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Not the Onion: Sitting Members of Congress Propose Arming Kindergarteners

7.17.2018

Over the weekend, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s new series, “Who is America,” aired its debut episode, leaving us all with a head scratcher. In the “Kinderguardians” skit, two sitting members of Congress – Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) – joined gun lobby extremists to support a fake program to arm school children.

As Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said:
“Maybe having many young people trained and understand how to defend themselves in their school might actually make us safer here.”

And, as Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) said:
“A three-year-old cannot defend itself from an assault rifle by throwing a Hello Kitty pencil case at it. Our Founding Fathers did not put an age limit on the Second Amendment.”

Americans can laugh at the absurdity of this stunt program, but when they cast their ballots in November, voters would do well to consider how candidates such as Rohrabacher and Wilson will vote on the issue of gun safety. That’s why the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction program is so important – it identifies candidates who have pledged to support common-sense gun safety measures if elected into office. To date, more than 2,500 candidates for state and federal office have sought and received a Moms Demand Action candidate distinction.

Reps. Rohrabacher and Wilson aren’t on that list.

Arming children isn’t a joke. And, the assertions in this program by members of Congress hoping to get re-elected in November is a deeply troubling indication of their beliefs on how to curb gun violence in America. Nothing is funny about claiming that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is by arming our nation’s school children.

For more information on gun violence in America or the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction program, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

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