Those jumping to "conclusions" on the Atlanta spa shooting being racially motivated ignore America's mental health problems, the real story on existing gun laws being ignored, and might be pushing political narratives, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Newsmax TV.
"It is better to not jump to conclusions, unless you want to push a narrative — a narrative that otherwise serves purposes — and that is a cynical manipulation of a tragic event," Cassidy told Monday's "John Bachman Now." "When anybody jumps to conclusions prior to knowing all the facts and then lays out a whole course of action as to where they're jumping to a conclusion, you have to wonder.
"It seems apparent, but I don't want to jump to a conclusion myself. It does seem apparent that there is a political narrative which they're seeking to further."
Cassidy also denounced using the tragedy to push more gun laws that criminals and mentally ill individuals will not follow.
"One of the most difficult things about the media coverage is it masks over that which is already available for a state to do," Cassidy told host John Bachman. "Congress has put up money that a state can establish a database, so if somebody with a diagnosed mental illness, or some other reason to not be able to purchase a firearm, that can be uploaded there. The place selling the firearm can quickly go there and see that.
"We can interrupt this cycle of somebody who is mentally ill or a threat to others being able to purchase a firearm so easily. That's there now."
Cassidy called it a "failure" of the media to cover the violation of existing gun laws.
"If the press doesn't kind of step back and say, 'wait, we have these tools,'" Cassidy continued. "The real story is were these tools being employed, if not why not. If yes, why didn't they work?
"That would be the real story, and that's kind a failure of the press."
As for the investigations in the Justice Department of the Jan. 6 attack of the Capitol potentially leading to charges of sedition, as reported on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday, Cassidy acknowledged the possibly but is reserving judgment until the investigation bears fruit on that front.
"There is evidence they were conspiring to prevent the peaceful transfer of power; that meets the definition of sedition," Cassidy noted, referring to acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin's remarks.
"Obviously we're waiting to see what they find and we've got to take him at his word. It may be that it takes them there."
Ultimately, the isolated event of Jan. 6 should not be cause for fencing to be guarding Washington, D.C., any longer, particularly when you consider the ability to monitor travel to the area as a preemptive protection, according to Cassidy.
"It needs to all come down," Cassidy said of the costly and now unnecessary fencing in D.C. "They know from travel patterns that people are coming to Washington, D.C.
"Thank God for the dadgum who are here and for the Capitol Police working overtime. But I don't think we need them anymore. My gosh, if we're not able to anticipate an event as happened on Jan. 6 – 1, that was a failure – but if we can't anticipate it now it is a double failure.
"I think all the fence needs to come down."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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