Protest demonstrations nationwide today called on Congress to do something about continuing gun violence in America. But conservative Republicans from many states are not likely to support such measures.
Gun owners and the National Rifle Association (NRA) have a strong presence in the South and the Midwest, so representatives from these states typically move to block national laws.
That leaves it to each state to strengthen their laws even more. This will not, however, slow mass shootings in states that do not tighten gun controls. This is where some of the deadliest mass shootings have occurred.
Separately, efforts in the House of Representatives to prove the influence of Donald Trump in arranging the protests on Jan. 6, 2020, will add to the public knowledge of his role, but this will have little or no influence on the Senate, where Republican senators have a strong enough presence to block any censures.
However, as all the evidence is forwarded to prosecutors -- both federal and state, under civil and criminal law -- courts at several levels will hear new allegations. And any attempt to block charges by citing presidential executive privilege will not work, for several reasons:
1/ State investigations, both civil and criminal, are independent of federal jurisdiction.
2/ Trump is no longer president, so he cannot succeed in claiming executive privilege which would make him exempt from prosecution.
3/ The current president has lifted any potential block to such a prosecution.
4/ Any claim that he is still president, allegedly because the election was "rigged" and that he really did win re-election, is false.
5/ It is also false that he won the 2016 election. He lost the popular vote, but became president by manipulating the electoral count.
Hearings by the House committee investigating gun violence in America will continue in the coming week as officials pile up evidence of civil and criminal wrongdoing by the former president and his supporters, including some members of Congress.
These questions remain: Will the former president be prosecuted? When and where?
Here are some likely answers:
On a state level, yes, he is being prosecuted.
On a federal level, probably will be prosecuted.
Also, will Congress act officially to sanction the former president?
By the House of Representatives, the answer is yes.
By the Senate, probably not this year, but possibly next year, assuming the November election changes the balance of political representation.
Meanwhile, here are some of the attitudes taken by the Ultra Right:
-- Ignore it. That means it didn't happen.
-- We're call Rightists because we're correct.
-- Conservatives want to conserve things. If it was correct in the 18th Century, it must be correct today.
-- Liberals need to be liberated from their delusions.
Or, to quote Chico Marx, their attitude is this: "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"
Gun owners and the National Rifle Association (NRA) have a strong presence in the South and the Midwest, so representatives from these states typically move to block national laws.
That leaves it to each state to strengthen their laws even more. This will not, however, slow mass shootings in states that do not tighten gun controls. This is where some of the deadliest mass shootings have occurred.
Separately, efforts in the House of Representatives to prove the influence of Donald Trump in arranging the protests on Jan. 6, 2020, will add to the public knowledge of his role, but this will have little or no influence on the Senate, where Republican senators have a strong enough presence to block any censures.
However, as all the evidence is forwarded to prosecutors -- both federal and state, under civil and criminal law -- courts at several levels will hear new allegations. And any attempt to block charges by citing presidential executive privilege will not work, for several reasons:
1/ State investigations, both civil and criminal, are independent of federal jurisdiction.
2/ Trump is no longer president, so he cannot succeed in claiming executive privilege which would make him exempt from prosecution.
3/ The current president has lifted any potential block to such a prosecution.
4/ Any claim that he is still president, allegedly because the election was "rigged" and that he really did win re-election, is false.
5/ It is also false that he won the 2016 election. He lost the popular vote, but became president by manipulating the electoral count.
Hearings by the House committee investigating gun violence in America will continue in the coming week as officials pile up evidence of civil and criminal wrongdoing by the former president and his supporters, including some members of Congress.
These questions remain: Will the former president be prosecuted? When and where?
Here are some likely answers:
On a state level, yes, he is being prosecuted.
On a federal level, probably will be prosecuted.
Also, will Congress act officially to sanction the former president?
By the House of Representatives, the answer is yes.
By the Senate, probably not this year, but possibly next year, assuming the November election changes the balance of political representation.
Meanwhile, here are some of the attitudes taken by the Ultra Right:
-- Ignore it. That means it didn't happen.
-- We're call Rightists because we're correct.
-- Conservatives want to conserve things. If it was correct in the 18th Century, it must be correct today.
-- Liberals need to be liberated from their delusions.
Or, to quote Chico Marx, their attitude is this: "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"
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