The Legacy of Massacre Mitch: GOP Won’t Stop Viciously Attacking Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath for Wanting to Stop Gun Violence That Killed Her Son
September 6th 2019
US Rep. Lucy McBath (United States House of Representatives)
By Dan Desai Martin
On Wednesday, Republicans in Washington returned their focus to attacking Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), who lost her own son to gun violence in 2012, because of her stance on gun safety legislation.
In a series of tweets, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) attacked McBath with a litany of false accusations, including the notion that McBath is “raising money for her reelection campaign off of mass shootings.” The NRCC was referring to an email McBath sent after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton to remind her constituents about her position on the issue of gun safety.
McBath responded by reminding Republicans why she fights so hard to prevent gun violence.
“My son was shot and killed in 2012, and I will not apologize for leading the fight on gun safety,” she said.
But one attack on a mother who lost her son to gun violence was not enough for Republicans. They persisted.
“Local Congresswoman still doesn’t understand why fundraising for her reelection off of mass shooting deaths is disgusting,” the NRCC said on Twitter.
McBath shot back.
“Advocating for gun safety is not ‘disgusting,'” she said. “What is ‘disgusting” is that my teenage son was killed for listening to loud music.”
After her son was killed, McBath became an outspoken advocate for better gun safety laws. In 2018, she ran for Congress and defeated an NRA-backed Republican, and has used her position to champion gun safety legislation in the House.
In February, the House of Representatives passed the first two major pieces of gun safety legislation in a generation, including a bill requiring universal background checks on gun sales.
Wednesday’s lashing out by Republicans was not the first time the party criticized McBath for her stance on guns. As previously mentioned, the NRCC attacked McBath after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, accusing her of “politicizing the tragedy for a quick buck.”
In June, the NRCC released a deceptive ad smearing McBath for her stance on gun safety.
Karen Handel, the woman McBath defeated in 2018, even said McBath only won because of the “emotion” surrounding McBath’s only son being killed by gun violence.
The overwhelming majority of Republicans in the House opposed the gun safety bills passed in February, even though 90% of Americans support the idea of universal background checks.
Rather than listen to the will of the American public, the NRCC would rather spend their time relentlessly attacking a mother who is fighting to make sure other parents don’t have to lose a child to gun violence like she did.
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