After Steve Scalise Shooting, Terry McAuliffe Speaks The Truth About Too Many Guns On The Streets

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:45 pm

Asked if we need to do more to protect politicians after 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson shot Rep. Steve Scalise in the hip and wounded others at a Congressional baseball practice in Virginia, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said we need to do more to protect all of our citizens.

“I think we need to do more to protect all of our citizens,” McAuliffe said. “I have long advocated, this is not what today is about, but there are too many guns on the street.We lose 93 million Americans a day to gun violence.”

The Governor did not try to make this shooting “political”, but in responding to a question about protecting politicians, he brought up the reality that we need to protect citizens.

Editor’s Note: 93 million Americans don’t die a day due to gun violence. On average, 93 Americans a day die due to gun violence. McAuliffe’s misstatement doesn’t seem meant to mislead people, as no one would believe that, and shouldn’t take away from his broader point.

Watch here via CBS Evening News:

The Governor’s statement after the shooting avoided the issue of gun control and gun violence:

Democratic members have issued statement after statement putting country over party. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement sent to PoliticusUSA, “On days like today, there are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans united in our hopes and prayers for the wounded.”

McAuliffe’s response to a question about protecting politicians should not be interpreted as partisan.

It’s important not to lose sight of this fact, because to suggest it’s partisan to say gun violence is a problem and Congress needs to address it in order to protect citizens is to say that in order to avoid offending the gun lobby, we won’t mention reality.

This isn’t popular, but that doesn’t make it any less true. While this is most certainly not a time for finger pointing, it is a time to admit that America has a gun problem.

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Sarah Jones

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