Fundamentalist Christian Uses Colorado Shootings for Political Gain

Posted by Steven Reynolds, The All Spin Zone at 4:54 AM on December 12, 2007.

This post, written by Steven Reynolds, originally appeared on The All Spin Zone

Tony Perkins takes off on secular media again, this time blaming the secular media for the tragic shootings in Colorado. Nevermind that the shooter was protected all his life from the secular media by being homeschooled in a "very, very religious" household. No, Tony doesn't like the facts much here, he's more after political gain.

First, let me direct you to Daniel DeRito's excellent piece on Matthew Murray, the shooter in the Colorado tragedies last week. Daniel's piece does not explain or excuse the tragedy, and it does not exploit the tragedy either. It is merely an illumination of the mind of Matthew Murray through his own writings. As such, the piece is intriguing and leads us towards, though certainly not all the way there, understanding the mind of this very troubled young man.

Tony Perkins does not have the kind of integrity as does Daniel DeRito. Tony has taken this horrible tragedy of shooting deaths in Colorado churches and run with it for political advantage, blaming secular culture. Yeah, it's the liberals according to Perkins who caused this young man to go over the edge and start shooting. As The Carpetbagger notes, it is disgusting to see this knee-jerk reaction on the part of Tony Perkins, to immediately exploit a tragedy for political gain. It is also not surprising, as The Carpetbagger also mentions:

I'm not sure what's more twisted -- Perkins seeking to exploit a tragedy to advance his religio-political agenda, or his bizarre belief that the "secular media" is responsible for fomenting hostility towards evangelicals.

In both instances, Perkins, a prominent religious right leader, has the story backwards. Murray, who was obviously suffering from severe mental illnesses, wasn't immersed in the "secular media," he was home-schooled in "a deeply religious Christian household."

Also, it's frustrating to see how predictable far-right activists have become. It seems whenever there's a tragedy involving a young person with a gun, right-wing voices step up to blame the American culture.

People like Tony Perkins may actually develop a sense of morality someday, but I'm betting he'll go to the rapture begging to be forgiven for this and many other sins.

Just as an aside, Matthew Murray was homeschooled, and Conwebwatch notes that WorldNetDaily has left that out of their reporting, what seems a clear act of bias -- excising facts when those facts make WND's readers uncomfortable.

Tagged as: matthew murray, colorado shootings, religious right, perkins

Steven Reynolds is a regular blogger for the All Spin Zone