It didn’t take long for the Left to exploit the tragedy in Colorado for political gain. It’s predictable that horrific incidents of this nature are harnessed as calls for gun control. But why is the inverse not true? Just last week 71-year-old Samuel Williams was hailed as a hero for opening fire on armed robbers in an internet café. One of the masked men was pointing his handgun at customers and it wasn’t until Willams began shooting at them that they then fled. Of course, prevention never elicits the same attention and even if it did, the mainstream media would never brandish the episode as a call to exercise one’s Second Amendment rights.
Mayor Bloomberg called on the presidential candidates to “stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about” mass shootings. In an interview with an NYC talk radio program Bloomberg said, “But maybe it’s time the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country. And everybody always says, ‘Isn’t it tragic?’”
Well Mr. Bloomberg, you’ve got an ally in President Obama and he is working on it. Fast and Furious, the UN Arms Trade Treaty, sending OSHA on a gun range witch hunt, trying to dismantle the armed pilots program implemented after 9/11 – the list goes on.
Of course, Piers Morgan must use the shooting to tout gun control, too.
Drawing responses:
Malkin was referring to a shooter in a Colorado church back in 2007 – an armed security guard took action and saved lives that day.
The Brady Campaign joins in:
This tragedy is another grim reminder that guns are the enablers of mass killers and that our nation pays an unacceptable price for our failure to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. We are outraged. We understand that President Obama has just spoken and so might Mitt Romney.
As someone who has suffered the lasting impact of gun violence, and President of Brady, I can tell you that we don’t want sympathy. We want action. Just this past April 16, the anniversary of the worst mass shooting in American history, 32 victims of gun violence joined us to demand Congress take action to stop arming dangerous people.
Today we are meeting with activists across this country as we continue to call on the American people to add their voice for change through our petition against arming dangerous people at www.bradycampaign.org. We are insistent that our elected leaders take action to prevent future tragedies. Political cowardice is not an excuse for evasion and inaction on this life-and-death issue.”
And more responses:
UPDATE (GB) - Rep. Louie Gomert (R-TX) isn't helping matters on the politicization front:
"You know what really gets me, as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and then some senseless crazy act of a derelict takes place," Gohmert said. "Some of us happen to believe that when our founders talked about guarding our virtue and freedom, that that was important," he said. "Whether it's John Adams saying our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people ... Ben Franklin, only a virtuous people are capable of freedom, as nations become corrupt and vicious they have more need of masters. We have been at war with the very pillars, the very foundation of this country." Ernest Istook, the host of the show and a former Oklahoma congressman, jumped in to clarify that nobody knows the motivation of the alleged Aurora gunman. Gohmert said that may be true, but suggested the shootings were still "a terrorist act" that could have been avoided if the country placed a higher value on God. "People say ... where was God in all of this?" Gohmert said. "We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed ... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present."
One can agree with some of Gomert's underlying principles while rejecting his causation arguments within the context of this shooting.
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