Ben Shapiro devotes a National Review Online column to political fallout from the Texas church shooting.
We know that the Texas church shooter should not have been able to own or obtain a gun under federal law. He had a long history of mental illness and criminal behavior. …
… This isn’t unique. The racist Charleston church-massacre perpetrator obtained his gun despite pending felony charges; the FBI screwed up. The Orlando nightclub shooter had been investigated twice by the FBI, but they didn’t charge him with a crime. The Sandy Hook shooter obtained his weapons illegally. The FBI simply missed the San Bernardino terrorists, despite years of open talk about carrying out a terror attack.
And yet the Left continues to maintain that government action should be the chief methodology for stopping mass shootings. In particular, it insists that we pass new gun-control laws. There has been no significant call to make government agencies more efficient or staff them more appropriately; in fact, the Left has repeatedly shied away from blaming the government generally. Instead, we’re told that a few more words on a few more pieces of paper should ensure that babies aren’t shot in church pews. …
… We’re even told that thoughts and prayers are useless so long as they aren’t attached to an anti-gun effort.
It’s this last point that’s particularly telling. Those who are most adamant that thoughts and prayers be forsaken are also most adamant that new regulation will somehow guarantee the safety of Americans. …
… In a certain way, that makes sense: If you believe that government has godlike power, you’re going to be angered by those who suggest that only God does.
