Of all the glorified hallmarks of capitalist consumerism in the land of the supposedly free,firearms might just be the apex of the American dream,ironically.There are more civilian weapons than civilians,at an estimated average of 120.5 privately owned guns per 100 people. Words like “hobby” and “interest” just don’t fly anymore. Sure,not every American is a gun owner. But guns aren’t quite the same thing as stamps or motorbikes or dildos. They’re killing machines. That’s what they are designed for,and semi-automatic weapons are specifically designed for killing people.
“This morning the victims and their families are in my prayers. This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.” These were the condolences offered by Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert after a recent tragedy in which five were killed and at least 18 injured at an LGBTQ nightclub in her home state.
Let’s take a closer look at Boebert’s words,starting with “lawless violence”. That’s a funny coupling. What constituteslawfulviolence? Police brutality?
In July,Boebert released a book,An American Life.During a promotional interview with Steve Bannon,she spoke of staying connected to her community,her grassroots approach to politicking and her refusal to be bought by lobbyists in Washington. Only,the foreword toAn American Lifeis written by Ted Cruz. According to data obtained by the political funding trackerOpenSecrets,and published on the anti-gun violence site Brady United,Ted Cruz has received $US176,274 ($264,229) in donations from the National Rifle Association over the course of his career as a senator for Texas,where the average annual number of gun deaths is 3647.
Then again,Cruz is all the way down at No. 22 on the NRA’s list of political priorities.Leading the charge is Utah’s Senator Mitt Romney,who served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003-07 but,perhaps more importantly to the NRA,ran a presidential campaign in 2012. NRA backing for Romney totals $US13,647,676. The top 16 NRA earners have raked in more than $US1 million each.
Boebert isn’t on that list,yet.But this is the same Lauren Boebert who,with her husband,owned a gun-themed restaurant called Shooters Grill,where the wait staff carried guns. Last December,she shared a photo on Instagram of herself and her four children holding semi-automatic rifles while standing in front of their Christmas tree.