TKC MUST READ!!! KANSAS CITY MAYOR SLY JAMES ENCOURAGES STUDENT ADVOCACY AGAINST GUNS AFTER FLORIDA TRAGEDY!!!



This afternoon Mayor Sly released a scathing statement on gun control and recent MSM talking points.

The highlights:

"This carnage is spreading like a raging infection left untreated. The difference between an infection and school shootings, however, is that at least a doctor diagnoses, treats and tries to cure the infection. Politicians and other adults who should act like doctors — caring for a nation infected by gun violence — make absolutely no effort to diagnose and treat this disease."

The thesis of his message:

"You may in fact be the glue that finally helps unite and focus all the adult groups that have been struggling to pass common sense gun safety measures."

There is plenty to debate about this statement but first and foremost we wanted to hear what our blog community has to say.

Check the statement in its entirety and tell us what you think . . .

A Letter from Mayor Sly James to Students

Dear students,

I’ve been listening and watching the news for several days since the violence in Parkland, Fla., and wondering how did we, once again, allow more of you to be mowed down by an apparently disturbed, young man wielding a high-powered, military-style assault weapon with a large capacity magazine. This is especially sad and ridiculous, even infuriating, considering the situation was both predictable and preventable.

Seventeen more of you dead in Florida. Valentine’s Day. 2018.

If this were the only such incident, or at least an infrequent one, it would be immensely sad and tragic. The reality that such massacres are now relatively commonplace, however, is more than that. It is unbelievably incredible. Undeniably horrendous. It’s totally incomprehensible that these mass murders have turned America’s students into the most endangered group of people in any industrialized country in the world.
According to The ​New York Times​, more than 438 students and teachers have been shot in at least 239 school shootings since Sandy Hook in 2012. There have been 63 people injured or killed in 6 school shootings in the first 45 days of 2018, according to ​Education Week.

Although mass shootings have been generally increasing in different settings, schools are unfortunately frequent targets. “The third deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history was at Virginia Tech University in 2007, when 32 people were killed, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which is tied for the fourth-highest casualty shooting, with 26 deaths,” said ​ABC news.

This carnage is spreading like a raging infection left untreated. The difference between an infection and school shootings, however, is that at least a doctor diagnoses, treats and tries to cure the infection. Politicians and other adults who should act like doctors — caring for a nation infected by gun violence — make absolutely no effort to diagnose and treat this disease.

In fact, many argue that if gun violence is a disease, the best way to cure it is to inject it with more guns and bullets. That makes no sense and it does nothing to protect you all — the future of our country.

The reality is that Congress has refused to even consider the public health impacts of gun violence. They passed legislation prohibiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from even researching the issue. You only have to live in a city suffering from any level of gun violence to understand just how big a public health issue it is.

State government has aggravated the problem by refusing to allow cities like ours and St. Louis from doing anything to try to control the number and types of guns on our streets and in the hands of those who shouldn’t have them.

Students, it should be clear to you by now that the adults responsible for protecting you have been unable, unwilling or incapable of doing so. They see you shot and dying, wring their hands, shake their heads, say they care and then pass laws to make it easier for almost anyone to get any gun. This is not leadership. It’s politics at its worst.

There is so much money tied up in gun manufacturing and sales that politicians become weak in the knees when they consider it may be withheld from them or used to finance an opponent if they dare advocate for common sense.

The NRA spent $11,438,118 to support Donald Trump and another $19,756,346 to oppose Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. And how about contributions to other politicians? The NRA pours money​ into elections for both the U.S. Senate and House to maintain the insanity that is our gun policy in the United States. They make contributions to, or spend significant sums in support of lots of “right minded” politicians or in opposition to their “wayward” opponents.

Some argue that the NRA is, in reality, more of a marketing agent for gun manufacturers, rather than a benign club of gun lovers and Second Amendment protectors. You be the judge:

Gun manufacturers in 2015 showed annual revenue of $13.56 billion with $1.5 billion in profit. Gun and ammunition stores chipped in with $3.1 billion in revenue and $478 million in profit, according to market research firm IBIS World. 10,847,797 pistols, revolvers, shotguns, assault weapons and other weapons were manufactured in the U.S. in 2015, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Only 4 percent of that total was exported outside the U.S. It is estimated that there are 270-310 million guns in the U.S. which has a population of approximately 323 million men, women and children.

