Disney die-in, newsroom tragedy and politics

A canceled Disney World protest, amass shooting at a newspaper and a Supreme Court vacancy are topics from The Buzz online column that had South Florida talking thisweek.

Gun control and Disney

Relax Disney devotees.

If you see anyone lying on the ground at Disney World this summer they are likely suffering from heat stroke, not protesting gun violence.

Gun control advocates recently called off plans for a “die-in” at a Disney property after concerns about traumatizing children, the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday.

I’m not surewhy people spread out on the ground is scarier to children than a giant mouse or a half-dressed duck trying to hug them, but the group National DieIn agreed to back off its suggested Disney demonstration.

That group and others are critical of Disney for its $700,000 in donations to the political committee of Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who is running for governor. Putnam, a selfdescribed “proud NRA sellout,” is facing backlash from those who want more gun control after the Parkland school shooting.

Die-ins led by Parkland survivors helped convince Publix, another Putnam backer, to suspend political donations. Somehow the children of customers in those grocery stores survived grocery-cart rides swerving around human speed bumps.

The backlash comes just as a trend of heckling of Trump-supporting officials— while they eat dinner or go to the theatre — is being criticized for a lack of civility.

Some people even reacted as if Trump’s White House spokesperson being refused service at a restaurant was as offensive as a presidential administration that defends separating migrant children fromtheir families.

It’s not reasonable for those who back the Insulter In Chief to start demanding more civility fromothers.

And after Parkland, as national outrage grows over elected officials refusing to do more about an epidemic of gun violence, we shouldn’t expect those frustrations to just be politely expressed.

The demand for real changes – outlawing assaultweapons, requiring tougher background checks on gun purchases and investing in mental health programs – has to get louder. Demonstrations have to turn into more votes tomake a difference.

Newsroom shooting deaths

It’s natural for anyone who works in a newsroom to worry about th e what-ifs after five people are gunned downat the Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland.

Journalists make a lot of people mad in a country with a lot of guns.

But journalists know there are more dangerous places to be when it comes to the risk of gun violence.

Places such as a school. And a church. And a nightclub. And an outdoor country music concert. And an airport baggage pickup area. And a college campus. And a restaurant. And a center for people with disabilities. And amovie theater.

And even at a baseball game. Agame played bymembers of Congress. Powerful people who even after getting shot at still refuse to pass tougher gun control laws or significantly boost funding for mental health programs. Powerful people who, even after their inaction, get re-elected by people full of somany thoughts and prayers.

Yes, we have lots of dangerous places in this country. If only we were willing to do something about it.

McConnell’s hypocrisy

Pay attention Democrats.

With the next Supreme Court justice confirmation, Sen. Mitch McConnell is about to give you another lesson in longgame politics.

McConnell’s latest triumph is another product of the stubborn stance he took in 2016, when another seat among the supremes opened up in the final year of President Barack Obama’s time in office.

Instead of allowing Obama to put a third justice on the Supreme Court, McConnell as Senate majority leader hit the political pause button.

Why? Because itwas an election year, McConnell told us back then. He argued that the Senate shouldn’t vote to confirm a new Supreme Court justice until the nation had the chance to vote.

And when Donald Trump won the White House, a potentially left-leaning Obama appointee turned into a conservative, Republican-endorsed Supreme Court justice.

Now, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement that he is resigning in July gives Trump and McConnell another chance to push the Supreme Court more to the right.

But isn’t it an election year, youmay be asking?

Itwould be the “height of hypocrisy” to vote sooner, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, according to the Associated Press.

Hypocrisy, though, is not even a speed bump on McConnell’ s political marathon. No need towait for voters to weigh in – not when he’s already so close to the finish line.

The Buzz features online columns written by Andy Reid and other members of the Sun Sentinel editorial board. Andy can be reached at abreid@sunsentinel.com, 561-228-5504 or @abreidnews