It's already starting. My Facebook is already loaded with supposed do gooders screaming for mental health legislation as a fix for gun violence. Don't fall for it! These self righteous purveyors of Frank Luntz tested wisdom are nothing but a smokescreen for gun rights preservationists.
In fact it appears to be a concerted effort, coming from all corners. Look, I live in Aurora. One of my neighbors was shot twice (and survived thankfully) in the Theater shootings. Today I received not one, not two, but three unsolicited calls from my daughters school assuring me that all is well and security is tight and on high alert.
The point being, we are very tightly attuned to this issue here. But even here I'm seeing the telltale signs of this obvious stealth campaign most likely initiated by the NRA. Follow me below the orange squiggle for a briefing on what to look for.
They aren't really hard to identify. You will see their postings in your facebook, on blogs, and elsewhere. The don't say a single word about guns, or gun violence. They studiously avoid mentioning it altogether. Instead they scream for mental health funding initiatives.
Think for a moment how revealing that is. It could not be more clear that today's shooter in Connecticut was loaded down with weaponry. At least four handguns and at least one rifle. We'll never know what his mental state was, nor whether more mental health funding would even have reached him.
But we will always know that he killed over 25 people, mostly little children. And he didn't do it with mental health issues, he did it with guns, several of them.
My daughter's school is recommending that all parents discuss this shooting with their children. I've already had this conversation with my daughter. For weeks after the Aurora shootings she was terrified to go anywhere near a movie theater. Now she's probably going to have reservations about going to school. I'm damn well tired of this. How many more times to I have to have this conversation with my daughter? I've had enough. I am not going to be dissuaded by mental health smokescreens and neither should you. As soon as you see that being posted, you need to call it out for what it is and slap it down. It is nothing more than a transparent attempt to shift the conversation away from what it really is, a gun violence issue, and over to mental health which at best is what it is only peripherally.
This incident has awakened a sleeping giant. The American public has for once finally stood up and taken notice. Don't let the NRA and gun advocates steal the argument and shift it's focus. We can win this one, but only if we do our own due diligence by recognizing what they are trying to do and meet it head on.