With so much money involved and so many politicians and businesses addicted to it, it’s not surprising that not even surviving victims or images of the bloodied and destroyed bodies of first-graders are able to shake common sense from the “cold dead hands” of those who have an interest in maintaining the status quo.

Students, I’m afraid this country needs you to show the adults the way. You, those who are increasingly in the crosshairs of murderers, need to protect yourselves, and by extension, us. You may be our last and best hope for change. You can’t leave it to us adults alone.

We need you to demand that the politicians protect your constitutional right to life with as much or more commitment and intransigence as they apply to protecting a dubious right for 19-year-olds, domestic abusers and domestic terrorists.

You have to unite in your own self-interest. I know though, having raised kids of my own into and out of school age, that some of you don’t think such violence could ever visit you or your school. “Those things don’t happen where I live.”

Really? Here’s a short, partial list of locations of where students and teachers were killed:

▪ Florence, Ala.
▪ Ashland County, Ohio
▪ Knights Ferry, Calif.
▪ New York City, N.Y.
▪ Chattanooga, Tenn.
▪ Santa Monica, Calif.
▪ Danville, Va.
▪ Brazil, Ind.
▪ Charleston, W.Va.
▪ Bemidji, Minn.
▪ Liberty, Miss.
▪ Chicago, Ill.
▪ Manes, Mo.
▪ Cincinnati, Ohio

You may believe that this type of violence only happens to “other people.” Don’t believe it, and remember: You​ are “other people” to other people.

It’s time for you to unite to protect yourselves. You have to make your voices heard and your faces seen. Don’t listen to those who tell you that you are powerless, too young, or don’t have enough money. Acting together you can be powerful if you are visible and insistent. You aren’t too young to die, so you are, by definition, old enough to fight for your lives. The pressure of money has paralyzed the adults. The lack of money can motivate you to innovate, inspire, and succeed.

I grew up in the ‘60s, graduating high school during the height of the Vietnam War in 1969. Students then were failed by the adult politicians who sent them off to a disfavored war, somewhat like the adult failure to do anything to protect them from gun violence now. Ironically, assault weapons were the weapons of choice in both settings.

Students in the ‘60s were extremely instrumental in bringing the Vietnam War to a close. They had no voice in who was being drafted and sent off to war unless they were from families of means and influence inclined to protect their own with a medical diagnosis of bone spurs or flat feet. Those without such means — disproportionately black and brown — served and, too frequently, died.

Then as now, students were on the front lines. Then as now, students lost their lives when they should have been planning families and their futures. Then, as in now, students are calling B.S. on the excuses. They rebelled. They staged sit-ins. They marched, protested, and burned their draft cards. They took a strong position against the war, and it made the adults stop, look, and listen.

Some of the protests, like the demonstrations in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, were co-opted by the radical wing of the protest movement and ended in violence. Other protests brought about violent over-reactions by the government, when students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State in 1970.

The stance against student shootings and deaths in today’s school shooting tsunami, however, should never incite the violence of the ‘60s, but it should incite the commitment and activism. Social media could actually be used to accomplish something other than fun, games and bullying.

You are more savvy than we were in the ‘60s. You also have more tools and resources available to you. Be innovative and smart in your approach and your goals. Be honorable, respectful and focused. Use facts and data to prove your points and achieve sustainable solutions.

Recognizing that this issue is very volatile, and that some will be critical of your engagement, emphasize productive discussion rather than argument and speak to pragmatism rather than ideology. Be proud of your approach and of your commitment.

You must protect yourselves and either convince or shame the adults into following you towards common-sense controls over these potential instruments of your deaths. Limit access to assault weapons. Strengthen background checks and make them universal. Take the handcuffs off of the CDC and the ATF.

You may in fact be the glue that finally helps unite and focus all the adult groups that have been struggling to pass common sense gun safety measures.

I’ve seen the young people from Parkland speaking out so bravely about what has happened to their lives. And I’ve met so many intelligent and engaged young people right here in Kansas City since I became mayor. Unfortunately, adults have proven that when it comes to sensible gun control, the politicians won’t listen to us.

