If you think “hearts and prayers” aren’t enough, and gun control laws are needed to stop gun violence, “you don’t believe in God.”
That’s the message from a Texas GOP congressman in the wake of a Dallas-area mall shooting on Saturday, May 6, 2023, that left 8 people and the shooter dead, and 7 others hospitalized (read story here).
Rep. Keith Self (R-TX, photo left, bio here), represents the district where the shooting occurred. His constituents are dead and wounded.
Asked by a CNN reporter about “what could be done” to prevent mass shootings, he dodged the question by saying he’s “focused on the families and the victims today.”
The reporter pressed him “to respond to critics who say prayers aren’t enough to prevent shootings.” He answered, “Well, those are people that don’t believe in an almighty God who is absolutely in control of our lives. I’m a Christian. I believe that he is.” (See story here.)
If I’m not mistaken, Self just said people were shot because God ordained it. That’s because if God is in “absolute control,” then nothing happens unless God wants it to. But don’t try to argue logically with a Republican.
That’s just silly. But the rest of what Self said is deeply, profoundly offensive. It goes something like this: If you’re tired of hearing Republican politicians like Self call for “prayers” every time there’s another mass shooting while voting to block every effort to keep guns out of the wrong hands, and you think Congress and legislatures should expand background checks and enact “red flag” laws, that makes you an atheist.
Or, looking at it another way, this ninny believes God wants everybody to have guns, including the deranged killer who shot up the mall in his district and killed his constituents.
Mr. Self, you’re nuts, and the voters who elected you are nuts, too.