While some confusion and erroneous reports continued in the immediate aftermath of the deadly school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, President Joe Biden was quick to capitalize on the tragedy by calling for a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines,” and repeal of the federal law protecting gun manufacturers from junk lawsuits.

It’s the same wish list Biden has had since he ran for office in 2020. The White House issued a statement even before it was clear what kind of gun was used, the identity of the suspect—reported to be 14 years old and a student at the school—or any motive, but still the president offered his “one-size-fits-all” gun control agenda which includes “universal background checks” (as if that would stop a 14-year-old from illegally bringing a gun to school), a “safe storage” requirement (however that is defined), and other so-called “common-sense gun safety legislation” which he wants Republicans to help pass.

Biden also touted creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, though he offered no explanation why that office wasn’t able to prevent Wednesday’s school shooting.

Early press coverage of the shooting once again displayed the media’s penchant for making mistakes early in any investigation. The worst example was a report the shooter had been “neutralized,” which was quickly refuted by the authorities, who had taken the suspect into custody. However, as the hours passed, the reporting improved.

According to WCVB News, at least nine people had been transported to hospitals for treatment of injuries, but the station was careful not to describe what those injuries might be.

Anti-gun Democrat Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock went quickly to social media, posting on X, “Until we center the people and start a serious, bipartisan conversation in Washington & state capitols across the country to advance popular, commonsense gun safety reforms, the sad truth is it’s only a matter of time before this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”

Like Biden and others, Warnock does not define “commonsense gun safety reforms.”

Until we center the people and start a serious, bipartisan conversation in Washington & state capitols across the country to advance popular, commonsense gun safety reforms, the sad truth is it’s only a matter of time before this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.

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— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) September 4, 2024

CNN noted that Vice President Kamala Harris, running hard to succeed Biden in the Oval Office, commented about the shooting at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. She reportedly kept her remarks generic, declaring outrage that “every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive…

We’ve got to stop it…it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Nothing specific about policy, just the verbal hand-wringing. But Harris has a gun control track record, including calls for “mandatory buy-back” of firearms, a program which translates to “compensated confiscation,” according to critics.

That may not be good enough to keep Harris out of political trouble as the presidential campaign heats up.  A new Rasmussen poll released Wednesday shows 32 percent of likely voters “say Harris deserves a lot of blame for the failure of Biden’s policies, while 23% see her as deserving some of the blame.”

On the other hand, 24 percent think she deserves “a lot of credit” for Biden’s policy successes, and 33 percent say she deserves at least some credit.

Harris will be linked to Biden no matter what, despite efforts by her campaign and the Democratic party and establishment media to make it appear she is fresh and wasn’t really part of the past 3 ½ years.

Coincidentally, in July, the FBI launched a public education campaign about how to look for signs someone might be planning a mass shooting, according to the Banking Journal. The agency even launched a website on the subject.

None of this overshadows Biden’s effort to capitalize on the shooting as his tenure as president enters its final months. His “solutions” may not match the circumstances of the Apalachee High School shooting, but that has never stopped an anti-gun politician from pushing his or her gun control agenda in the past. Nevertheless, he is still offering the same agenda he championed four years ago, which translates to no meaningful, fresh ideas that might have prevented the Apalachee tragedy.

It is unknown at this writing whether there were any armed teachers at the school, although Georgia does allow the practice, according to this report from WMAZ News in 2023.

About Dave Workman