He knows you can't dig up, right?

In a move that's somehow both gob-smackingly shocking and in no way surprising, President Trump today repeated the NRA's favorite solution to the epidemic of mass shootings in America. Can you guess what it was? Reasonable gun control measures? Stronger background checks? Nope. It was, and say it with me if you've heard this one before:

More. Fucking. Guns.

Above: America's favorite rifle...no, really,
that's from the NRA's own blog. Strangely they
didn't mention all the murders...weird, right?

I know, right? Here, let me set the scene: The White House held a 'listening session' today where survivors of America's most recent school shooting got to tell their stories and make their pleas for someone, anyone in a position to do something to, you know, fucking do something. After listening patiently to the first hand accounts of high school students who just days earlier were hiding from a fellow teen roaming their school with the same rifle that's been the weapon of choice in 11 mass shootings since 2012, the President responded with a pitch for concealed carry in schools:

Pictured: The Presidents notes for the
session. Enlarge it and check out the fifth
one reminding him to say 'I hear you'
which he clearly didn't. Like, at all.

"It only works when you have people very adept at using firearms, of which you have many, and it would be teachers and coaches. If the coach had a firearm in his locker when he ran at this guy-that coach was very brave, uh, saved a lot of lives I suspect. But if he had a firearm, he wouldn’t have had to run, he would have shot'em, and that would have been the end of it....And it would be, it’s called concealed carry, where a teacher would have a concealed gun on them."

-The President outlining his plan to introduce 

the risk of crossfire to our next school shooting

Anyway, after laying out his brilliant plan to arm every teacher in America rather than support some reasonable gun control, the President asked for a show of hands, you know, because suddenly the Trump administration gives a shit about the democratic process. No really. Unsurprisingly more people fell into the 'feel strongly against it' camp.

The administration later stood behind the assertion than many of the 'feel strongly against'
people were actually immigrants voting illegally and everyone loves conceal carry, shut up.

The Constitution doesn't say you can't
own a nuclear sub, so where's the line?

Look, I know I'm coming into this with my mind made up. If it were up to me I'd say no guns for anyone. But I realize that's wishful thinking, and that there are plenty of smart, responsible gun owners out there who can make a valid argument about the Second Amendment and that's fine. But I don't think limits are out of the question. The Bill of Rights was drawn up during the age of muskets, and the AR-15 is a goddamn phaser by comparison, so let's not pretend these are what James Madison was talking about.

While all this was going on, students all over the country were walking out of class and in some cases marching to state legislatures to demand action. Some got to be heard, but some were turned away because they didn't make an appointment which, seriously?

Just curious, the legislators who turned the kids away
know they're going to vote someday, right?

I suppose kids have to learn about
officious douchebags sometime...

Impossibly, some are even facing punishment from their schools for missing class. No, for real, a school district in Texas threatened to suspend any students who walk out:

"Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved. All will be suspended for three says and parent notes will not alleviate the discipline..."

-Needville Independent School District

Superintendent Chris Rhodes on the

importants of following the rules

But back to the President. It takes a special kind of-what am I looking for here? Toolishness? Is that the right word? A special kind of toolishness to look at America's out of control and irrational entitlement when it comes to military-grade weapons and say that the only way out of this hole is to dig up. 

Also it takes a special kind of asshole to look at a room full of grieving and traumatized
kids and their families and parrot the NRA's bullshit talking points, but here we are.