Tragedy in Tucson

Yesterday, our country suffered a tragedy of epic proportions in Tucson, Arizona. U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at close range while hosting a public event in front of a grocery store. The event, called "Congress on Your Corner," was apparently designed to make the congresswoman more accessible to her constituents, allowing them to raise issues with her and ask questions. But unfortunately, one of those constituents managed to get within three or four feet of her and began firing a 9mm Glock 19 semi-automatic weapon. It is now being reported that he shouted something before shooting wildly, killing six, including a federal judge and a 9 year-old girl. In all, 19 people were shot before the gunman could be restrained. The shooter, identified as Jared Loughner, was only 22 years old and is now in FBI custody.

Before I say what I'm about to say, allow me to repeat that this is a tragedy of epic proportions. What happened yesterday in Tucson was inexcusable, unjustifiable, and should never happen in American society. But it did, and now some are stepping forward to capitalize politically on this horrific event. To me, it is unfathomable that anyone would do such a thing, but the evidence speaks for itself.

First, we have Sheriff Clarence Dupnik from the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Dupnik has been handling the press conferences, providing updates and answering questions from the media. But he also used one of those press conferences to offer his own spin on the incident. Here is what he said:

"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this county is getting to be outrageous. Unfortunately, Arizona, I think, has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."

What exactly is he implying? To me, it sounds as if he's decrying the fact that our country is politically divided and that the rhetoric needs to be toned down. Funny, but this sounds familiar to me. It is something that President Obama himself said just last year. It was directed toward conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and meant to stifle their voices because they were speaking out against Obama's policies. Well, in our country we have something called freedom of speech. Although Obama, and perhaps now Sheriff Dupnik, would like for this conversation to go away, it is not. Nor should it. If anyone is inferring that Jared Loughner was driven to commit this heinous act because of conservative voices on the airwaves, then they should be ashamed of themselves. If you're going to espouse such outrageous views, then perhaps you should look at the president himself. After all, it was he and his cronies who used backdoor deals and shady tactics to ram the bill right down the throats of the American people, despite the fact that the majority of Americans never supported it.

Because Congresswoman Giffords voted in favor of Obamacare, it's easy for the president's allies to capitalize on the shooting by using it to paint all conservatives with the same brush, labeling them as right-wing nutjobs and placing them in the same category as Loughner. But so far, the investigation has not shown that Loughner was upset that Gifford voted in favor of Obamacare. Rather, it has painted the picture of a disturbed young man, a loner who took drugs and suffered from being mentally unstable. I am certain that when all is said and done, we'll see that there was no rhyme or reason to his actions. Though there is some suspicion that he may not have acted alone, he is surely not part of some vast network of terrorists looking to take out those members of congress who supported Obama's healthcare initiative.

Going back to Sheriff Dupnik for a moment, what did he mean by calling Arizona the "mecca for prejudice and bigotry?" To me, it sure sounds as if the sheriff is using this incident to express his disdain for Arizona's tough law on illegal immigration, which was just passed last year. So let me get this straight. The immigration law is a sign of prejudice and bigotry, and that has somehow had a direct impact on the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The people of Arizona who supported the immigration bill are not racists. There is another phrase that more accurately describes them: fed up. When your tax dollars go toward covering the costs of education, healthcare, incarceration, and entitlement programs for illegal immigrants, costing the state close to $3 billion per year, I think you have a right to be fed up. Once again, there is nothing to suggest that Loughner was upset about Giffords' lack of support for the immigration bill.

Then, there is of course the incident's connection to Sarah Palin. The liberal media NEVER passes up on an opportunity to villify Gov. Palin, so why should this situation be any different? Prior to the mid-term elections, Gov. Palin took out a map of the country and placed a cross-hairs over the districts where she felt Democrats were most vulnerable. One of those districts just happened to be the one where Congresswoman Giffords was running for re-election. Somehow, the media is trying to infer that the use of cross-hairs may have encouraged this assassination attempt. But again, this theory is ludicrous. Gov. Palin's map had about as much to do with this tragedy as the man in the moon. There is absolutely no evidence that Loughner was connected to Gov. Palin in any way. Out of sensitivity, Gov. Palin has since removed the cross-hairs, a classy move on her part.

When I look at what happened in Tucson, I can't help but think about the shooting at Virginia Tech. Both were carried out by young men who had severe mental issues. Both killers used a Glock, both fired at people indiscriminately, and both shot multiple victims. As with the Virginia Tech massacre, gun control advocates will come out and use this as yet another example to support their agenda. But it's been said many times and I'll say it here yet again. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. The real issue here is not whether Americans should have the right to bear arms, but rather how Loughner came to possess his weapon. Was the background check conducted properly? Was there anything that showed up which should have raised a red flag? Those are the real questions that need to be answered.

The bottom line is this. This tragic shooting was carried out by a mentally unstable person, and was not the result of racism, opposition to Obamacare, Sarah Palin's use of cross-hairs, or some vast, right-wing conspiracy. It will show itself to be an isolated incident, even if Loughner had some help in carrying it out. Could it have been prevented? I have yet to hear anyone raise the issue of security at the event. If indeed Congresswoman Giffords had suffered threats in the past, then why wasn't there any security present? Why were participants not screened or patted down before being allowed that close to the congresswoman? Hindsight is always 20/20, but it seems to me that some type of system should have been in place before holding this event.

At this point, playing the blame game won't do anyone any good. The fact is that a young woman is clinging to life in an intensive care unit. Several others are hospitalized as well, and six people, including a child at the tender age of nine, have lost their lives. It is at this time that we need to pray for the victims and their families, and hope that things turn out as well as they can for those who managed to survive. Let's save the political battles for another time and join those who are fighting a battle that is far more important: the battle to live.