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March 23, 2018 03:11 PM UTC

Colorado Lawmaker Says Walkout Didn't Stop Maryland Shooting

  • 25 Comments
  • by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

With teenagers and adults from around the country set to rally in Washington DC tomorrow for expanded gun safety laws, one Colorado lawmaker is apparently dismissing recent student activism because it wouldn’t have prevented a school shooting this week.

Reacting to Tuesday’s shooting at a Maryland high school, Colorado State Rep. Hugh McKean (R-Loveland) wrote on Facebook:

“Apparently, the #walkout these students participated in last week didn’t serve as any means to stop this kind of violence, but a #walkUp certainly could have,” wrote McKean on Facebook.

The “walkUp” referred to by McKean is a idea promoted by conservatives to offer help and kindness to those who appear to need it. It’s person-to-person approach, offered as an alternative to the public activism in support of policy changes that’s been undertaken by teenagers, led by students from Florida.

McKean did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking to know if he thinks the walkout and other activism by students should be completely halted in favor of the WalkUp approach.

New laws, like those sought by student activists, could not possibly have prevented the Maryland shooting because such laws are not in place yet.

Evidence suggests that gun safety proposals, like universal background checks implemented in Colorado and seven other states, reduce gun deaths.

In a subsequent Facebook post, McKean did apologize for apparently downplaying the efforts of student activists.

McKean: As we absorb the continuing discussion about school violence I think we all are realizing that there are not simple answers nor simple discussions. In light of recent events, I shared two posts earlier relating to this topic, posts that have been very controversial. That’s actually a good thing. The challenge that we all face, the students who walked out, the students who didn’t, teachers, parents and society as a whole, is to find a path that effectively points to a solution. Whether it is more resources in schools, more law enforcement, or more education it is a critical moment in this discussion. I recently talked to a group of students who were asking what we would do as legislators. After some discussion of the 2nd Amendment I asked how those students were dealing with adversity. I asked them how they were interacting with kids they knew were facing tough stuff, whose parents were divorcing, who had failed a class, who had a tough home life. I am determined to forward that part of this discussion, what we can do as a society, what our kids themselves can do to reach out to their classmates. As parents, what can we do to cultivate a kinder, more inclusive world? What are we doing to step in and stop bullying? What are we doing to build those relationships with our kids and their friends so that we can have those vital discussion before kids act out or friends and neighbors. Certainly we have not seen school violence limited only to students, nor have we seen it only relegated to adults. I came home very late from Denver last week. I got home after 10:00 on two nights and my teenagers hadn’t yet gone to bed. So on successive nights I called them down to the kitchen table so we could play cards for an hour or so and just talk. On Saturday, after church, we drove out to Pawnee and spend a few hours shooting clay pigeons. I don’t know what the answers are to all of this but I know that I won’t stop making my kids come down and play cards. I know that I won’t stop teaching my kids the responsible handling and ownership of firearms. I know that I won’t stop telling them to be kind to their friends and reach out to those kids who need a friend. The kids I talk to, the kids I work with on the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, they all agree that there are no quick and easy solutions. The great thing is that they are all willing to talk and work and act and so am I.

 

A 16-year-old student at the Maryland school died Thursday from gunshot wounds suffered on Tuesday. The shooter was killed and one student was injured and released.

“Another tragic event this morning that could have been much worse,” wrote McKean in his original post on Facebook. “Thankful for a school resource officer who was armed and put an end to the rampage. Apparently, the #walkout these students participated in last week didn’t serve as any means to stop this kind of violence, but a #walkUp certainly could have. How about we work to put a stop to all violence and not just gun violence. To use a line from my dear friend Scott James, #PleaseDoGoodStuff. Be kind. Be respectful. Pay attention. Notice those who are hurting and offer help.”

Comments

25 thoughts on “Colorado Lawmaker Says Walkout Didn’t Stop Maryland Shooting

  1. "Evidence suggests that gun safety proposals, like universal background checks implemented in Colorado and seven other states, reduce gun deaths."

    Evidence may suggest the gun laws implemented in Colorado reduce gun deaths, but the fact is since these laws were passed in 2013, gun deaths(88) have done nothing but Increase,(113) with a 22% jump in firearm homicides in Colorado up to 2015 as per the Colorado Bureau of Investigation

    In 2016 the FBI reported 136 gun deaths in Colorado, an additional 17% increase from the 2015 stats which suggest new laws would decrease gun deaths, and 2017 is tied for Denver's deadliest year in a decade, with a 28% increase in gun deaths since time of new laws passing in Denver alone. 

