What are lawmakers waiting for, a gun-related disaster that's so big, so gruesome, so horrifying that the NRA and its enablers won't say, "How dare you politicize these deaths while the bodies are still warm," and "What we need to prevent gun violence is more guns"? It will never happen. Never. The increasing number of horrific shootings and the continuous onslaught of less spectacular, daily gun-related deaths should be enough to make lawmakers who support common sense gun laws state their support boldly and unequivocally. There's no sense in waiting for a better time. There will never be a better time. The financially well-armed opponents of universal background checks and the sale of assault weapons will continue to attack anyone who stands in the way of their agenda.

If there will never be a better time, if there never will be an easier time, then now is the best time. Timidity in the face of the gun lobby spells certain defeat. Elected representatives need to state their support for common sense gun laws boldly. And they need to say they know the NRA and its friends will come after them full force, and they consider attacks from people whose agenda increases the chances for gun-related deaths to be a badge of honor. They need to spotlight the attacks, show them for what they are, instead of cowering in a corner hoping the attacks will go away.

I expect negative comments on this post, some from people who never comment on my posts. The gun lobbyists always has their antennae out, and I'm sure their sensors are set at 11 right now with the latest shooting in southern Oregon. I expect the comments to be filled with vitriol, skewed logic and selective data. I will consider those comments a badge of honor.