I got called out by a few people on Facebook yesterday for posting about the shooting in DC and pointing out that Scalise, the Congressman wounded the most severely, was a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, had an A+ rating from the NRA, and had voted to loosen regulations on automatic weapons. Oh, the irony! Karma, as I pointed out, is a bitch. One person said my remarks were in poor taste. Another felt that such remarks only fuel the flames of anger and divisiveness. Another said it wasn't the gun's fault.
Evidently I should have confined my remarks to praying for and sending good wishes to the injured. But while I certainly am not celebrating this despicable act, I couldn't help but notice that these congressmen who were the targets of the madman with a gun are the same people who resist every effort to rein in the epidemic of gun violence in our country. Indeed, one of them, Rand Paul, tweeted that the 2nd Amendment wasn't about shooting deer but resisting tyranny. Of course, that tweet was during the Obama administration. But all indications are that resisting tyranny was exactly what the shooter thought he was doing. Funny how that works. At least wait till they're out of the hospital, someone else said. Don't politicize this tragedy! Oh, please! This was the 153rd mass shooting of 2017, according to a count by the Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit organization that tracks shootings across the country. And while people were fussing about insensitivity and the like, a 154th mass shooting happened in San Francisco. Madness. And it's destroying our country. I truly hope that the Congressman and the other wounded (an aide, a lobbyist (??!!!???), and a member of the security detail) make a full recovery. No one should die at the hands of a deranged gunman -- not kindergartners, not gays, not policemen, not anyone -- including politicians. And I truly hope that this might be a Come-to-Jesus moment for the Congressional opponents of even the smallest attempts to limit near universal access to automatic weapons. But I'm not optimistic. If Sandy Hook wasn't enough to make the Right reconsider their love affair with automatic weapons and their dependence on big donations from the NRA, I doubt that this will sway them.
As I said, though, Karma is a bitch. And eventually she'll bite you in the ass.