    So the implementation of new gun laws in Colorado intended to decrease gun deaths have seen a total of a 35% increase in gun deaths and we are encouraging more gun laws. That's awesome. Keep up the good work. Maybe a law that says criminals have to obey the law…..oh wait… 

     

    1. Obviously, the answer is that we need more guns.   There is still an old granny in Northglenn without an assault rifle.  She relies solely on an old British PIAT and a Short Magazine Lee Enfield.   For God's sake, get that woman an Uzi!

      1. . . . and bump stocks.  Don’t forget bump stocks! . . . 

        . . . Remember:  The only way to stop a bad man with a gun, is s kindergarten teacher with two hours of training and a bump stock!

          1. Hey, let’s not be arguing with the experts . . .

            . . . the NRA and Colorado Republicans, huh?

            “Alternatives”?   Next you’ll be suggesting that there’s alternatives to assault rifles . . . 

            1. Alternative to assault rifles? Oh, yeah how bout the Ruger Mini -14? It shoots the same bullet as an AR15 at the same rate of fire with the same capacity magazines, but curiously, does not appear on the list of banned guns in the prior 1994 assault weapons ban, nor does it appear in the proposed  2018 assault weapons ban either. Once you realize that this gun is exactly the same as this gun, you will find that yes, there are alternatives to assault rifles. 

              oh and by the way you can bump fire these with a rubber band too….

               

              1. Yeah, I know.  

                And, I guess when the miscreants start regularly shooting up schools and other gatherings with Mini-14s and rubber bands, we should consider steps to eliminate those, too.  

                If the NRAniacs begin to see that they’re risking having their toys taken away, too, until they also start dealing with these problems, then, well . . .

                It’s a elephant to eat alright . . .

              2. As a man who trained on the M14, I've always admired the mini14.  We called the M16 a mattell toy, and carried the same scorn over to the AR15. But the early 16s, which actually were made in part by mattell, were crap that jammed constantly.  Good men died needlessly as a result.

    2. You're mangling and twisting the CBI stats. I actually looked at the stats of firearm homicides for 2012-2016, not just at the title page of CBI you linked to.  From the Crime in Colorado page, you go to each year, then to the homicides page, then the link for the "supplemental homicides report" and scroll down to "type of weapon used", to view the actual numbers.

      When one does this, one finds that the rate of firearm homicides was actually pretty flat between 2012 and 2014:

      2012 had 92 firearm homicides, 2013 had 88, 2014 had 90. When you factor in population growth, yes, firearm homicides did drop in 2014.

      Then in 2015 there was a big spike of 113. 2016 continued that dangerous trend with 132, and then in 2017, we had 56 homicides in Denver metro area alone.  especially in low-income neighborhoods in north and east Denver.

      The Denver Post article cited an increase in domestic violence murders in 2016.

      In 2017, police "are not seeing any patterns", according to the article, but it's pretty clear from the stats that black and brown folks in poor neighborhoods are getting victimized.

      The "pattern" would be higher rents, less affordable housing, increase in opioid and heroin drug sales and use, lack of services for homeless people and transients. In Greeley, where shelters are always overflowing after the slow decline of the oil and gas boom,

      “They were breaking into homes to burglarize them, breaking into cars and breaking into homes to stay warm in the winter,” said [Greeley Police Chief Jerry] Garner, who added that Greeley had a 20 percent increase in major crimes.

      In addition, if you're really looking at gun laws as an explanation for higher rates of homicide with firearms, you may want to take a close look at the Johns Hopkins study, "The Case for Gun Policy Reforms in America".

      The study found, not surprisingly, that concealed carry and open carry policies, far from preventing violent gun crime, created conditions in which it increased and flourished, leading to a 1-9% increase in violent assaults carried out by permitted holders.

      I'm really not at all interested in having another long, pointless, trivial debate with you. You don't normally attack my character or intelligence, as V tends to do, but you try to wear down with endless distraction and diffusion. You muddy. You obfuscate, You have admitted that there is no gun -restricting law ever written or that could be written that you would support.

      The stats you cite are flawed, and do not show that background check and magazine size limitations have failed to restrict gun murders. The people who have done multiple city, multiple decade studies of violent crime (funded by Bloomberg because until recently the CDC has been legally prohibited from tracking gun deaths) show that more guns on the street and looser gun laws ensure that more people will die by gun. Period.

      1. Wow, talk about muddy obfuscation and trivial debates mama, did you read your post? The data taken for my stats are the same dataset you reference in your post. Identical. How is that mangling or twisting stats? We had this debate in 2015 and you held this data sacred then, but now when it does not serve you its somehow confusing and twisted logic.  Colorado laws were enacted to save lives. It did not save lives. Period. Gun deaths increased. I applaud your pattern analysis which addresses the socio-economical rational, which you and I agree on completely, however the combination of increased gun restrictions with higher gun deaths is adequate support to show that, hello, ITS NOT THE GUNS. If you can blame socio economic environmental reasons for the rise in gun deaths, it would be logical to suggest that improving this condition would reduce gun deaths, amiright? Perhaps that would be a good next attempt since Colorado has proven that increased gun laws do not reduce gun deaths. 