But perhaps they will listen to you, our children. So please, show us the way.

Some of you have already started organizing, meeting, speaking out. Soon, many of you will be marching. Keep at it until they start listening to your demands for change and take action. Show us that our country’s young people — black, white, brown, gay, straight, religious, atheist, poor, rich, rural, urban — can all come together to save your own lives and in the process, save our country from ourselves.

This is your time to take charge and show our nation the way. This time you lead and I, and other adults, will join. Your lives may very well depend on it.

Sincerely,

Mayor Sly James
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Comments

  1. Strong words.

    Looks like the Mayor is planning that run for congress after all. This absolutely follows Democratic party talking points.

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    Replies
    1. Wow. Wish he had more to say about all of the wrecks and ice on the street today. Would've loved to hear a detailed plan about how we can improve snow & ice removal in neighborhoods.

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    2. I admire his eloquence. Glad he didn't get the bullhorn out on this one.

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  2. Proud of my Mayor. He is doing the right thing!

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    1. Sly James = Kansas City gun grabber in Chief.

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    2. So? Has to be done. NO MORE!

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    3. Grabbing guns? I have a few. Come and get them, SJW cuntholes. Walk your talk, or shut the fuck up.

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  3. "This carnage is spreading like a raging infection left untreated."

    The same can be said about crime in Kansas City Mayor Jackass.

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  4. ^^^Me too. Good job Sly!

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  5. Bow tie the clown sLIE describes his own city but yet does nothing about it, what gives him any authority on this with his do nothing policy at home. Spoken like a true worthless ass dummocrat

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  6. Student advocacy works! Already tonight Trump has come out in favor of banning bump stocks and stricter background checks. These FL students are changing the world!

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  7. 8:01 shut up loser

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    1. No. I won’t ever. Being silent is being complicit. We will no longer respond to outdated excuses and insults from the left behind. Get out of the way, the future is here!

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  8. 8:03 If that’s all I’m down with that

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  9. Really Sly????? How are going prevent the 150 murders on your watch????? Hypocrite son a bitch! Why don't you get off your ass and do something. You have been the worst thing that has ever happened to Kansas city, and I wish you would get the hell out of town. Take your violent son with you. You have no room to point fingers or say anything like... this was predictable and preventable!

    Let him try to run for congress, we can take this dirty prick down.

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  10. Even if we can (and we can't) ban the AR-15 or similar assault rifles it won't MAKE A DENT in gun violence.

    AR-15s kill upper-middle class whites. Handguns kill everyone else.

    Wonder why CNN is devoting wall to wall coverage of this. Lots of big media connections to Miami area and that high school in particular.

    This is not about protecting America. This is about gun violence mucking up nice, white, well-to-do suburban lives.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, we are not listening to excuse makers anymore. Get on board or get out of the way! That’s it! We are beyond you and your outdated thoughts on gun control

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  11. He wrote a memo to the doj, what exactly does that mean?

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    1. ^^^He also asked Paul Ryan to bring it to the floor to a vote, and he would sign it if passed. You conveniently left that out. Fixed it for you.

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  12. They’ll take it under advisement?

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  13. AR does not mean assault rifle by the way, it’s short for armalite, the company that made that rifle

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  14. 8:12 shut up slie, if you can’t take care of killa city, get out of our way!

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    1. Your lips are flapping, but they’re not saying anything. It’s coming. You have passed, we are the future!

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  15. 8:12 apparently you are or you wouldn’t be here, are you 12 or something?

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    Replies
    1. Can’t hear you, we are passed you now.

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  16. Your future is in big trouble and you have no one to blame but yourselves

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  17. Sounds to me like Nick needed a good basketball game and more pizza.


    It also sounds like Sly can't get any kickbacks from NRA or he'd be all for it.

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  18. It seems to me that a lot of these comments are coming from Johnson County people who don't really have a stake in Kansas City. All they have is hate for our community and they encourage gun violence.

    I think the Mayor speaks for a lot of his constituents and I certainly support his efforts to help craft reasonable restrictions on guns.

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    1. False. Mayor Bullhorn is a clown at best. Many KC people have grown impatient with his incompetence and lack of leadership on important issues such as crime and infrastructure.

