Copycat Stupidity = Monumental Insensitivity

In the wake of the horrifyingly sad tragedy last Friday in Newtown, CT, there seems to be a rush on the part of fundamentalist Christian religious leaders, firearms group spokespersons and their apologists, and state GOP politicians to see who can say, defend, or propose the most idiotic and/or insensitive thing. We do recognize that the difference among these three categories is unfortunately purely academic.

GOP State Politicians

• The Washington Post reports that "Virginia state Sen. Robert G. Marshall is proposing a bill that would require some teachers or other school staff to carry concealed weapons in schools."
•  WKRN in Nashville, TN reports that a GOP-based effort in that state's GOP-owned legislature is going forward to allow teachers to carry firearms in their classrooms. Tennessee's Republican governor, Bill Haslam, thinks that's a good enough idea to consider.
• Talking Points Memo reports that yet another GOP Tennessee legislator is proposing a bill to "allow the state to pay for secretly armed teachers in classrooms". Having lived in the nightmare that is Tennessee for five years, it makes sense that the GOP there would pay for that, but not for actual education. But, I guess, we can't have those public school lessons on creationism interrupted.
• The Miami Herald reports that "Public school employees with concealed weapons permits could carry guns in South Carolina schools if a [GOP-sponsored] bill filed Tuesday in the state House of Representatives becomes law."

Fundamentalist Christian Leaders

•  In an earlier post, we made the case, based on their statements, that former Arkansas Governor-turnedfailed-candidate-turned-mid-America-messiah Mike Huckabee  and American Family Association staffer Brian Fischer both implied murdering babies is moral.
• The Huffington Post reports Focus on the Family founder James Dobson hopped on the publicity bandwagon, saying the Newtown shooting was due to a shift from "traditional values" in general, and because of abortion and gay marriage, in particular. Again, murdering babies is moral if it's God sending a message.
• As reported by FreeThinker, the absolute bottom of the pond is by Tennessee (again?) Baptist pastor Sam Morris, who said: "We get all up in arms about 20 children being shot in a day care but we don’t give one good-glory rip about the 4,000 that were removed violently from the wombs of their mothers [in abortion procedures] the same day. I believe they use children and Christmas and all that to pull on our heart strings about gun control. That’s what it’s all about."

 Firearms Group Spokespersons & Their Apologists

•  First, it is important to note that this list has more apologists than actual firearms group spokespersons. That is because the latter (like most GOP persons) are unwilling to publicly change their mind on anything when faced with evidence to the contrary. The Newtown tragedy would have been far less tragic had Adam Lanza a knife or a single-shot weapon. There's no getting past that. Imagine your own family having the choice of being confronted by two equally-psychotic persons, one with a knife and the other with an AR-15. Do you have to think twice about that? Apologists, it is a monstrosity that you value your tactical weapons hobby and/or your dues/lobbying-based economic privilege over the lives of children. How sick.
• As we reported in an earlier post, Gun Owners of America spokesperson Larry Pratt released the following statement within 24 hour sof the shootings: "Gun control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands. Federal and state laws combined to insure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered. This tragedy underscores the urgency of getting rid of gun bans in school zones. The only thing accomplished by gun free zones is to insure that mass murderers can slay more before they are finally confronted by someone with a gun." Roll Call reports another version of the statement as saying "“Blood is on the hands of members of Congress and the Connecticut legislators who voted to ban guns from all schools in Connecticut ... They are the ones who made it illegal to defend oneself with a gun in a school.”
• Michelle Malkin, connoisseur of those things inciteful, divisive, and patently unhelpful, wrote a pathetically-apologist piece in National Review casting firearms manufacturers, gun groups, and firearms owners as the true victims of an "incendiary witch hunt" after Newtown. 
• RedState combines apologism with the absurd argument equating abortion with the killing of 20 existing, school-aged, children:"Were we a decent society, we would allow the parents of Newtown to grieve before we started talking about taking away guns. We are not a decent society, and the ghoulish, deranged left is once again trying to use a tragedy as an opportunity. So, as they begin their ritual descent into bathing in the blood of children about whom they wouldn’t care were they just inside the birth canal, let’s have the “conversation” about pretending away the Second Amendment they want."  

Victoria Jackson

• Some people demonstrate such a complete lack of intellectual facility on a regular enough basis that they deserve their own category of stupidity. Like Victoria Jackson. She posted on Facebook:"My friend Jim Riley posted: 'Wasn't the Connecticut killer just doing what abortionists do every day? It's a wonder we don't have more 20 year old 'dads' doing what women and doctors have been an accomplice to for years in America. When you forget the TEN COMMANDMENTS, people, THIS is what you get ... Obama dramatically wiped a tear as he said, 'The majority of those who died today were children – beautiful little kids… They had their entire lives ahead of them – birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own… YEAH OBAMA. SAME AS THE MILLION BABIES YOU HAD ABORTED THIS YEAR. ARE YOU CRYING FOR THEM?"