An American Tragedy in Nashville

NASHVILLE — There is something fundamentally democratic about a Waffle House restaurant in the wee hours of the morning. It’s a place where people working the late shift can stop for a hot meal on the way home, where high school kids can extend prom night just an hour longer, where 20-somethings jazzed on live music can wind down after a night on the town. The coffee is always fresh, and the counter staff has heard it all before but will usually listen again if you need an ear. It’s a uniquely American place.

There’s something tragically, fundamentally American, too, about an angry young white man with a firearm killing a bunch of strangers who have done him no harm. That’s what happened early Sunday morning, when a man who was naked except for a green jacket loaded with ammunition opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at a Waffle House in the Antioch section of Nashville. Four people were fatally shot and four others were wounded before James Shaw Jr., an unarmed customer, wrestled the gun from him, saving untold lives.

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But while we’re spreading blame, let’s not forget to save a generous portion for members of the Tennessee General Assembly, who are so busy passing legislation designed to punish the state’s left-leaning cities that they have passed no legislation at all to protect their own citizens from maniacs with guns.

Actually, let’s be very clear: They’ve done worse than nothing. Instead, they’ve expanded gun rights to such an extreme that Tennessee is now the go-to place for gun transfers that wouldn’t be permissible in other places. This month The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the F.B.I. had identified Tennessee as a “source state” in a pipeline that transferred guns and ammunition from unwitting private sellers in Tennessee to convicted felons in California. “It is very common for suppliers of firearms to obtain their supply from states with more lenient firearms laws, which are also known as source states,” Kimberly Vesling, an F.B.I. agent, explained.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/opinion/waffle-house-shooting-nashville.html?

Another NRA/ALEC/Koch Brothers victory for the right to arm someone who is dangerous and unstable. Red state right-wing madness at its finest.