New piece at AOL News: "Gun Control Debate: Political Opportunists Swarm In"
My new piece starts off this way:
The horrible attack that has left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seriously wounded and six others dead has not brought out the best in many people. Ugly political opportunism looks to have led many into making statements they will soon regret. Within hours without knowing anything about the attacker's background or motives, many started blaming Sarah Palin and the tea party.
For instance, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that Giffords was a target because "she's a Democrat who survived what was otherwise a GOP sweep in Arizona, precisely because the Republicans nominated a tea party activist." And on CNN, correspondent Jessica Yellin singled out Sarah Palin, saying her "political rhetoric [created] the environment that allowed this instance to happen."
Well, it looks like those who blamed Palin and the tea party for political gain are going to wish they had waited just a couple of days. . . .
Labels: GunControl, multiplevictimnongunattacks, op-ed
posted by John Lott at 1:00 PM
1 Comments:
The thing that most disgusts me is that sick, vile, statist opportunists will use this tragedy as a sounding board for whatever nanny-state politics that suits their interests.
Our society has come to such a crossroads that there are many that say, "it was Arizona's easy access to weapons" that caused this. There are others that say, "it was his views" that caused this. There will be calls for the state to fix this from ever happening again by passing more laws to take away our liberties.
The reality is innocents were either injured or murdered by Jared Loughner. Jared did it. He acted alone and accordingly. No one else is to blame here. Nothing, not even a police state can prevent a determined individual from killing another.
Grieve for the dead and their families. Hope for a speedy and full recovery for the injured. Then mourn for the loss of liberty that will follow due to the Doublespeak of the statists as they attempt to further consolidate their power and control over humanity by blaming everything and everyone but the actor himself.
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