Repugnant Stench of Politics in the Air following the Boston Bombings

Over the last few days I have been shocked/saddened/disgusted by statements and social media posts made by gun advocates who use the crazed stabbings at a Texas College and the Boston Marathon bombings to craft ineffectual political statements about gun rights.

Below is the response I provided one Facebook friend who posted the picture shown to the right.

“Really? This is an abhorrent post. Standing on the backs of the Boston Marathon victims to make a political statement is shameful. Beyond that, it hurts the very cause you are trying to further. Freedom is not purchased by divisive statements that say we (gun owners, in this case) should be left alone because some other weapon (bombs, here) are equally bad, or worse.

Freedom thrives when we come together to stop those out to destroy us. After 9/11, there were many who rushed to condemn a religion and a host of others who threw freedom under the bus in the name of public safety. As a result, we have made tragic little headway in stamping out the threat of international terror. We have spent a lot of money and sacrificed many lives on war, but we have made little progress improving our relations in the world or making our country safer.

Using the Boston tragedy to further the politics of guns does nothing but weaken our collective resolve to eradicate the most malevolent threats we face, be they internal or external. Posts like the one on your page and similar arguments made elsewhere, help terror succeed because the attention paid to the political division among us distracts us from the more important task of stamping out our enemies.

Forgive me this rant. I respect what you are trying to further with this re-post. I am interested in what gun advocates have to say, but must object when they make their case in such a disrespectful and counterproductive way. There is too much at stake in this country. Let’s come together in the wake of this tragedy instead of standing on the backs of victims by wasting time making political hay.

Let us honor those lost and wounded by searching for solutions together.”

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.