but he spoke his mind and I found that so refreshing. After his hometown of El Paso was targeted who can blame him. In some ways I think he said what a lot of progressives (and perhaps others) think but dare not say. How many more of our fellow citizens have to die before the nation acts? I know we aren't New Zealand, but all it took was ONE awful tragic incident before their Parliament said enough.

Please spare me the comments about our freedoms enshrined in the constitution. Look how fast we have given up so much of our privacy and due process rights in the name of safety when the Congress passed the Patriot Act. Are we safer? Maybe/maybe not. I'm sure many other acts of terror may have been stopped that I/we just don't know about. But what a price we have paid. Am I cynical? Yes probably. But I still believe in the heroes and patriots that work in our government to keep the US safe and for them I am grateful.

My view will be widely unpopular here, but I applaud Beto. It may have ended his political career, but I hope he sleeps better every night for standing up for something he believed in. No other politician would dare utter what he did otherwise. I speak only for myself.