Skip to main content

Twitter Calls Out GOP Senator for Tackling Pet Welfare but Not Gun Control

 

After news broke about a passenger’s pet that died on a United Airlines flight when a flight attendant put the dog’s crate in an overhead bin, the reactions were widespread and immediate. Online, many condemned the already beleaguered airline. Meanwhile, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) went as far as introducing a bill to make sure this never happened again.

“I will be filing a bill tomorrow that will prohibit airlines from putting animals in overhead bins,” Kennedy pledged on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. “Violators will face significant fines. Pets are family.”

The announcement, which came on the same day as students and teachers staged nationwide protests in support of stricter gun control, drew immediate criticism. Commentators on Twitter were quick to point out the difference in Kennedy’s reactions after the dog’s death and the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida which resulted in the death of 17 people.

“So pets are family, but what about the 17 children that were lost?” one user wrote in response. “And the hundreds and hundred of others that were killed or injured to gun violence? Didn’t they have families? Didn’t they have hopes and dreams and goals?”

“How about sneaking in an assault weapons ban in that bill too?” another user tweeted.

Kennedy who has accepted over $200,000 in donations from the NRA during the course of his career, had been outspoken about his stance on gun control. “I don’t think we need more gun control laws,” he said during an interview with CNN‘s John Berman two weeks ago. “I think we need more idiot control”

Others, expressed support for the bill as a small victory.

“Thank you for loving and understanding how much our fur babies add to our lives,” one user wrote.

“Would LOVE for you to get this legislation through,” another tweeted. “Would also love some work on #guncontrol and #healthcare and #DACA. Keep it up!”

Kennedy presented the bill, which is called Welfare of Our Furry Friends or WOOFF, alongside Senator Cortez Masto (D-NV) and would have the FAA implement restrictions against storing live animals in overhead bins and impose fines for violations. It also gained support from the Humane Society.

[Image via Don Emmert/Getty Images]

Tags:

Follow Law&Crime: