Democrats Finally Take a Stand

Kudos to Congressional Democrats. They have banded together and finally found some sense of decency in combating gun violence. Led by John Lewis, a man all too familiar with using alternative tactics to bring attention to an issue, House Democrats have taken over the floor to protest for a vote on a gun control bill. Persisting into the wee hours of the night, Senators joined the sit-in including Elizabeth Warren with Dunkin' Donuts and Bernie Sanders.

While this is a valiant effort that not only gives great publicity to Democrats but also shows they care enough to do something rather than sit idly by like their Republican colleagues, there's still little hope that anything will change. Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept have been persistently eager to point out that these gun control proposals only focus on a small minority of U.S. citizens and the means to compiling the list tend to be prejudiced against Muslims. These preventive measures may have stop the Orlando shooter, but not the shootings in a movie theater, elementary school or church because none of those white males were considered terrorists before and now.

Maybe a start is better than nothing. Maybe this will inspire a deeper discussion, maybe it will ignite a electorate to elect leaders that will stand up against special interest groups and their well-funded lobbyists and say no more guns. Late show host Stephen Colbert has been consistent on his coverage on the aftermath of the Orlando Massacre, proclaiming that even a fig leaf would show that Congress can do its job. Democrats are showing they can do their jobs, perhaps they need better collaborators, better leaders to complete the task and maybe one day put an end to mass shootings.