After 18 deaths at the hands of an assault-style weapon in Maine, in an inspiring, refreshing – nay, godly – display of leadership, newly-crowned Republican Speaker of the House MAGA Mike Johnson proclaimed, “At the end of the day, the problem is the human heart. It’s not guns, it’s not the weapons.” He added that House lawmakers (e.g., Republican lawmakers) are “deeply concerned” and that it’s “not the time” to talk about legislation.:

Replied, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), “It’s actually the fucking guns.” Or, as pointed out by Ben Wexler, “Partial list of countries that don’t have a problem with the ‘human heart’: Canada, England, Germany, Denmark, Swden, Norway, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, Ireland Portugal, [AND EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED NATION ON EARTH NOT NAMED THE UNITED STATES]”

As MD Andrea R points out, “Can’t legislate the human heart dumbass but you sure as hell can legislate guns.” “Yeah, the human hearts that are too chickenshit to make red flag laws or mandatory background checks to take guns away from domestic abusers, felons, and people who are actively psychotic,” adds Emily Dean MD.

“I agree with Johnson. The problem is heart. More specifically, it’s lacking the tiny sliver of heart required to choose children’s lives and fellow humans over campaign contributions,” concludes Josh Moon.

Guessing Johnson’s crown is one of thorns given his theocratic imperative that his religious beliefs trump [you get that selection of verb there] the Constitution and the will of the people.