DeSantis Chose the First Anniversary of the Uvalde Slaughter to Declare his Candidacy*
His Choice of Forum Was Just as Perfect
His sister refused to buy him an assault rifle. So, on May 17, 2022, a day after his 18th birthday, Salvador Rolando Ramos, a former student at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, legally purchased a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic rifle from a Texas gun shop. Three days later, he bought an AR-15 style assault rifle. He legally purchased 1,657 cartridges, including 375 rounds of 5.56 NATO ammunition — developed in the U.S. and originally chambered in the M16 — which he acquired on May 18, 2022, two days after he turned 18.
I’ll concede that most days are the first anniversary of at least one mass shooting in America, a horrific date of heightened grief and mourning for the survivors and family and friends of those who didn’t.
I suspect every day in the United States is an anniversary of at least one such murderous rampage. Some days, multiple.
Mass shootings are defined as “an incident in which four or more people are shot and wounded or killed, excluding the shooter.” Because mass shootings are now common, everyday occurrences in the United States, their anniversaries can be easily forgotten by those not personally impacted, and the details largely disappear from the national…