Senator Todd Young's Response to Mass Shootings

I was told that Sen. Todd Young, a Marine (as he would never let anyone forget) was a man of action. He would keep Hoosiers safe! I am starting to wonder whether that safety is only important when the potential perpetrator is a brown-skinned man of a different religion from a different country. Heaven forbid that Senator G.I. Joe do something, anything, to protect his constituents from the depravities of mass shooters here at home.

(As an aside, why are these mass shooters not called "terrorists?" The only thing I can think of is that "terrorist" has come to imply "muslim" in our popular discourse, but I would like to think I'm wrong about that.)

Anyway, my wife and I emailed Sen. Todd Young and pleaded that he do something, anything, to make the procurement of military grade assault rifles more difficult. Below is his vacuous response, annotated with the thoughts of yours truly:

Thank you for contacting me regarding gun violence and the 2nd Amendment.  I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

Senator Young, we do not appreciate contacting you on this issue. We are forced to contact you on this issue, over and over again, because you refuse to do anything about it. You're more than willing to impose onerous requirements for people to vote, notwithstanding the absence of any evidence whatsoever that in-person voter fraud is a problem in IN; however, you refuse to do anything about assault weapon proliferation, notwithstanding the monthly mass shootings using such assault weapons.

          As your Senator, I respect that Hoosiers have strong and diverse feelings on how to prevent gun violence while protecting the 2nd Amendment rights.

I'm calling bullshit. You don't respect my feelings on the 2nd Amendment, nor do you respect the actual text of the 2nd Amendment. You respect a lowest-common-denominator version of the 2nd Amendment that races us to the bottom.

I strongly believe in upholding the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans, and I know we all share a common desire to prevent acts of gun violence, such as through strengthening mental health, enforcing current gun laws, and fully funding our existing background check system.   

Notably absent? Any discussion of banning military assault weapons for civilian ownership. Where does Sen. Young stand on my right to own an M-60? My right to landmine my front yard? My right to own a tank? Given his stance on assault rifles, I think my questions are reasonable. Sen. Young, does the 2nd Amendment protect my right to build and possess a hydrogen bomb?

And Sen. Young, you weren't elected to "share a common desire" to do anything. The difference between you and me, Sen. Young, is that you have 1 of 100 votes in the U.S. Senate. I don't. You are a member of a very elite club. Did you seek to join that club to be a senator or to do something with the power that being a senator carries? It's one or the other, and I suspect it is much more of the former than the latter.

          As criminal investigations move forward in the recent Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs attacks, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on firearm accessory regulation and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System on December 6, 2017. Although I am not a member of the Committee, please be assured that I will continue to support efforts to prevent violence while upholding the 2nd Amendment right of law-abiding Americans.

Criminal investigations? We know who did it. We know who died. We know the type of gun used. The perpetrator has been charged. There is no "investigation" to speak of. The only question that remains unanswered is why "we" (by which I mean You, Sen. Young, and your bought-and-paid-for cronies) cannot or will not do anything to stop it. What will you do Sen. Young, other than cash your campaign check from the NRA? "Continue to support their efforts?" Spare me.

          Again, thank you for contacting me.  It is an honor to represent you in the United States Senate.

You're not welcome Senator. It is a shame and an embarrassment to be represented by you in the United States Senate. I recall when we had senators of whom we could be proud . . . Richard Lugar, I turn my lonely eyes to you. Governor Holcomb, you're our only hope.