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  19. Angela K. and your proof to back that is where? I do have a stake in Kansas City and find it irritating that you support a Mayor who has done much damage to Kansas City. Maybe if you had as big a stake as I did you would might agree with me, but from the tone of most the comments I see from you it's easy to gather you don't.

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  20. My PROOF is that the mayor has won his reelection overwhelmingly and the ballot measures that he supports have passed by big margins. Mayor Sly James is well liked withing KCMO, so it seems to me that he has the support of voters. Therefore, the critics don't really represent people in KC.

    What we need is for the mayor to put gun control up for a public vote in KC Missouri so we can send a message that our community is against violence that is aimed at students!

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  21. The NRA won't allow any attempt at gun control. They bought the politicians. End of story.

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  22. Gun violence is, with few exceptions, the domain of blacks and liberal run cities. Pretending that taking guns away from, or, restricting the use of firearms with respect to white people and law abiding citizens, would put a dent in the HIP/HOP/HOLOCAUST of outrageous African American Criminality, is, a pipe dream.

    17 students dead is a tragic drop in the ocean of pain that the middle class, who the Federal Government, the Media, the 4th Estate and Hollywood hate, would feel, after these nefarious and totalitarian forces took their guns.

    The developments over the last 18 to 24 months, prove, categorically, that it is more important than ever, that the 2nd Amendment remains intact, so that the tax paying middle class, can protect themselves from these evil, dark forces.

    Maybe, if we had seen it coming, if the media had told the truth about the black on white hate crimes taking place, we would have armed ourselves and still be alive.

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  23. Sly is an embarrassment. The Trump of the left, exploiting this tragedy for his own ego!!! His term in office has been a failure: declining neighborhoods, rampant violence, higher taxes and utility bills, massive subsidies to corporate cronies and pending bankruptcy.

    This gambit sickens me! We have serious gun problem in this Country, but when Sly exploits it for his own personal aggrandizement, he only feeds the opposition and makes it less likely that we will get something done.

    Sly, please go away, or at least STFU!!!

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  24. The totality of Black African history can be divided into three eras which are:

    Mud and Feathers;

    Whips and Chains;

    Drugs and Welfare.

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  25. ^^Raving lunatic.

    "..black on white hate crimes..."

    Nonsense

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  26. Easy to win reelection when you have no worthy opponent running against you.

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  27. The Democrats couldn’t be any happier this tragedy happened, almost borderline rooting for it to happen making sure Nikolas Cruz will be a martyr, yes I said martyr, this patsy was not supposed to survive. A Jack Ruby lurks nearby....

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  28. How come Sly hasn’t stopped the killing of his people?

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  29. TKC Comment Reader2/20/18, 11:35 PM

    ^^^ Good question.

    The way I see it, Sly is just being a politician, giving us the company line from the Democrats and not doing anything but grandstanding.

    Just like the bull horn but with a pen.

    As usual, he's all talk with very little substance.

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  30. More kids are killed by car wrecks and drugs EVERY DAY than have been killed in any mass shooting.

    Where are the protests over that?

    The demonstrations?

    The outrage?

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  31. The mayor is right take the guns away from everyone in KILLA city they just aren't responsible enough.

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  32. KILLA city is a closed down ghetto everyone is getting the fuck out of

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  33. 812 is what's for dinner

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  34. Hand your guns liberal scum!

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  35. Winning elections is about telling folks what they want to hear and promising people they'll get something from you, the latter particularly true for campaign contributors.
    But then comes actual governance, the quality and effectiveness of which depends on competence, appropriate priorities, making difficult decisions, and demanding performance, results, and accountability.
    Sly's little more than a huckster, mostly in behalf of himself, and his governance has been pretty much the opposite from every parameter mentioned above, especially for regular folks and businesses in KCMO.
    In making sure that his contributors are well taken care of from the city treasury, he's been a real stand-out.
    Just another big big empty suit.
    How can anyone seriously comment on an event in Florida when the city he is responsible for "governing" had over half as many murders last year as New York City?

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  36. Sylvester likes his single issue politics to corrupt Americas youth.

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  37. REMEMBER this: The anti-gun rhetoric is the payoff for the MONEY received from Blomberg via the "Smart Cities" initiative. Cash has changed hands.

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  38. Disarm the police!

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