If you were watching Twitter while the San Bernadino shooting was playing out, you might have seen people, including politicians, condemning those who said they were praying for the victims.
Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos tweeted, “At least 14 dead and 14 injured. But lucky for them, the GOP is offering up loads of thoughts and prayers!” In response to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with #SanBernardino,” Moulitsas added, “How many dead people did those thoughts and prayers bring back to the life?”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy tweeted, “Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again.”
An article in the Huffington Post put it this way:
Following the shooting, the articles and tweets continued.
An early look at tomorrow’s front page…
GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS: https://t.co/eKUg5f03ec pic.twitter.com/j4gEFg9YtJ— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 3, 2015
It should go without saying that praying for those involved is a natural and good-hearted response. During a shooting, people watching the news can’t do anything to stop it, so they pray.
As Emma Green writes in The Atlantic, “The most powerful evidence against this backlash toward prayer comes not from the Twitterverse, but from San Bernardino. ‘Pray for us,’ a woman texted her father from inside the Inland Regional Center, while she and her colleagues hid from the gunfire.”
Not everyone responds by praying. Others angered by the tragedy call on people to act to end gun violence using different policies.
Some people both pray and call for specific policies.
It’s dubious to suggest that prayer and legislative solutions are incompatible. People can—and do—both pray for shooting victims and act to solve the problem. There are examples on the left—like President Obama—and on the right—like Speaker Paul Ryan.
There are different ideas about how best to stop gun violence. Some believe limiting who can acquire guns is the solution. Other people think doing so would prevent people from being able to protect themselves. Still others believe solving problems in the mental health system is the answer. Recently, Paul Ryan supported legislation from Rep. Tim Murphy that focuses on fixing the mental health system.
One ought to bristle at anyone’s suggestion that only those who agree with his preferred policy solution care about stopping shootings, or that one cannot both pray and try to solve the problem through legislation. Of course everyone wants to stop shootings, but not everyone agrees on what solution will work.
