current:

A Milwaukee second-grader recently wrote to Joe Biden with an idea to limit gun violence. “Dear Vice President Biden, I have a great idea to help make our country safer, better and the best,” Myles, a student at Downtown Montessori Academy, proposed. “I think guns should shoot out chocolate bullets. Then no one will get killed and no one will be sad.”

Biden wrote back, endorsing the concept. “I really like your idea,” Biden’s note reads. ”If we had guns that shot chocolate, not only would our country be safer, it would be happier. People love chocolate. You are a good boy.”

Joe Biden: the actual best.

thepoliticalfreakshow:

And Then There Were Twelve: Minnesota Becomes Twelfth State To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

With Governor Mark Dayton’s signature on Tuesday, Minnesota officially became the 12th state in the nation — and the second in the midwest — to legalize gay marriage. They’re the third state just this month to do so, joining Delaware and Rhode Island in making marriage equality the law this May. Minnesota’s law takes effect on August 1st. 

As we’ve noted before at The Atlantic Wire, the wave of states legalizing gay marriage in recent months follows two big anti-gay pushes during the Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies. So, even though the current President, a majority of the Senate, and a majority of the American population support it, the fight for same-sex marriage in the U.S. is far from over, as our updated GIF map clearly shows. In fact, Minnesota voters were asked just six months ago to vote on writing the state’s then-existing ban on gay marriage into its constitution. That effort, obviously, failed. Sorry, Michele Bachmann.  

So, what’s next? A measure to legalize same-sex marriage is currently pending in Illinois. If the bill, which passed in the state Senate on Valentine’s Day, also manages to pass the House (which is far from a given at this point), Governor Pat Quinn has vowed to sign it into law.

quickhits:

Using the Threat of Violence to Shut Down Debate.

You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to see it coming, but I’ll take credit for it anyway. When Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced they’d be holding rallies in eight states Mother’s Day weekend, I wrote, “Expect armed goons to show up to at least one of these, because if there’s anything the gun nuts really lack, it’s class and a nose for good PR.” Lo and behold, at a rally in Pennsylvania, said goons showed up.

PhillyBurbs.com: As victims of gun violence spoke about how universal background checks might have saved a loved one’s life, pro-gun supporters jeered and yelled remarks Saturday in Morrisville’s Williamson Park.

Steve Kesselman of Holland raised his voice above the crowd to briefly talk about the loss of his 20-year-old son from a deadly shotgun blast after an argument last year. 

“My son is dead! His mother cannot enjoy him anymore because of gun violence! Universal background checks is all we’re looking for. I have nothing against guns!” Kesselman yelled into the microphone.

“Do you believe in unicorns?!” a pro-gun supporter yelled from the crowd.

“Gun owners from groups such as Concerned Gun Owners of Bucks County, the National Rifle Association and a New Jersey group called the NJ2As gathered at Williamson Park before the marchers arrived,” according to the report. “Many wore guns and rifles.”

“I think it’s ridiculous the way they’ve been acting. I’m so numb to the idiots out there,” Kesselman said of the armed counter-protesters.

I don’t want to refer to my own writing on the subject too often, but I’ve been on a bit of a tear lately, so the info I’ve for previous posts is the info I have closest at hand. So I’m going to go ahead and refer back to a post from last week, where I argued that things like armed protests should be taken as open threats of violence on par with terrorism:

So you’ve got people who hate government and want to kill tyrants. And these are the same people who see tyranny under every rock. Polling shows that nearly half of all Republican voters think armed revolution “might be necessary” in the near future. A reasonable person wouldn’t be out of line to wonder when all this tyrant-fighting was going to start and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it could be any second now. And when they hear about a terrorist attack with an unknown motive, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if maybe all this tyrant-killing has finally gotten under way.

When people argue that violence, murder, and assassination are legitimate political tools, brandishing firearms is meant to frighten people into silence. It’s bullying and, like all bullies, these bullies are cowards. Anyone who shouts in the face of a peaceful grandmother isn’t a model of courage. And anyone who heckles a father speaking about death of his son is not a paragon decorum. These people don’t want to have a debate. In fact, they’re so terrified of the discussion that they’ll show up with guns to try to shut it down. These people call themselves “patriots,” but they’re really just cowardly thugs. Courageous people don’t need to hide behind their weapons.

