Libertarian Presidential contender Steve Kerbel on facebook yesterday at 6:33 pm:
Today has been a tragic day in Colorado Springs. My neighborhood shopping center has become the scene of national news. A man shot at least 9 people at or near the planned parenthood location around the corner from my home. Only a few moments ago, the perpetrator was captured. There are many questions surrounding the motive of the shooter, however it seems likely that the chosen location of the shootings was not an accident.
It is never appropriate to use force for social or political goals. Today, my thoughts and prayers are with those hurt by the actions of this attacker. I hope that those injured have a full and quick recovery, and that the number of fatalities remain at zero.
Unfortunately, at least three people did later die as a result of the attack.
And I will say it of course up front and loud… if there was any connection to a pro-life belief, that is twisted beyond belief. I am consistently pro-life. I condemn the death penalty, believe in the sacredness of life, and eschew personal lethal self-defense. I have no problem condemning anyone who commits violence in the name of “pro-life.” It doesn’t matter for my statement whether this guy did. Other people have. I may share a name of a cause with those people but share nothing else.
I don’t take a lone raving psycho as a terrorist. A killer. A nutcase. Evil. But terrorism implies more than that. A guy like Hill qualifies… we don’t know yet if this guy does. He might, certainly, but we wouldn’t jump to these conclusions (some people would… we wouldn’t) if this was against some other business or was some typically demonized group. We need to show the same caution here. The facts will come out, and plenty of time for assessment then.
Now, its just evil and people are dead, and that sucks.
Seems like quite a coincidence if he is anything else.
That Hill abortion-doctor killer… terrorist. This guy? We don’t know yet.
I tend to think we have bastardized the word “terrorism” to meaninglessness as well. Doesn’t make killing any less horrific, just not terrorism.
I wonder if it is really informative to refer to this as a “terrorist attack”. From what little we’ve heard about the perp, he sounds like a nutcase. Much more like a Jared Loughner-type (guy who shot Senator Gabbie Giffords in Arizona in 2011) than like Ted Kaczynski. Generally, to be terrorism, there has to be a political motivation, and attacks against others not normally involved. Dear’s actions qualify in the latter, but not clearly the former classification.