The nation was still learning of the massacre in a Charleston, S.C. church when President Obama politicized the tragedy by insisting that more gun control would have prevented the dreadful episode.
It’s true that South Carolina is a very gun friendly state, with a generous law that allows the carrying of concealed weapons into almost any public or commercial establishment in the state.
Except for churches.
This situation reminded us of our own tragic church shooting in 2007, when Matthew Murray opened fire on the Youth With a Mission center in Arvada killing two people, then attacking the New Life Church in Colorado Springs killing two more before he was shot by someone in the congregation.
That’s right, the church shooting in Colorado was stopped by a parishioner with a gun. After he was wounded, Murray turned the gun on himself.
Sadly, we will never know if the South Carolina shooter could have been stopped if members of that church had been allowed to carry weapons.
What we do know is that the background check specified in the Denver Post report would not have prevented the shooting — the gun was a gift from the suspect’s parents.