Romney doesn't quite get his party's uncompromising pro-gun extremism

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, Mitt Romney claimed that James Holmes, the accused Colorado killer, acquired many of his weapons illegally:

Well this person shouldn't have had any kind of weapons and bombs and other devices and it was illegal for him to have many of those things already. But he had them. And so we can sometimes hope that just changing the law will make all bad things go away. It won't. Changing the heart of the American people may well be what's essential, to improve the lots of the American people.

You'd think that a guy who's spent so much time and energy sucking up to the far right, shamelessly pandering to his party's base, including on guns (given the hold the NRA has on the Republican Party, and on legislators generally), would have a clue. But... no. As Think Progress notes:

In fact, 24-year-old Holmes legally purchased every firearm, bullet, and piece of tactical gear that he used for the attack, according to local law enforcement. He bought most of it over the Internet. Mentally ill people are barred from purchasing firearms, but Holmes had no previous record of illness, and would not have been flagged in a background check.

Perhaps Romney should pay closer attention to a) the details of a terrible tragedy and dominant news story; b) the pro-gun extremism of his own party; and c) the policy demands of the NRA, notably its opposition to any and all gun control. (Though it does seem from Romney's unclear comment that he opposes changing gun laws and wants instead to change people's hearts, whatever the hell that means and however the hell he'd do that given his plutocratic laissez-fair agenda.)

But maybe he's just been too busy trying to score cheap political points and avoiding meaningful policy discussions by lying about President Obama and taking his bullshit tour beyond America's borders.