While most of the world is well aware of the fact that the United States' lenient gun control laws have contributed to the number of disturbing mass shootings, Republican leaders and lawmakers are attempting to make excuses to divert attention from the firearm discussions.
As the days progress, the excuses are becoming more outlandish. According to HuffPost, Republicans have blamed everything from liberal teachers to ADHD medications for shootings that have taken place across the country. Then, there are bizarre remarks from far-right conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). While Greene believes there's not enough "God" in schools, Paxton and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) believe there aren't enough guns in school.
"The reality is, we don't have the resources to have law enforcement at every school," he said. "It takes time for law enforcement, no matter how prepared, no matter how good they are to get there. So, having the right training for some of these people at the school is the best hope."
Boebert, meanwhile, shares on Thursday night that she wants "teachers that can protect themselves and their students."
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) even attempted to blame the shootings on "fatherlessness" as he discussed the "root cause" of the shootings. "Questions involving things like, why is our culture suddenly producing so many young men who want to murder innocent people?" he said. "It raises questions like, you know, could things like fatherlessness, the breakdown of families, isolation from civil society or the glorification of violence be contributing factors?"
Like most Republican lawmakers, Lee failed to offer any suggestions to combat that would ensure troubled individuals are unable to obtain access to firearms.
Speaking to HuffPost, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) believes ADHD medication is to blame. "Kids have changed over the years, the drugs they're taking for attention deficit just to focus on what they're doing. It's mind-boggling to me," Tuberville said.
There have also been instances of right-wing internet trolls having "spread photos of a random trans woman who bears a passing resemblance to the actual shooter, Salvador Ramos, whom police said they killed responding to the massacre. ... The woman in the widely disseminated photos has come and out said that she's not the shooter — and that she doesn't even live in Texas — and asked people to stop sharing the pictures of her apparently taken without her consent from Reddit."
Another vexing argument actually centers on gun control. However, Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, believes gun control is actually the problem.
"Killers love gun control, and that's what enabled this killer in Texas," he said.
Despite all of the endless arguments, the vast majority of Republicans still refuse to acknowledge the real problem.
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