Rep. Turner of Ohio

quote:

“The carnage these military-style weapons are able to produce when available to the wrong people is intolerable,” Turner said in a statement. “This tragedy must become a catalyst for a broader national conversation about what we can do to stop these mass shootings.”

His daughter was present at the shooting.

To his face, I would say thank you for seeing the light. To the rest of the world I would say something rather different ...

This is a guy with a 93% NRA rating who voted against even expanding background checks a few months ago. Now his daughter has witnessed the carnage and he sees the light.

Sorry, the absolute need to experience something in order to think clearly about the subject is a sign of weak intelligence or minimal capacity for empathy. That's today's GOP.

Maybe more Republican leaders need to have family members experience this ...

Agreed-- it's like the business leaders who don't get all fired up about equal pay/equal opportunity until their daughters entered the job market.

Yep.

I'm glad he came around, I'm not glad it took his daughter being in the line of fire for him to do so.

Apparently, his empathy is fairly limited.

Sometimes we need a really big push to change our minds. I'm glad he came around, whatever the impetus was.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Sometimes we need a really big push to change our minds. I'm glad he came around, whatever the impetus was.

It’s sort of the same idea as, on the issue of sexual assault or harassment, “what if it was your wife or daughter?”

It shouldn’t need to be framed that way.

quote:

It shouldn’t need to be framed that way.

No, it shouldn't need to be framed that way.

I suspect people who experience these Road to Damascus conversions aren't always trusted by those who were on board earlier. I would probably always harbor my doubts, and would push the convert to the margins (politely). You never know if their conversion is genuine or tactical, enduring or temporarily convenient.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Sorry, the absolute need to experience something in order to think clearly about the subject is a sign of weak intelligence or minimal capacity for empathy.

Insightful comment.