# NEW Stupid Republican Idea of the Day (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018 "2022-02-07T00:52:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 113
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2242 "2022-05-25T21:37:20Z")
Republicans always want to say it’s a mental health issue, not an access to guns issue, yet I don’t see them clamoring to ensure we have better mental health care coverage. Or even red flag laws to ensure the mentally ill don’t have easy access to guns. “Let’s just blame it on this other problem, then ignore it anyway” seems to be their approach. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2243 "2022-05-25T22:02:15Z")
Yeah, someone on another platform said that this was the first mass shooting after “the” first mass shooting – Sandy Hook. I had to remind her that it wasn’t even the first mass shooting in my lifetime. I was a kid, but I remember the Texas belltower shootings. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2244 "2022-05-25T22:22:03Z")
So Parkland never happened? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2245 "2022-05-25T22:24:49Z")
Parkland happened after Sandy Hook, so it wasn’t “first” according to the way she was thinking…I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2246 "2022-05-25T22:41:27Z")
Hell, it’s not even the first mass shooting THIS WEEK. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2247 "2022-05-25T22:46:07Z")
There have been 43 mass shootings since the beginning of the month. [https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting](https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2248 "2022-05-25T22:54:01Z")
So the Federalist just tweeted that mass shootings show that kids should be home schooled. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2249 "2022-05-25T23:44:34Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > “The ability of an 18-year-old to buy a long gun has been in place for more than 60 years,” Governor Abbott said when asked in a news conference whether an 18-year-old should have access to weapons like the one used in the shooting. “Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge.” The GQP doesn’t care. Mental health challenged - MORE GUNS. Even if you’re in a group that disproportionately commits suicide with guns like veterans; the answer is always = MORE GUNS. From the halcyon days of 2017. > **[House Bill Allows Gun Sales to Mentally Ill Vets](https://www.newsweek.com/guns-america-bill-seeks-allow-gun-sales-mentally-ill-vets-568578)** > > Critics of the legislation argue it would endanger veterans with mental conditions by allowing them to purchase and possess firearms. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2250 "2022-05-25T23:57:24Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > From [here](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/05/25/us/shooting-robb-elementary-uvalde): > > > **“The ability of an 18-year-old to buy a long gun has been in place for more than 60 years,” Governor Abbott said** when asked in a news conference whether an 18-year-old should have access to weapons like the one used in the shooting. “Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge.” > > Yeah, but you seem to think it’s OK for someone with a “mental health challenge” to have a gun. Jackass. Abbott is being dishonest here (of course!), implying that long guns = assault-weapons. Sure, Texas has let a lot of people buy single-shot hunting rifles for a lot of decades. Semi-automatic assault weapons? Not so much. > > [@Shoeless](#): > > Republicans always want to say it’s a mental health issue, not an access to guns issue, yet I don’t see them clamoring to ensure we have better mental health care coverage. Or even red flag laws to ensure the mentally ill don’t have easy access to guns. “Let’s just blame it on this other problem, then ignore it anyway” seems to be their approach. The ‘mental health’ excuse for doing nothing about the easy availability of assault weapons is getting particularly threadbare. Even Abbott, in that infamous press conference today, had to admit that the shooter had no mental-health issues on his record (and so couldn’t have been stopped by some hypothetical ‘let people have as many deadly weapons as they like but intervene for those with mental-health-issue records’ policy). The game is to have something to say until the public moves on to some other issue. In other words, Republicans are using ‘mental health’ to wait out the news cycle. (my bolding in the Abbott quote) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2251 "2022-05-26T00:32:18Z")
Congressman Randy Fine just threatened the President of the United States. “I have news for the embarrassment that claims to be our President — try to take our guns and you’ll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place.” > ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2252 "2022-05-26T01:05:06Z")
Fucking Republican terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2253 "2022-05-26T01:20:04Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > India tried to do that, and it didn’t work out very well for the Hindus who left the area that became Pakistan or the Muslims who moved to Pakistan. Not sure where you heard that. My parents left the area that became Pakistan (first it became east Pakistan then Bangladesh). My parents lost many family members and all their property and had to start back from scratch in India. We did well and so did a lot of other Hindus who had come to India. I cannot speak for Muslims who went to Pakistan, but as Hindus, many of us I know are very happy and successful. Hindus who moved to India have had a better education, are a part of the biggest democracy that has enjoyed elected governments since independence, have many rights like equal rights for LGBTQ. Sure India is no paradise and still has a long way to go, but the general feeling of Hindus who have left Pakistan is positive. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2254 "2022-05-26T02:04:28Z")
My impression was that the process itself was somewhat violent, and you can’t say that the two countries have ever gotten along since the separation. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2255 "2022-05-26T08:36:19Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > My impression was that the process itself was somewhat violent, This part is true, but violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims were not new. Just as violent clashes between Jews and Muslims in Israel/Palestine or the violent clashes between Arab Christians and Arab Muslims. The point is that the partition, with the unfortunate violence, put an end to continued violence between two communities and let them work on developing their economy, human rights and other development indices. The partition was not the cause of the violence. > [@Morgyn](#): > > and you can’t say that the two countries have ever gotten along since the separation. Muslims and Hindus have never gotten along, whether there was a partition or not. That has to do with many factors historically. Again, it has very little to do with the partition. Its like Israel and the Arab countries. They have never gotten along. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2256 "2022-05-26T11:30:59Z")
Ah. I obviously have more to learn, and thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2257 "2022-05-26T22:19:56Z")
Gubernatorial candidate in Oklahoma says life begins before conception. > **[GOP candidate for governor proposes new abortion 'punishment' after claiming...](https://www.rawstory.com/mark-sherwood-oklahoma/)** > > Mark Sherwood, a Republican candidate for governor in Oklahoma, asserted that he is against all exceptions for abortion because he believes life begins "before" conception."No life, even conceived in the most heinous or even less-than-ideal... ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2258 "2022-05-26T22:44:41Z")
So he said the quiet part out loud: He’s not pro-life, he’s pro-punishment for getting pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2259 "2022-05-26T22:51:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Gubernatorial candidate in Oklahoma says life begins before conception He’s right you know! > [@](#): > > The homunculus first appears by name in [alchemical](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemical) writings attributed to [Paracelsus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus) (1493–1541). _De natura rerum_ (1537) outlines his method for creating homunculi: > > > That the sperm of a man be putrefied by itself in a sealed cucurbit for forty days with the highest degree of putrefaction in a horse’s womb, or at least so long that it comes to life and moves itself, and stirs, which is easily observed. After this time, it will look somewhat like a man, but transparent, without a body. If, after this, it be fed wisely with the Arcanum of human blood, and be nourished for up to forty weeks, and be kept in the even heat of the horse’s womb, a living human child grows therefrom, with all its members like another child, which is born of a woman, but much smaller ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2260 "2022-05-26T22:58:03Z")
Life begins billions of years ago, and human life begins somewhere between a few million and a few hundred thousand, depending on how you define “human”. It always annoys me when people “debate” about “when life begins”, because life is completely irrelevant. The real issue, which everyone always dodges, is when personhood begins. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018/2261 "2022-05-26T23:03:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Life begins billions of years ago, and human life begins somewhere between a few million and a few hundred thousand, depending on how you define “human”. It always annoys me when people “debate” about “when life begins”, because life is completely irrelevant. The real issue, which everyone always dodges, is when personhood begins. - I also feel irritation at the ‘when life begins’ misconception. Life has been continuous since, as you mention, billions of years ago. The various gametes and other vehicles for transmission of DNA (used by differing species for reproduction) are all _alive_. But they’re not people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018.md?page=112) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-2/959018.md?page=114)