(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Missouri's 'common-sense' GOP nixes bill barring unaccompanied kids from openly carrying guns [1] ['Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags', 'Showtags Popular_Tags'] Date: 2023-02-09 The Associated Press: Missouri’s Republican-led House on Wednesday voted against banning minors from openly carrying firearms on public land without adult supervision. The proposal to ban children from carrying guns without adult supervision in public failed by a 104-39 vote. Only one Republican voted in support of it. Democratic Rep. Donna Baringer said police in her district asked for the change to stop “14-year-olds walking down the middle of the street in the city of St. Louis carrying AR-15s.” Gov. Sanders also said this during her SOTU response: “Americans want common sense from their leaders.” And now Americans know what it’s like to watch a woman beat irony to death with a shovel; bury it in a shallow, silty grave; and perfunctorily toss a few fistfuls of quicklime over the top. In 1988, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned lawn darts (aka Jarts) after three children were killed by them. Three children. Three. But Missouri thinks it’s okay to let literal kids walk around with AR-15s unaccompanied by parents or guardians. Right. What could possibly go wrong? As Democratic Rep. Donna Baringer said of the prospect of 14-year-olds walking down the streets of St. Louis with AR-15s, “Now they have been emboldened, and they are walking around with them. Until they actually brandish them, and brandish them with intent, our police officers’ hands are handcuffed.” Republicans—who almost always side with cops—are more interested in protecting every American’s rights under the Second Amendment, which clearly states that children should be allowed to hold their babysitters at gunpoint until they agree to fetch the killer Jarts from the garden shed. This isn’t the first time that Sanders’ much-ballyhooed “common sense” has gone flying out the window when it comes to Republicans and children’s well-being, of course. Are you ready for a fusillade of fucknuttery? Okay, you’ve been warned. FYI, these are all from just the past few years. Republicans in state with highest rate of child marriage vote to keep it legal Statehouse Republicans killed a bill that would have created a minimum marriage age in Idaho, essentially cementing the state’s continued reign as America’s number-one hot spot for newlyweds too young to vote and/or drive. The Idaho Statesman reports that HR 98, which would have eliminated marriage licenses for those 15 and under, and have strengthened the consent requirements for those 16 and 17, failed by a vote of 28-39, with 3 abstaining. Well, sure. But Mary (the mother of Jesus, you filthy infidel) was probably younger than 15 when she gave birth. Then again, hardly anyone lived past 20 back then. And giving birth was kind of like playing Plinko with a hand grenade, even if you were older than 18. At least Idaho did fix their 2019 mistake a year later—sorta. Speaking of the inherent danger in children giving birth—yeah, Republicans don’t care about that, either. New bill would criminalize ‘trafficking of minors’ to receive abortions in or outside of Idaho A bill that would add the act of transporting, recruiting or harboring minors to seek an abortion to Idaho’s criminal human trafficking law was introduced in the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday by Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls. The bill also gives Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador the authority and “sole discretion” to prosecute a person for violating any section of the section of law around human trafficking or abortion if the prosecuting attorney in the respective county refuses to bring charges. Idaho’s abortion ban applies to any stage of pregnancy, with affirmative defenses for cases of rape and incest with an accompanying police report and if an abortion is necessary to save the pregnant person’s life. Idaho represent! Good thing Republicans are unfailingly reliant on common sense! Ah, but Missouri isn’t done! Republicans introduce bill to ban teachers, nurses, and coaches from discussing LGBTQ issues Republican lawmakers are once again weighing a vehemently anti-LGBTQ+ bill that would harm public school students of all ages and all grade levels. The bill is seemingly modeled after Florida’s infamous ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill (signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who seems to be running on a platform of anti-queer hate) but somehow manages to be even more extreme. How so? Senate Bill 134, which was discussed during a Missouri Senate Education Workforce Development Committee hearing held on Tuesday morning, seeks to ban school contractor- and staff-led discussions (including from teachers, librarians, principals, and school nurses) of LGBTQ+ identities and orientations in public and charter schools, period. That ban would stand regardless of one’s age or year in school. Ah, yes. Florida. In this perpetual race to the bottom, all eyes are on that thoroughbred. (We can’t let children know that gay people exist, after all!) But don’t worry, Missouri. You’re still in the race! Missouri committee without any Black lawmakers weighs critical race theory ban at hearing In a room of mostly white people, a Missouri Senate committee without any Black lawmakers weighed two bills that aim to ban teaching critical race theory in schools. Critical race theory, a law school-level concept that looks at how institutions perpetuate racism, is not widely taught in Missouri’s K-12 schools. But the term is now used as shorthand for Republicans to describe lessons that involve systemic racism in the U.S. Again, critical race theory isn’t being taught in grade schools. Banning it is like using the parental block on Donald Trump’s television to keep him from bingeing Ken Burns documentaries. It’s another solution in search of a problem—which is pretty much all Republicans have to offer us these days. And now back to Idaho with more Guns Über Alles bullshit. Idaho Republicans Introduce Bill Removing Student IDs and Provisional Ballots From Photo ID Law On Monday, Jan. 30, Republicans on the Idaho House State Affairs Committee introduced a bill to remove student ID cards from the list of acceptable identification to vote, as well as the option to submit a personal affidavit if a voter lacks other ID. Currently, Idaho law requires photo identification at the polls before voting in-person. Acceptable identification includes an Idaho driver’s license or identification card issued by the Idaho Transportation Department; passport or other U.S. government issued photo ID; tribal identification card with a photo; a current student identification card with a photo issued by a high school or an accredited institution of higher education or a license to carry concealed weapons. In other words, Idaho doesn’t want college boy to vote, but Kyle Rittenhouse is welcome to move there anytime and vote for the usual weirdos after flashing his concealed-carry license. So there you go. Common sense! Where would this country be without it? In the tradition of a broken clock, Sanders was right when she said “the dividing line in America is no longer between right and left—it's between normal or crazy," Just not in the way she thought. To paraphrase Homer Simpson, Republicans are the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems. Unfortunately, their problems don’t exist, and for some reason their “solutions” always look conspicuously like punishments. Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/9/2152026/-Missouri-s-common-sense-GOP-nixes-bill-barring-unaccompanied-kids-from-openly-carrying-guns Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/