Ron Johnson Again Protects the Right of Terrorists to Buy Guns

Once again, Ron Johnson has defended the right of terrorists to purchase weapons capable of slaughtering huge numbers of innocent Americans. In two Monday Senate votes, the soon-to-be-former Senator from Wisconsin once again refused to do a single thing to stop the recent spate of mass gun murders. 

In the early evening votes, the Republican majority (including our own Ron Johnson) defeated amendments that would have made background checks mandatory and would have kept terrorists from purchasing guns.  

Today is not the first time that Johnson has protected the right of terrorists and criminals to buy mass-murder weapons. In December 2015, he voted against an attachment that also would have closed the gun-show background check loophole. He voted against one that also would have kept terrorists on watch lists from buying assault weapons. These were similar to the Senate bills introduced today.  

Not content to just do nothing, Johnson has criticized his responsible colleagues who are willing to incur the wrath of the gun lobby. Last week on Icky Vicki, Johnson called Senate attempts to enact sensible gun laws "Nonsense". He told the GOP radio propagandist, "We have to quit distracting the American public with these nonsense debates — and that’s what these are — these nonsense debates about gun control."

Instead, Johnson disingenuously claims that the problem is not guns, but "Islamic terrorism". I guess Ron chooses to ignore the vast majority of mass gun murders that are not carried-out by Muslims. In Johnson's mind, horrible killings such as Sandy Hook, Columbine, Charleston, or Oak Creek do not need to be addressed.

Johnson's blaming of mass-shootings on everything except easy availability of guns is not new. In a 2012 Fox discussion following the mass killing of Colorado movie-goers, he stated, "This isn’t an issue about guns. This is really an issue about sick, demented individuals. "

Johnson is only half right. The real problem is "terrorists" or "sick, demented individuals" armed with easily-available rapid-fire human-killing machines. Personally, I would rather take my chances with "terrorists" and "sick individuals" armed with shotguns, baseball bats, and switchblades than with AR-15's.

Johnson won't even try to keep guns out of the hands of the criminally insane. In a 2013 post-Aurora interview, he said, "You simply can’t keep these weapons out of the hands of sick, demented individuals who want to do harm. And when you try and do it, you restrict our freedom.”

Following the awful 2012 murder of children and teachers at Sandy Hook, Johnson had a chance to close the gun-show background check loophole. He voted against it. He had a chance to ban high-capacity ammo-feeders. He voted against it. He had a chance to re-institute the highly effective assault weapons ban. He voted against it. In fact, Johnson signed-on to a letter with 13 of the most extreme GOP Senators threatening to filibuster any attempts at even the laxest, most common sense gun laws.

Johnson's blind obedience to the the gun lobby has even affected his votes in other areas. For example, he claims that one of the reasons for his refusal to consider President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court is that "Judge Merrick (Garland) is hostile to your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.” This is the exact language that the NRA has been using in it's opposition to filling the Court vacancy.

Ron Johnson feels that there should be no controls on firearms at all. He consistently votes against even the most modest and rational gun laws, calling them "nonsense". He makes-up reasons that guns are not the real problem in gun-caused deaths. He comes-up with any excuse for his own shameful inaction. Johnson's refusal to act keep Americans safer in our malls, churches, schools, and streets disqualifies him from a second term.