Nashville, Tenn., has joined the lengthy and growing list of communities scarred by random gun violence … but this tragedy has a twist, of sorts.

The shooter was a woman, a transgender individual whom police shot to death shortly after she took six lives.

Yes, I fear we are getting numb to the violence that keeps erupting. That the shooter was a woman is in itself a remarkable change from the lengthy history of these shootings in the United States. They all had been men prior to today’s tragedy.

This case is going to cause a lot of head-scratching, let alone mourning for those who perished.

But here again, we are facing the prospect of more resistance among federal and state lawmakers to enact legislation that makes it difficult for troubled individuals to put their hands on weaponry.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The National Rifle Association’s mantra on gun violence is that the only way to stop a “bad guy with a gun” is to put more guns into the hands of “good guys.”

It’s a bogus argument, given the infrequency of good guys responding in times of peril. However, this week, a good guy with a gun did so and I want to offer a shout-out to the young man who took out the shooter at an Indiana shopping mall.

His name is Elisjsha Dicken, a 22-year-old from Seymour, Ind., who was shopping at the mall with his girlfriend when a lunatic opened fire. The gunman killed three people before Dicken shot him to death.

While Dicken is being hailed as a hero by police and bystanders who watched it happen, I want to caution against relying too heavily on these kinds of circumstances. I would hope that more “good guys with guns” would deter shooters from opening fire in the manner we have seen in all too many cases. Tragically, they don’t.

As Fox News reported: Dicken’s attorney, Guy A. Relford, said his client acted heroically in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“He is a true American hero who saved countless lives during a horrific event that could have been so much worse if not for Eli’s courage, preparedness and willingness to protect others,” Relford said.

Yes, he is a hero. I salute him for acting with cool, calm dispatch.

Let’s not put too much faith in these kinds of incidents repeating themselves. Let’s face it, we hear too few of these reports already even as more citizens are packing heat while shopping at the mall.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

You have to be 21 years of age to buy a beer, a jug of wine or a mixed drink at your favorite watering hole.

To be emancipated from parental control? That’s generally accepted at age 21.

Some insurance companies won’t sell insurance to you until you turn 21, unless you’re in school.

What, then, is the reason we don’t require someone to be 21 years of age to purchase a firearm? The issue has burst onto the forefront in the wake of recent spasm of gun violence. The moron who shot those 19 precious children and two of their teachers to death in Uvalde turned 18 and then purchased an AR-15 rifle right after his birthday; he bought a second one days later.

President Biden has called on government to increase the age from 18 to 21. Republicans — naturally! — are digging in against even that modest notion.

The GOP is marching to the cadence called by the gun lobby.

These politicians are acting disgracefully.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

An outrageous political development has just occurred that demonstrates how totally off the rails the once-great Republican Party has flown.

U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs, a New York Republican, has ended his re-election bid because — and hold onto something with both hands — he said he favored a ban on assault rifles, a position that enraged GOP officials in his state so much that Jacobs has been forced to end his public service career.

Jacobs made the statement after the Uvalde school massacre and the Buffalo shopping market carnage.

“I want to be completely transparent of where I am in Congress. If an assault weapons ban bill came to the floor that would ban something like an AR-15, I would vote for it,” he said, according to Spectrum News 1. What’s more, Jacobs said he would favor increasing the minimum age of people purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21 years old.

That was too much for New York conservatives to handle. Jacobs, by the way, represents an area of suburban Buffalo, so he feels the community’s grief deeply.

What in the name of political sanity has gone wrong here?

According to The Associated Press: “The last thing we need is an incredibly negative, half-truth-filled media attack funded by millions of dollars of special interest money coming into our community around this issue of guns and gun violence and gun control,” he said, according to footage of his announcement. “Therefore today I am announcing I will not run for the 23rd Congressional District.”

GOP Rep. Jacobs to retire after backing assault weapons ban (msn.com)

This is an utterly insane development in the growing debate over gun violence in this country. A House member speaks honestly and candidly about his views on gun violence and he is then forced to withdraw because his views anger the rigid adherents to a philosophy that is on the wrong side of history.

Scary.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com