Tuesday, June 7, 2022

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed 10 gun-related bills Monday that will bar those younger than 21 from buying or owning semi-automatic rifles, ban the purchase of body armor for most civilians and strengthen the state’s red flag laws, among other provisions.

The landmark package is one of the first major efforts by a state to pass new gun control legislation after a spate of mass shootings across the nation, including the deadly massacre that left 21 people dead — 19 of which were young children — in Uvalde, Texas, last month. New York had a mass shooting just days before when a gunman opened fired at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo. The shooter killed 10 people in what authorities described as “hate-filled domestic terrorism.”  [snip]

The legislation’s passage was hailed by gun reform groups.

“These bills are common-sense,” Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, said in a statement. “They will address gun violence in all of its forms and do so while respecting residents’ Second Amendment rights. This package of laws will help to keep New Yorkers safe and are a clear example for the rest of the nation to act to stop gun violence.”

The bad:

Some groups involved in the insurrection have increased in size, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks domestic extremist groups. The Proud Boys, whose members prosecutors said were key conspirators on January 6th, have grown from forty-three chapters in 2020 to seventy-two in 2022. Their over-all membership appears to have risen as well, despite multiple investigations, indictments, and the arrest of the Proud Boy leader, Enrique Tarrio. Susan Corke, the center’s director of intelligence, said that far-right members of the Republican Party are normalizing anti-government conspiracy theories and talk of political violence. “People like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, and Lauren Boebert—what was extreme is now acceptable for people in elected office,” Corke said. Greene and Congressman Louie Gohmert have visited the D.C. jail where Watkins and Reffitt are being held. Greene has compared the conditions there to a “prisoner of war” camp. Gosar, Boebert, and Gohmert did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Greene said that she “has denounced political violence repeatedly.”

The ugly:

June is Pride Month, and the Tampa Bay Rays are showing their support for the LGBTQ+ community by having Pride Night at Tropicana Field, which features players wearing special hats with rainbow logos and a sleeve decal on the field. But several Rays players decided against wearing any Pride-supportive clothing Saturday, which was Pride Night at Tropicana Field.

According to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays made their Pride Night uniforms optional, allowing players to make their own decision about whether or not they wanted to wear the rainbow hat and put the rainbow decal on their sleeves. The majority of the team appeared to participate, but a group of players opted to wear their normal uniforms and hats.

It's not known exactly how many players decided not to wear the Pride decals, but Topkin reported that the group included pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson.

We'll leave it right there, fans.


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