It appears that Ronald Reagan is the new favorite president of the Stoneman Douglas HS students from Parkland, Fla.
David Hogg tweeted this Reaganism:
"When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat."
-Ronald Reagan— David Hogg text VOTE to 954-954 (@davidhogg111) February 27, 2018
And here’s Emma González quote tweeting a Reagan video from 1989 where he talks about keeping AK-47s out of the hands of the public:
THIS — THIS IS WHAT WE ARE SAYING https://t.co/u5XpEnjHGc
— Emma González (@Emma4Change) February 27, 2018
For context, there had just been a shooting at an elementary school in Stockton, CA that left 5 students dead and 32 others wounded. The killer used an AK-47, but Reagan misspoke when he said it was a machine gun — it was a semi-automatic:
Ronald Reagan on the idea of selling military weapons to the public pic.twitter.com/2AH0QZqT0s
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) February 27, 2018
The students left out the part about Reagan’s membership in the NRA. Here he is addressing the group in 1983, you know, after there was an assassination attempt on his life:
It’s a nasty truth, but those who seek to inflict harm are not razed by gun control laws. I happen to know this from personal experience.
You know, I’ve always felt a special bond with the members of your group. You live by Lincoln’s words, “Important principles may and must be inflexible.” Your philosophy put its trust in people. So, you insist on individuals being held responsible for their actions. The NRA believes that America’s laws were made to be obeyed and that our constitutional liberties are just as important today as 200 years ago.
And by the way, the Constitution does not say that government shall decree the right to keep and bear arms. The Constitution says “… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” [Applause] Thank you very much. I wish I’d saved that and said it last. [Laughter]
But I believe we share the same goal, a strong America, carrying the banner of freedom and secure from threats to our domestic tranquility, economic well-being, and national security.
No group does more to promote gun safety and respect for the laws of this land than the NRA, and I thank you. Still, we’ve both heard the charge that supporting gunowners rights encourages a violent, shoot-em-up society. But just a minute. Don’t they understand that most violent crimes are not committed by decent, law-abiding citizens? They’re committed by career criminals. Guns don’t make criminals. Hard-core criminals use guns. And locking them up, the hard-core criminals up, and throwing away the key is the best gun-control law we could ever have.
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Related:
NO WAY! CNN interview with David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez just got a LOT more interesting [pic, video] https://t.co/aK5TkC27eP
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 27, 2018
WHOA! So, it turns out that David Hogg was actually 'pretty spot-on' about this ONE thing https://t.co/GvsYxWMRnq
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 28, 2018
WATCH: David Hogg appears on AC360, compares current political climate to 'House of Cards' https://t.co/Y1f16jcq0q
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 27, 2018
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