Wendy comments in real time on the events unfolding now at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood health center.
Two days ago, Steve wrote a column for this blog in which
he noted that Republicans seem unable to bring the same "moral
rectitude" to the issue of gun control that they bring to international
terrorism. Judging from the outpouring
of emails from readers, he struck a nerve.
And just hours ago, our email brought a breaking news alert about a
shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood health center. As of this writing, the facts remain
murky. What is not murky is that at
least nine people have been shot. If
they survive, their lives -- and the lives of their families and loved ones --
will be forever changed; they will carry their scars, their disabilities, their
PTSD and their memories of the day after Thanksgiving, 2015, a holiday forever
changed for them.
We don't yet know if the perpetrator of this crime is an
anti-abortion fanatic. If he or she is,
I will point out the obvious: while reasonable people may disagree about the
pros and cons of abortion, only unreasonable people can believe that it is
right and moral to protest in the name of "the sanctity of life" by
the taking of a life. If you haven't
seen the film "The Armor of Light,” see it if you can. It depicts the moral evolution of an
evangelical minister as he attempts to reconcile his anti-gun control and
anti-abortion positions. In the end, the
minister finds that reconciliation impossible.

I get it that guns often are wielded by the mentally ill
who need and deserve help. I'm fully
supportive of initiatives to identify and assist those who may be harmful to
themselves or others. But mental health
care and more stringent gun laws are not mutually exclusive; they're
complementary. I get it that more
stringent gun laws would not eliminate shootings. But isn't it a lay down that they would
eliminate some shootings? And wouldn't
that be a victory?
I volunteer for Planned Parenthood and I fully support
their mission. But as I'm reading about
the events in Colorado Springs in real time, my thoughts gravitate, not to
women's rights, but to gun control. When
are we going to raise our collective voices, louder and louder and louder,
demanding the change that Americans overwhelmingly support, but are, thus far,
unable to legislate?
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