Georgia has responded to the slaughter of 17 people in a Florida high school with a certain lack of empathy.
Republicans in the Georgia state Senate followed through on their threats after Delta airlines, one of the state’s top private employers, stopped giving National Rifle Association members a special discount. The state Senate Republicans voted down a tax break on jet fuel for flights at Atlanta’s airport, where Delta is based, and Gov. Nathan Deal will sign it, although he’s not happy…
Governor Deal wouldn’t veto the bill because it includes tax cuts for ordinary Georgians but he says he’ll try to figure out a way to restore Delta’s discount jet fuel. That’s his political calculation and he isn’t facing reelection so he can do whatever he wants to do.
The rest of the country is recoiling in horror, and that certainly includes corporate executives who might be considering Atlanta as a good place to locate their headquarters. The airport is probably the city’s best selling point. I know Amazon has to be less inclined to put their second headquarters in Atlanta now.
I shouldn’t be shocked after the Republicans’ response to two dozen first graders being gunned down at Sandy Hook was to launch a wildly successful national offensive to loosen gun restrictions. But I still retain the ability to be surprised by this kind of inhuman behavior. You can feel however you want about solutions to mass shootings, but if your first instinct is to punish anyone who questions the National Rifle Association, that’s sociopathic.