After a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, left at least six dead and more than a dozen wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), the politicization of the tragedy has already begun. And despite an absence of much concrete information on the shooter’s motives — who at this point appears to be a deranged leftist — efforts to demonize the Second Amendment and conservatives in general are already taking flight.
According to news reports, Rep. Giffords’ office was vandalized in connection with her vote for ObamaCare. She was also one of the politicians targeted for defeat by former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin on a website using an image of crosshairs, a fact which has been repeated in countless news reports about the attack. Tea Party efforts to replace the Congresswoman have also received a great deal of publicity, as if those were somehow related to the shooting.
An Associated Press story claimed that the shooting had “left Americans questioning whether divisive politics had pushed the suspect [Jared Loughner] over the edge.” Later on in the same story, the AP alleged: “It is not clear whether the gunman had the health care debate in mind.” The piece also referenced a narrow electoral battle between the Congresswoman and a Tea Party candidate who raised campaign funds with — gasp! — target-shooting events.
In a report on Fox News, the Washington correspondent made sure to demonize allegedly lax gun-control laws. He also claimed the tragedy would revive the debate on gun control in America. Leftist MSNBC personality Keith Olbermann also hysterically attacked guns and rhetoric in a “special comment” segment.
