Finally.....Common Sense Gun Control

That headline should bring in the folks on the fence and certainly grab the attention of the faithful. It is also complete bullshit.

The seed for this stupidity sprouted from right-wing radio knob Roger Hedgecock who asserted that the “five worst recent mass shootings were committed by registered Democrats.” His five consisted of Harris/Klebold (Columbine, Apr 20, 1999), Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech, Apr 16, 2007), Nidal Hasan (Ft Hood, Nov 05, 2009), James Holmes (Aurora Theater, Jul 20, 2012) and Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook, Dec 14, 2012). While he acknowledged Harris and Klebold were too young to vote, he claimed, without proof, that their parents were progressive, liberal Democrats.

The events date Hedgecock’s drivel to no earlier than December 2012, following the Sandy hook shooting. Since then the “information” has circulated in e-mails, appeared verbatim on newspaper op-ed pages and been relayed by Republican politicians who can’t be bothered to do a little fact-checking.

The latest incarnation began circulating following the September 16, 2013 Washington Navy Yard shooting. In just half a day of researching this idiocy I’ve seen forum trolls advising that Eliott Rodger be added to the list, offering no more proof of his political leanings other than, “He’s from California!”

And so, in an effort to decrease stupidity across the globe, I offer this case-by-case rebuttal of the earliest and latest versions:

Original text appears first

[Fact checking is in brackets below]

The “mass shooters are Democrats” meme is popular on the Internet, but although widely circulated, the claims are invariably provided without a source, because to put it bluntly, they are patently false. The original claim was made by right-wing radio host Roger Hedgecock, who proclaimed, without evidence or sources, that the five worst mass shootings in U.S. History were committed by “registered Democrats”.

Of course, not a single one of the shooters mentioned has any demonstrated connection to the Democratic Party. Seung-Hui Cho was a resident alien, and therefore was not even registered to vote. Nidal Hassan was a legal resident of Virginia living in Texas. Neither state has partisan voter registration, so while it is impossible to determine how he voted if he voted, we do know that he could not register as a Democrat in either the state of Texas or Virginia. Klebold and Harris where too young to vote and while some arguments acknowledge that by arguing instead that their parents were Democrats, that claim is also unsubstantiated. The claim that Adam Lanza was a Democrat is also unsubstantiated.

The false allegation that James Holmes was a registered Democrat was based on Breitbart blogger Joel B. Pollack, who found voter registration records for a different James Holmes who was around the same age. Alex Jones’ Infowars and other right-wing websites then dutifully repeated the lie without verifying it. It was later determined that the Colorado Theater Shooter James Holmes was not registered to vote

The point Kiehne seems to miss is that most mass shootings are not committed by political partisans of either major political party. Mass killings are rarely partisan political acts although the shooters may have strong ideological motives that may include political ideas.

Arlen wrote: Then will you also defend Republicans and Trump whenever anyone says that they are racists, sexists, xenophobes, etc?

Arlen wrote: All of that is hyperbole also, as you know.