You might not have seen on your calendar that today was #EpidemicTuesday. President Obama spoke in Atlanta this afternoon on his plan to fight the prescription opioid abuse and heroin epidemic, while candidate Hillary Clinton tackled the gun violence epidemic at a community meeting at the Tabernacle Community Baptist Church in Milwaukee.
Hillary Clinton pledges to fight gun violence 'epidemic' at Milwaukee event https://t.co/tdKFAkKxWw
— Propane Jane™ (@docrocktex26) March 29, 2016
Clinton in Milwaukee: "The epidemic of gun violence spares no one but it is concentrated in areas that are short on hope."
— Dan Merica (@merica) March 29, 2016
Clinton, proudly touting her “F” rating from the NRA, has sensed the rare opportunity where she can run to the left of Bernie Sanders, who only managed a D-minus.
(The "F" doesn't stand for "friends") pic.twitter.com/KhYNGeI6b4
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 29, 2016
“I refuse to sit on the sidelines while more children die.” https://t.co/zxkHzmVto1
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 29, 2016
The audience at the event, which featured mothers whose children were killed by guns on stage alongside Clinton, was firmly behind her, dismissing “that other candidate.”
Annette Nance-Holt whose son was killed by gun violence slams Bernie: "that other candidate on the Democratic side did not reach out to us."
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 29, 2016
Nance-Holt says while Sanders is talking about free college "If my child is dead he can’t got to college." Crowd erupts in cheers.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 29, 2016
Recommended
Finding herself in a house of worship, Clinton decided to augment her usual pandering with a biblical reference.
Hillary Clinton in church on a Tuesday for a gun violence panel pic.twitter.com/1G1kR6TlCa
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 29, 2016
Clinton subtly paraphrases Glatians 6:9 on guns: "Lets not grow weary doing good because in due time we will harvest, if we stay focused."
— Dan Merica (@merica) March 29, 2016
Although the event was billed as a “community forum on gun violence prevention,” Clinton has no doubt been paying attention to the wild cheers Sanders has elicited at his rallies by calling out racist cops and other “extremists who want to intimidate and terrorize black, brown and indigenous people in this country.”
We need police reform so that young people can walk down the street without having to worry about if they're going to be harassed or shot.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 29, 2016
On his campaign website, the very first name Sanders lists among those who “died unarmed at the hands of police officers or in police custody” is Sandra Bland. Clinton has managed to outdo Sanders, though, by convincing Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, to actively campaign for her.
Deep emotion at this Clinton event: A woman in the audience breaks out sobbing when Geneva Reed-Veal talks about losing a child.
— Dan Merica (@merica) March 29, 2016
As Sandra Bland's mother starts speaking about losing her daughter a woman in the audience breaks down sobbing.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 29, 2016
It’s worth noting that though this was a forum on “gun violence prevention,” Bland was not shot; rather, after being jailed following a contentious traffic stop, she was found hanged in her cell. #BlackLivesMatter activists and others maintain that she was killed by police; investigators say that Bland hanged herself with a plastic bag.
Do both Democrat candidates subscribe to the first scenario? Will anyone ask?
Next on the to-do list following the “gun violence prevention” forum?
When in Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/iz6siTUsmh
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 30, 2016
Join the conversation as a VIP Member