And they’re ineffective thugs, at that. They couldn’t shut down the rally in Morrisville and they won’t stop the growing movement to reduce gun violence, because the issue is way too important. It’s not going to get derailed by a bunch of tantrum-throwing toddlers afraid someone’s going to take away their binky. That importance was underscored the very next day, with a Mother’s Day mass shooting in New Orleans. Nineteen people were injured while attending a parade, when three men opened fire on the crowd. Two of the victims are children.

So wave your guns around and menace old ladies and jeer at grieving fathers all you want, gun nuts. We’re not going anywhere. Every time there’s a mass shooting or a dead kid, it strengthens our resolve. And if you feel the need to wave your guns around in a crowd of families and children, you’re just proving our point. We’re pretty convinced you shouldn’t be able to do that.

If you want to have a rational discussion about how to deal with gun violence, that’s fine. We may not agree on everything and may walk away as divided as we were before, but that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Democracy’s not supposed to be easy or comfortable all the time. But if your idea of “debate” is to stick a gun in someone’s face and tell them to shut up, then we don’t have a lot to talk about.

You’re nothing but a goon and you’re part of the problem.

-Wisco

[photo via PhillyBurbs.com]

quickhits:

Poll: voters trust Hillary over GOP on Benghazi.

Republicans’ fixation on Benghazi isn’t doing them any good — and may actually be backfiring.

Public Policy Polling: PPP’s newest national poll finds that Republicans aren’t getting much traction with their focus on Benghazi over the last week. Voters trust Hillary Clinton over Congressional Republicans on the issue of Benghazi by a 49/39 margin and Clinton’s +8 net favorability rating at 52/44 is identical to what it was on our last national poll in late March. Meanwhile Congressional Republicans remain very unpopular with a 36/57 favorability rating.

Voters think Congress should be more focused on other major issues right now rather than Benghazi. By a 56/38 margin they say passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill is more important than continuing to focus on Benghazi, and by a 52/43 spread they think passing a bill requiring background checks for all gun sales should be a higher priority.

So Republicans think they’ve moved on from gun violence and can now dick around trying to gin up outrage over Benghazi, only to have the public ask, “Why are you screwing around with this Benghazi stuff? Where are our background checks?”

Bonus hilarity; behold Republican voters’ complete lack of any sense of proportion:

While voters overall may think Congress’ focus should be elsewhere there’s no doubt about how mad Republicans are about Benghazi. 41% say they consider this to be the biggest political scandal in American history to only 43% who disagree with that sentiment. Only 10% of Democrats and 20% of independents share that feeling. Republicans think by a 74/19 margin than Benghazi is a worse political scandal than Watergate, by a 74/12 margin that it’s worse than Teapot Dome, and by a 70/20 margin that it’s worse than Iran Contra.

I often use the hyperbolic statement to poke fun at conservative overreaction and make a point, but a significant percentage of Republicans literally believe that Benghazi is the worst thing ever!

How out of touch are these people? For Republicans, this is the worst scandal in American history. For everyone else it’s a typical Washington timewaster.

[photo via Wikimedia Commons]

liberalbutnotpartisan:

think-progress:

This is how Republicans blocked a vote to confirm the new EPA chief. Not a single one showed up. 

Remember this as you get ready to vote in the 2014 midterm elections: it’s not just that Republicans are wrong on virtually every policy position. It’s not just that Republicans are more interested in their personal hatred of President Obama than dealing with the nation’s problems. It’s not even just that Republicans wish to do harm to the economy (see all the debt ceiling messes and the sequester) than do anything that might be perceived as helping the President.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to one simple fact: the Republicans in Congress are not even working. They’re not even bothering to act like they’re doing their jobs.

What would happen to you or me if we tried this? That’s right, we’d get fired. So come 2014, here’s our chance to fire the Republicans.

sandandglass:

The Republican’s measure of what counts as ‘tyranny’ is a bit confused.