This was quite a righteous rant, especially since it came from someone who has been such an enthusiastic supporter of the NRA.
"For years, I've gone on television and made the case for the Second Amendment -- the right to bear arms. I've pointed out that criminals don't follow gun laws, and I've defended the NRA and its members -- law-abiding gun owners like me who have nothing to do with mass shootings or violent gun crimes. I've done that because I am a gun owner and a gun-rights advocate. And I believed it was true," she said.
"But I am no longer a NRA member. Being right no longer feels righteous. Because in the wake of more mass shootings, acts of senseless violence that sent innocent people running for their lives, leaving children orphaned and loved ones dead on the ground, I know we must do something about guns."
She went on to talk about how people driven by hate have such easy access to guns.
"Where to begin? How about passing universal background checks, instituting violence restraining orders, raising the age of gun purchases to 21, banning 100-round drums, fixing our National Instant Criminal Background Check System and investing in mental health inside our schools? These things cannot wait.
"I am so sick and tired of participating in this predictable cycle of politics, where a mass shooting happens, the left calls for new gun laws -- some meaningful, some unproductive -- the right yells "slippery slope" and hides behind the Constitution.
"Nothing happens, nothing changes. And with the next mass shooting, we do it all over again.
"I love the Constitution. But it's still a document, meant to protect human beings and ensure their life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What lives are we protecting when we arm a 21-year-old alleged white supremacist with 100 rounds of ammunition only so he can shoot up dozens of people at a Walmart, including the parents of a 2-month-old child? What liberty are we protecting if we don't feel safe at the mall or walking down the street? What happiness are we protecting if our children are afraid to go to school?
"I know, I will be accused of letting my emotions get in the way of facts here. I've made that accusation before myself. But this is an emotional issue. How could it not be? In fact, it should be more emotional -- and to my friends in the Republican Party, at the NRA, on the side of gun rights, if you're not emotional about this -- join me, won't you?
"Let's start with emotion. There's a lot we can accomplish if we start as humans -- not as NRA lobbyists or gun control lobbyists, not as special interest groups or politicians. But humans -- moms and dads, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues -- because we have everything to lose if we don't."
Wow. We seem to have reached some kind of critical mass when longtime gun supporters like S.E. Cupp speak out, and does so in a way that's hard to rebut, especially this:
Welcome to the Sanity Club.
