It’s not only bad things that come in threes.
Sometimes good things, or in this instance advances, happen three times in a row, too.
No, there looks to be no end in sight to the gridlock in Congress on anything — let alone gun control legislation.
To make matters worse our president appears to recalibrate his position every other hour.
So, it looks like we’ll just have to do it ourselves with a little help from the NRA itself.
First, in recent months and days a multitude of corporate chains are taking measures to stop fueling the fire of gun violence and be more responsible retailers.
Those retailers include Starbucks, Target, Wendy’s, Walmart, Kroger and most recently Walgreens, who have all asked customers not to openly carry guns in their stores.
This week, Walmart also announced it will discontinue sales of certain gun ammunition, including for handguns and short-barrel bullets used in military-style weapons.
Among other initiatives the nation’s top retailer sent letters to the president and congressional leaders calling for “common sense” measures.
Second, the gun control movement, which our newspaper has openly supported for more than 15 years, is stronger now than it has been in decades. Gun control advocacy efforts since the Sandy Hook slaughter in 2012 and last year’s massacre in a Parkland, Fla., school are gaining momentum.
Though activism in support of gun control may still lag activism in opposition to it, groups representing moms to students are building a sense of identity among people fed up with gun violence.
Finally, internal disorder within the NRA itself has left that organization in turmoil.
It is being investigated for financial improprieties that could threaten its nonprofit status and faces several lawsuits, resulting in troubling publicity.
Not to mention recent infighting; its president and its longtime top lobbyist, were pushed out after their involvement in a failed coup directed at the NRA’s chief executive.
We urge our congressional delegation, especially Rep. David McKinley and Sen. Shelley Moore-Capito, to break ranks with the NRA and the GOP leadership on gun control.
We know, none of this may sway them to finally confront the NRA or push Congress to actually do something.
Yet, we cannot help but believe the message the nation’s largest retailer is sending, the reawakening of the gun control movement and the turmoil within the NRA indicate a likelihood for gun reform on the horizon.
We abhor all gun violence, but the specific kind we are aiming at here does not come in threes.
Indeed, the firearms we refer to can kill and wound scores of people in the time it took you to read this.
