April 03, 2024 11:18 AM UTC
0 Feedback- by: Colorado Pols
Republican legislators demonstrated for the gazillionth time on Tuesday that they’re solely eager about “psychological well being” as an argument towards doing something about gun violence prevention.
We’ve seen it time and time once more: Republicans say that the actual drawback with gun violence is psychological well being and that any makes an attempt to debate laws in regards to the weapons and bullets that kill persons are lacking the purpose. When Democrats ultimately carry up laws to take care of psychological well being points…Republicans give you all types of ridiculous causes to oppose that, too.
For instance, right here’s what Republican Rep. Ryan Armagost stated on March 19 in talking out towards laws searching for to ban assault weapons in Colorado:
Psychological sickness must be addressed. If we spent, like I say, each time one among these payments comes up, if we spent half the trouble from these payments on psychological psychological well being and psychological sickness, we’d truly do one thing to stop issues like [mass shootings] that we’re attempting to deal with on this invoice. Psychological sickness must be addressed, not the instruments that mentally in poor health folks use to hurt others.
This leads us to Senate Invoice 24-001 (Proceed Youth Psychological Well being Companies Program), which handed out of the State Senate in mid-March regardless of six Republican “NO” votes — together with from Senate Minority Chief Paul Lundeen. The laws was introduced up for dialogue on Tuesday within the Home Well being and Human Companies Committee (HHS); regardless of some ridiculous Republican opposition (extra on that in a second), SB24-001 made it out of HHS and is on its option to the Appropriations Committee. All 4 Republicans within the committee — Reps. Mary Bradfield, Brandi Bradley, Richard Holtorf, and Ron Weinberg — voted “NO” on the laws.
And what would SB24-001 truly do? It could proceed to fund a youth psychological well being program THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE EFFECTIVE ALREADY. From a press launch by way of Home Democrats:
The favored I Matter connects youth with a licensed psychological well being therapist for as much as six free digital counseling periods, however this system is at present set to repeal on June thirtieth, 2024. SB24-001 makes that program everlasting, guaranteeing Colorado college students can proceed receiving high quality psychological well being care for gratis to them or their households.
The I Matter program was established within the 2021 legislative session and expanded by HB22-1243. The legislature additionally handed a legislation in 2023 permitting faculty districts to supply psychological well being screenings in colleges to assist pupil’s entry to psychological well being care. I Matter has served over 11,000 Colorado youth since 2021 and offered over 50,000 periods. In accordance with the Colorado 2023 Youngsters Rely report, youth suicide in 2023 decreased 30 % from the 12 months earlier than. [Pols emphasis]
This bears repeating: The “I Matter” program demonstrably contributed to decreasing youth suicide by 30% in 2023. Voting “NO” on SB24-001 means that you’re voting to remove this program.
Now, we additionally know that firearms are the main reason for loss of life amongst younger folks in america, because the Colorado 2023 Youngsters Rely report explains:
In 2020, firearms surpassed motorcar crashes to turn out to be the main reason for loss of life for American youngsters ages 1 to 19 for the primary time on file. Between 2019 and 2021, the variety of gun deaths amongst American youngsters elevated by 50%, bringing the variety of U.S. youngsters and teenagers killed by weapons in 2021 to its highest stage because the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention started publishing mortality knowledge for youngsters underneath 19 in 1999. These staggering statistics level to an pressing want for coverage change to stop youngsters from accessing weapons with out grownup supervision and to bolster gun security legal guidelines that shield youngsters from firearms of their properties, colleges and communities.
In 2021, 83 Colorado youngsters and teenagers ages 19 and underneath have been killed by weapons—the very best quantity on file in at the least 20 years and greater than double the variety of youngsters killed by weapons in 2000. This enhance in gun deaths drove Colorado’s firearm loss of life charge amongst youngsters and teenagers up from 3.1 per 100,000 youth in 2000 to six per 100,000 youth in 2021. [Pols emphasis]
That is all fairly simple. Let’s recap:
- Republicans often oppose gun violence prevention laws by saying that we must always as a substitute concentrate on psychological well being points;
- Weapons are the main reason for loss of life for younger folks in Colorado;
- When offered with laws that offers with psychological well being points and prevents gun deaths, Republicans nonetheless vote “NO.”
We all know what you’re asking at this level: What’s the Republican rationale for not supporting SB24-001? Right here’s your reply, straight from the horse’s mouth (on this case, the “horse” is Rep. Brandi Bradley):
Bradley is crazier than a bag of squirrels and has been working arduous all session to show that she is the #1 lunatic within the Home Republican caucus. This can be a fairly robust argument to make from that perspective:
“Faculties need to inform you that they’re offering psychological well being to your youngsters behind your backs, to assist them, when, in all actuality, they’re attempting to transgender your youngsters.”
That could be a hell of plenty of commas.
We’re additionally fairly certain that “transgender” isn’t a verb (neither is “transing” even a phrase).
Social media and the right-wing echo chamber have so totally melted the brains of many Republicans that they consider the whole lot is a secret effort to show youngsters into a unique intercourse (or perhaps a totally different species). They’re utilizing that rationale right here to oppose a typical sense, profitable psychological well being intervention program that — by their very own phrases — is strictly the sort of factor that we ought to be speaking about as a substitute of gun violence prevention.
However the level right here isn’t to show that Colorado Republicans are bananas. The purpose is that GOP lawmakers ought to completely be ignored each time they are saying that the “actual drawback” with gun violence is psychological well being. These people have confirmed, 12 months after 12 months, that they don’t truly need to do something about both subject.
As is the case on so many points these days, the adults within the room simply want to maneuver forward with out Republicans who usually are not critical about fixing any of our precise issues.