        And just for the record, I have not admitted that there is no gun-restriction law that I would support. I admit there is no gun law that a criminal will abide by. There is a difference.

        1. In an alternative universe, there may be a Colorado with wide open access to guns.  No doubt, that Colorado has more gun deaths than ours.

          In the real world, it is safe to assume that there would be somewhat more gun deaths in Negev World than MJ world.  Why, for instance, does anyone have a legitimate need for a 100 round magazine?  But the lack of a control group makes absolute certainty impossible.

           

          1. In the actual, in that I mean real world matter of fact, there was substantially more gun deaths in the MJ world than there was in the Negev world. That's not an assumption, nor somewhat, we are talking over 30% increase. The legitimate need for a 100 round magazine was proven inconsequential as it was removed from the environment and did not provide the intended results of its removal. The Colorado model proves that restricting magazine capacity and  universal background checks on private sales do not reduce gun deaths. It's really just that simple. 

            1. Your misleading crap is evidenced by the comment about 100 round magazines..they were not "removed from the environment"…as you suggest. No existing armament was taken from anyone. Sales ( and perhaps manufacture…not sure) were restricted. There were still thousands in existence.

              You are right about one thing, though Negev. The mini 14 (with the available 100 rd.drum) is only slightly different from the AR 15 in its' capacity for killing and should not be available on the open market. No private citizen should be allowed to own a semi-automatic weapon…rifle or otherwise. Will that stop murder? No. Will it stop people from planting bombs? No. Will it save hundreds, if not thousands of lives? I have absolutely no doubt.

              The thing about these kids that has gun nuts like you scared shitless is they have correctly identified the problem and called out the enemy…the NRA. 

              The simplest and most effective change that could bring a solution to gun violence is a change of leadership in the NRA. The next best step is a change of leadership in Congress and the White House.

              The kids, with our help, will see to it.

               

               

               

              1. Well, I will grant you that these young bucks have accomplished more in 30 days than the Dems have in a lifetime, which leads me to wonder if you ever really wanted to solve this problem in the first place, but if the NRA truly was the enemy they would just buy Democrats too. 

                So, my "misleading crap" is evidence that we cannot correlate the number of gun deaths in CO to the removal of 100 round mags, because they were not actually removed, just "restricted", but you "have absolutely no doubt" that restricting semi auto weapons will save hundreds, if not thousands of lives? Are you accounting for the millions in existence or advocating taking existing armament?

                I know the answer already so you can save your breath but if you think some overexposed children of gun violence are going to change the narrative on this, read the Omnibus Bill

                I would think twice about funding the CDC gun violence research. Based on raw data in CO, you may not like what you hear. If you remember the 1994 ban  results:

                • Should it be renewed, the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement. AWs were rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban. LCMs are involved in a more substantial share of gun crimes, but it is not clear how often the outcomes of gun attacks depend on the ability of offenders to fire more than ten shots (the current magazine capacity limit) without reloading.

                So careful what you wish for…. 

                 

                1. 100 round magazines are indefensible.  But banning them won't show up, if at all, except during years of a mass shooting incident.  As even you recognize, the real weapon of mass destruction is the handgun — author of at least 96 percent of firearms deaths, sayeth the FBI.

                  So, why focus on assault-style rifles?  Personally, I don't.  But reformers who think you have to start somewhere see them as low-hanging fruit.

                  But background checks — especially at gun shows — are a vital first step.  And they include handgun sales.

                  There is no, repeat no, absolute right to murder kids for sport.

  2. I personally think it’s great wheneveg McKean and other dipshit Republicans mock these angry students!!  Please keep it up!?!!   (It will only serve to hasten and galvanize the day of their electoral revenge.)

    Stay the course, Hugh!  Someday soon the voters will properly thank you . . . 

  3. 100 round magazines are indefensible.  But banning them won't show up, if at all, except during years of a mass shooting incident.  As even you recognize, the real weapon of mass destruction is the handgun — author of at least 96 percent of firearms deaths, sayeth the FBI.

    So, why focus on assault-style rifles?  Personally, I don't.  But reformers who think you have to start somewhere see them as low-hanging fruit.

    But background checks — especially at gun shows — are a vital first step.  And they include handgun sales.

    There is no, repeat no, absolute right to murder kids for sport.

    . As the NRA spits on their corpses, it lets millions of young people know how corrupt the NRA, Tea Party, Koch Brothers alliance is. Eventually, these young peope will vote and we geezers will die off. That will be a better America in which Trump style fascism will die out.

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