Once upon a time (the afternoon of January 20, 2009 until the morning of January 20, 2017) America had a President with leadership ability and courage who cared about his constituents. For more of this not so “fairy tale” read on. Spoiler alert: they did not all live happily ever after.

Like most Americans I awoke Monday morning to the news of a mass shooting in Las Vegas that as of this writing has taken 59 lives and left over 500 injured. I’m not going to get into a lot of the details. Too many are still unknown and a plethora of media outlets are covering them; over covering them in my option.

The authorities have reported (with confidence) that the perpetrator had 23 firearms with him in his room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and another 19 at his primary residence. I have a question: How did he get that many weapons up to his 32^nd floor hotel room without raising the concerns of hotel security?

During President Obama’s administration there were several mass shootings. Every time Obama addressed the nation with a combination of heartbreak and anger. Trump sent out a milquetoast tweet and led an emotionless moment of silence. No proposal to do anything to solve the problem. That is because his supporters include the gun manufacturers’ lobby (a/k/a the NRA) and the small minority that have been deceived into supporting it. Trump personally doesn’t care and like most other issues doesn’t have a personal policy on guns. Trump’s main concern is how long he can run his organized criminal enterprise which allows him to profit from his position.

I, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, think people should be safe to go to school, a nightclub or a concert. I care much more about those babies in school, homosexuals in a club and country music fans at an outdoor concert than I do about the gun manufacturers! You may say I don’t understand because I’m not a gun manufacturer; well I’m not a baby, homosexual or country music fan either.

Sadly the deaths in Las Vegas won’t do anything to change the atmosphere. Currently the Republicans have legislation going through Congress to make silencers legal in more instances and places. Instead of killing the bill GOP Senate leadership is postponing it while they try to figure out just how long to wait before they slip it through.

We currently have what is basically a ban on automatic weapons. However kits that easily convert semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons are widely available on the internet for as little as $50.00. Nothing has been done to limit high capacity clips which make mass killing easier. The perpetrator doesn’t have to reload as often which means they can kill more people and keep law enforcement at bay longer.

No gun regulation proposal is a panacea; neither is any combination of them. Along with its gun culture, America has a gun problem. Until we do something(s) about the problem, it will not get better. The Republican argument is that the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting is not the time to discuss it. To borrow the words of the last courageous and caring President: “If not now when?”

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