in the 2020 TX State Senate race as a Republicon. You could see him on the news in the two years since the killings, and just get the vibes that he was ‘up to something’ [besides drumming up money]. I think I heard him say this TX Senate race was ‘just a start’.
He’s running against Democrat Judith Pappas Zaffirini, [Dem TXS-21], a long term incumbent [gets ~66% of votes]. I always vote for her, another Laredo/Webb County Democratic politician with an almost unbeatable Laredo ‘machine’, like Rep Cuellar.
I suspect that Pomeroy might get enough ‘sympathy voters’ to give Zaffirini a run. Looking for Abbott, Patrick, and the other Austin Rethugs to get heavy into this race, so y’all pay attention.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Zaffirini
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Senate,_District_21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_Springs_church_shooting
15Hmm. As I recall, the late Big Bang Theory show made a real point of the lead character, Sheldon Cooper, hailing from East Texas and how much he just did not like it or recommend people visit or even live there. Sheldon, what did you know that we didn’t?
16To recast an old Navy saying (wish in one hand, spit in the other, and see which one fills up faster), I suggest that we put Matt Schaefer’s idea to a test. On one end of the gun range, someone who really, really does not like him, armed with an AR-15. At the other end, Matt Schaefer, armed with fervent prayers.
Schaefer won’t regard prayer as effective as he seems to think it is while safely blithering via keyboard from home.
17The Surly Professor:
18Thanks for that.
Although I have to admit that in the circles I ran in, spit was spelled with an h instead of a p.
There is a whole lot of praying going on, clearly articulated by most Republican lawmakers, but apparently the prayers are not working.
These mass killers spray bullets because they CAN. They CAN get a gun, they CAN get the ammunition, and they CAN pull the trigger. Maybe it’s time to make sure they CAN’T.
19OMG what a target rich environment…
Yep, where I came from “spit” has an “h” in it. My youngest daughter won’t use the word “want” for the remainder of her life over here teenaged “wants” and the fatherly recommendation that she want in one hand and “s*it” in the other etc etc
For Matt Schaefer saying owning firearms is a G-d-given right just takes my breath away. I’ve said Baylor Law degrees should be examined critically because Louie somehow has one. Maybe Tech Law degrees should be examined equally critically. Schaefer ain’t right.
So far as the Texas Lege meeting every two years, most of the time that’s two years too damn soon. There should be some sort of barrier around Austin metro that prevents their presence. I feel their hands rooting around for my wallet every time they get to Austin. Even in my changing county a few snacilbupeR hang out and cause talk and suspicion.
20Prayers but no thoughts. Sounds about right.
21Surly Professor, I suggest a somewhat more civilized test: let Schaefer pray, and I will deliver a godless fist to his nose. If God can protect Godly people from firearms, surely he can handle a simple punch from an old man.
So he’s against background checks? Guess selling to known terrorists (like KKK or ISIS) or violent criminals (known cop killers) are OK with him. I won’t mention domestic violence; he probably is OK with those criminals.
And high capacity magazines are necessary. When those home invaders breaks through the compound door, or that mugger pulls a pistol, nothing like a hundred-round clip to deal with the problem.
And hunting, too! I hear that deer run in herds, after all…
22On a separate but related note, when Beto runs for the Senate is when I buy one of his “This is f***ed up!” shirts…
23Morning Joe had a list of all the mass shootings from a certain date forward. These are all the “famous” shootings and every one of them concerned an AR 15 infamous for not just killing but making hamburger of the victim. Can only conclude that the fans of the AR15 must love raw meat.
24Ah, yes, the legacy of lunacy coming out of Smith county to DC will surely be continued by this Gawd fearing NRA worshipping robot.
25Could someone give me the section of the bible where God gave us 3nd amendment rights.
26