3 days.
According to two scholars at Princeton University, it is the time it takes for the anger of the people to begin to disappear after the shootings. It’s been over 24 hours since the 18-year-old gunman Massacre of 19 children and 2 teachers in Yuvalde, TexasAnd the national conversation about what to do next has already fallen into a familiar pattern.
The Democratic Party is demanding action. Republicans are trying to change the subject. And time is running out before national attention inevitably shifts elsewhere.
for Paper published last year In the minutes of the National Academy of Sciences, Princeton’s Patrick Sharkey and Inge Shen examined the Gallup investigation of American self-reported emotions over the days before and after the shootings.
It turns out that the more horrifying the slaughter is, the greater the emotional impact on the community. Democrats’ reaction was great — a 50 percent increase in sadness against a 20 percent increase in Republicans — but the sense of devastation disappeared at the same rapid rate.
“This dark cloud is hanging above us, and the sensation we all feel today is impossible to carry that weight for weeks or months,” Sharkey said in an interview. “I think it’s just an observation of how human emotions work.”
“We have been burned many times before.”
While Capitol Hill Democrats are fully aware of the urgency, they are also deeply skeptical of Republicans working with them in good faith. As my colleague Jonathan Wiseman reports.. They have a bitter memory of past attempts to pass federal firearms safety legislation, for good reason.
2013 bill to expand background checks on gun purchases We’re screwed After 26 children and staff were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in New Town, Connecticut last year.
After more than 30 deaths in a series of shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio in 2019 The New York Times reported Republicans “were united around legislation to help law enforcement agencies steal guns from those who pose imminent risk.”-The so-called Locomotive Act.
President Donald Trump Expressing support for the ideaEspecially at the White House address. But he never put real pressure on the Republicans, and Senator Mitch McConnell, who ruled the Senate at the time, waited until the public’s anger diminished before quietly moving on to other topics. waited.
On Wednesday, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer carefully left the door open.
“My Republican colleagues can now work with us,” he said. “I think it’s a bad prospect. It’s very slim and everything is too slim. We’ve been burned many times before.”
He added: “But this is very important. We must pursue action and ask Republicans to join us again.”
The Democratic Party’s current plans explore bipartisan talks led by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, while fully preparing the conversations to go nowhere, according to an aide close to the Senate leadership. Is to do.
“I asked Senator Schumer for space to have the conversation over the next 10 days,” Murphy told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. “And in a week and a half, you’ll see if you have the opportunity to receive a bipartisan bill.”
With Senator Lindsey Graham of the South Carolina Republican Party as one of the indicators that could indicate the worthlessness of such a debate. A major supporter of the Locomotive Acts at the state level“I can’t guarantee that Americans have a law that we can pass that would have stopped this shooting,” he said separately on Wednesday.
A vote to conclude the debate on domestic terrorism prevention law on Thursday, originally other Recent mass shootings, In buffalo, It is expected that you will encounter a Republican filibuster.So will unscheduled votes on strengthening background checks, such as Schumer. Seemed to admit in his remarks on Wednesday..
Anger and helplessness
It’s hard to say if frustration among Democrats has reached new heights — it was already quite high. But since the shooting on Tuesday, expressions of anger and helplessness have been everywhere.
Hours after the slaughter, Arizona’s Senator Ruben Gagego throws a series of acronyms on Twitter to Senator Ted Cruz of the Texas Republican Party, who accused Democrats of trying to “politicize” what happened. rice field. Galego called Cruz “useless” and “baby hitman.”
In Texas on Wednesday, Governor’s Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke said Confront Governor Greg Abbott at a press conference.. Mr. Oroke accused the shooting of being “fully predictable” and Republican opponent Abbott “doing nothing” to address the issue. Officials on stage cursed Oruk, and Abbott accused him after being guided by police.
“There are families who are crying when we are talking,” Abbott said. “Think about the injured people and help them.”
When Oroke left, he said, “Someone needs to stand up for the children in this state, or they will continue to be killed.”
Texas ground
Raised in El Paso and a Spanish-speaking colleague, Jazzmin Uroa, is in Yuvarde. There she talked to her family while learning the fate of her children.
We talked on the phone when she was competing to flesh out the portrait of their murderer. The following is a summary and edited conversation for clarity.
What did you see when you arrived in town yesterday?
It was already dark when I arrived at the Civic Center, which was functioning as a hub for the school community. It was a hot and sultry night, and a few hours after the thunderstorm began, the family was gathering around the car in the parking lot. It was a big family, an uncle, an aunt, a grandparent, and a cousin.
Many of them heard the news that their children were gone. People were crying and hugging, and you could hear the pain as if it were tearing through the air.
Some parents had a hard time getting back to the car after hearing the news. They were leaning on their loved ones. There was one woman who knelt down and folded into the passenger seat of the car. She was sobbing and couldn’t get up.
You have previously covered the shootings. Did something different come out to you?
Yes, the El Paso shooting happened five minutes from my high school. I think the difference in this is the youth of the victim. The fact that they are children is just the most devastating. And it’s even harder to handle.
Last night, at Herschel Walker’s victory party in Georgia, I saw the news that President Biden’s shooting remarks were booed. And I was in the parking lot with these parents who were very distressed. I don’t know what to call it — it was a jarring juxtaposition.
What to read
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