Former Republican Rep. Connie Mack of Florida popped up on CNN yesterday to explain that “you cannot legislate morality” when it comes to guns.
Only, when he was in the House, he was happy to legislate morality by banning same-sex marriage.
Talking with host Soledad O’Brien, Mack said that keeping tabs on weapons purchases would be the start of punishing law-abiding gun owners. “I don’t just believe this on the gun issue, I don’t believe that the federal government should be keeping these types of records on citizens,” said Mack.
He added that “bad people are going to do bad things, and you cannot pass a law that’s going to stop them from doing bad things. So as much as it makes us feel better to pass legislation to say we did something… you cannot legislate morality, you cannot legislate bad people to stop doing bad things.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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But as Raw Story reminds us, Mack, scored a big fat goose egg on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard, spent a nice chunk of his eight years in office forcing his morality down the throats of LGBT Americans: He opposed hate-crimes protections for LGBT people, voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (twice), fought against adding sexual orientation to workplace-discrimination statutes and voted for a constitutional ban on marriage equality.
On a personal level, when he was running for Senate last year, Mack sent out press releases attacking his primary opponent for being “an early and vocal supporter of the gay agenda.”
What was that about legislating morality?
Aidan8
What an idiot! Cannot legislate to prevent people from doing bad things? Really? Shall we ditch all of criminal laws? How about highway and traffic safety laws? How about legislation that prevents companies from dumping mercury into rivers? Typical Republican talking without thinking.
marc sfe
Well Connie, I see why you’re saying this as you’ve been divorced and re-married – – wouldn’t wanna legislate divorce even though it’s forbidden in your damn bible. What a freakin hypocrite and moe-ron! No wonder Mary Bono married him – birds of a feather.
niles
Well then, let’s just ditch our criminal justice system: no need for laws anymore!
What an asshat.
Cam
The 2nd Amendment Specifically uses the phrase “Well Regulated”.
Funny how they love to scream about the 2nd amendment, but want to violate the portion of it that specifically relates to things like record keeping, background investigations etc…
Pretty hard to be well regulated when everything is done in secret isn’t Mr. Mack?
Ste
What’s the big deal? He’s just being a Republican. Love guns/hate gays.
queenrosered
Oh C’Mon, seriously, I mean, how can you even COMPARE the deaths of thousands of innocents by “God fearing” gun owners to the “damage” done to our “moral fiber” by those ungodly Sodomites? Sheesh! This guy is yet another example of why abortion IS and should remain legal.How can anyone take him seriously? smdh…
TheMarc
SSDD. Typical right wing hypocrisy. I am thoroughly convinced that the study commissioned by Firth is 100% accurate. Conservatives really don’t have the ability to handle complex thought. They can’t follow or understand evolution of any kind. They don’t have the mental capacity to see the hypocrisy in fighting for a gun free for all and against gay marriage. All they see is guns=good; gays=bad.
wordsmith
@Aidan8:
Preeeeecisely! I love it when bigoted windbags shoot from the hip(ocrisy) and wind up hitting the foot that is already in their mouth.
montanom
Another republipig talking without thinking! Not new! Legislating with the stupid Bible over our Constitution MUST be turned into a crime!
wordsmith
@montanom: Just like a gun, the Bible is not stupid, it’s the people who use these thing to do harm that are stupid.
Dawster
@wordsmith: I would argue your presupposition to the bible and guns, especially when people try to hold both with one hand.
wordsmith
@Dawster: Sorry, Dawster, but you are actually proving my point. It’s the people who try to use both with one hand that are stupid – and wrong. Whether one sees it as a spiritual guide or a piece of creative fiction, the Bible in itself cannot do anything. Same with a gun lying on a table. It cannot do anything. It’s when humans step in that the trouble starts.
2eo
Like all gun lunatics he’s an utter hypocrite and a complete moron. Letting these religious lunatics have weapons is a war crime, the fact they slaughter so many of their fellows is all the evidence that getting rid or severely restricting access to weapons is absolutely what is needed by and moral and just society.
There is literally no reason for these cretins to be allowed weapons, the average bible thumping halfwit can’t even fill out a form correctly because they can’t spell their own name, how can they be trusted to not murder others.
The fact there’s hundreds of thousands of gun deaths in the USA shows this is completely true.
Dawster
@wordsmith: Technically, yes you are correct. Inanimate objects, be it literature or weaponry, are not offensive in themselves. However, my argument would be that these specific examples have such a voluminous history with mankind that their presence has an energy that ignites motion of the heart, regardless of who that person is. The gun in your example is just laying on the table does nothing, true. But the sight of it… the icon of it… triggers an individual history with it that motivates the heart to either run in fear or pick it up and become empowered.
I know it sounds philosophical in argument, but very few people can see a gun on the table and ignore the feeling one gets upon being in close proximity to it’s power. And the same is true with the bible either by personal history of it’s (sometimes) well-written words or by the expansive human impact it has had on our history.
gjg64
@TheMarc: They can’t follow or understand evolution of any kind.
Yes, but don’t forget they don’t BELIEVE in evolution either.
wordsmith
@Dawster: A very valid point. All sorts of things (and people) exert power over us because we grant that power. The trick is to take the power back. A Bible on my table does not evoke a strong reaction from me one way or another. A gun on my table would repulse and likely frighten me.
Dawster
@wordsmith: to be perfectly honest, I would probably go “Natural Born Killers”. Seriously. I know myself. LOL.
I guess the point in this particular case is that those who would pick up the gun and feel empowered are trying to create a system of laws or allowances that blanket both themselves AND people like yourself who are repulsed and possibly frightened. And for philosophical me… that doesn’t make sense. If one is repulsed by a gun, who can say that under extreme pressure and malevolence one wouldn’t use one repulsive thing against repulsive humans?
Human psychology gets pretty fucked up sometimes. I’m not sure ‘to take power back’ is an answer BUT I am all for thinning the herd so… you may have a convert on your hands 🙂
David Myers
Well the good news is that Connie Mack and his wife California Rep. Mary Bono Mack both lost their re-election battles election night. It was a verrrry good night!
David Myers
@wordsmith: Love your mixed metaphor! And the frosting on the cake: such idiots are self eliminating since shooting yourself in the foot while your foot is in your mouth is generally fatal!
EGO
Well, Connie Mack is just a bigoted illogical Republican butthead. As for the bible, it was written by people and has good and bad written in it and was updated from the old to the new testament. It is time for another updated version, say the modern testament. :>)
1EqualityUSA
Very clever, David Meyers. Nice visual.
DBBromberg
Free of agenda really so all gays want the government to take away their guns? their right to defend themselves? NO, you are promoting the government propaganda claiming it is what gays want you are BULL!!!
So you government lacky did you report on Obama and the FBI what they tried to do in mexico and texas before they commited these false flag events here in the united state? Do you report here that 911 was a false flag, an inside job to get the people to willingly give up thier right for safety? Ben Franklin said “Those that would surrender freedoms for security shall have neiter”
No you just manipulate the view that communist america wants out there and you put a gay theme to it to try tell others what to think and what is best for them which exactly what the communist government of the people republic of the united states wants.
wordsmith
@David Myers:
Thanks, David! I’ve been working on the intelligence/wit angle for a while. Foaming at the mouth just leaves you with troll-breath.
PSHank3
Just another illustration of why this dimwit is FORMER Representative Connie Mack! The voters in FL finally got smart by ejecting him in November…and voters in my hometown also ejected his equally ridiculous wife, FORMER Representative Mary Bono Mack from Congress. Go legislate yourselves some new jobs, Mr. and Mrs. Mack!