Donald Trump, Jr., Jeff Flake Square Off On Twitter Over Gun Control

Donald Trump, Jr. (Courtesy of the Associated Press)

Jeff Flake may have said he’s leaving Congress when his term expires, but he’s still the junior senator from Arizona, one of the most pro-gun states in the nation. If Flake was considering the will of his constituents, he’d likely oppose pretty much any new gun regulations.

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He’s not considering the people of Arizona, however. In fact, he’s not even considering federal law with a new proposal he suggested on Twitter yesterday. Not only that, but his proposal is pointless, something the Donald Trump, Jr. pointed out when he fired back and Flake:

Donald Trump Jr. and Republican Sen. Jeff Flake are engaging in a war of words over Twitter.

The Arizona lawmaker, one of the most vocal GOP critics of President Donald Trump, tweeted Tuesday about his bill that would bar anyone convicted of domestic violence in military court from purchasing a weapon.

The gunman who killed 26 people at a Texas church Sunday was able to purchase weapons because the Air Force failed to submit his criminal history to the FBI as required by law.

Trump Jr. responded to Flake, “Incredibly proactive considering that law has been on the books since the mid 90s.”

Flake answered, “If being proactive means closing the #DomesticViolenceLoophole exploited by the #SutherlandSprings Texas shooter, you’re right.”

The problem, Sen. Flake, is that there’s no loophole. A loophole is something that creates a legal workaround to something that would otherwise be illegal. No law actually made the sale of firearms to the Texas shooter legal.

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What happened was that for whatever reason, the Air Force failed to enter the killer’s name and information into the NICS database. For there to have been a loophole, the law would need to specifically exclude the Air Force or other branches of the military from requirements to provide that information. Since new exclusion exists, there’s no loophole.

Flake’s proposal simply does something that is already law. It’s the ultimate “seen to do something” legislation, as it not only does nothing, it actually creates a law that already exists, but it looks like something important is taking place. That’s all that matters.

To Sen. Flake, I have a suggestion.

If you want to be seen to be doing something, why not focus on being seen doing something that would actually have an impact? For example, why not spend your remaining time in Congress looking into the causes of violence and working to eradicate those? Not only would you be doing something, you’d actually save lives.

Or, here’s a thought, why not look into why the Air Force failed to upload required information to the NICS that enabled this maniac to buy guns he was ineligible to buy?

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Oh, wait. That sounds like work. That doesn’t have enough political grandstanding for you, now does it? It doesn’t virtue signal hard enough that you want to “do something” and to do that something right now, does it?

Who cares if it actually helps people or harms them. What really matters is passing a law that already exists so he can flex at the country club with the other RINOs and pretend he made a difference.

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