Edwards looked like he was just a moment away from really hitting David Letterman. Hah..

April 16th, 2007 will be a day that lives forever in my heart. I was in a unique position on that horrifying day. It was my first day of what is still my very young journalism career. As the events of the day unfolded, I witnessed a first hand account of the tragedy. I saw people yell, I saw people hug, I saw people cry, and I saw people still without a complete understanding of the day’s events.

Before the day was done, the talk of gun control laws and even new gun control laws was already buzzing about the newsroom. At the time, the wound was still fresh and the horrors still vivid in the mind of the region, state, and nation; that did not halt the politicizing.

Almost a year later now, and the direct and indirect effects of what has came to be known as the tragedy at Virginia Tech can still be felt. Since April 16th, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and the Virginia state legislature have been busy. Governor Kaine has since appointed and reviewed the results and recommendations of a special committee on the shootings. The legislature has passed some revisions to Virginia’s gun control laws, and today the General Assembly convened new for 2007 - Virginia Tech the topic of the day.

Politicizing disaster and/or devestation and/or tragedy is a common trait among politicians. In recent history, I feel, however, Democrats and the left are far more guilty of this horrible practice. I understand tragedy often brings to light faults in our system, but there is a difference between politicizing the tragedies we are faced with, and learning from the tragedies we are faced with.

Remember the Minnesota bridge collapse? The left cried out against the War in Iraq, arguing if we were not spending billions of dollars in Iraq, we could fix our bridges.

Remember the California wildfires this past summer? The left cried out, pushing global warming. Harry Reid said Global Warming was to blame.

Remember Hurricane Katrina? The left cried out, the Bush Administration hadn’t acted fast enough to help people. Nevermind the fact we knew Katrina was coming for almost two weeks.

Remember September 11th? The anti-war left and radicals cried conspiracy - the Bush Administration was starting an Oil War, and let 9/11 happen for that reason.

The left likes to point fingers and promote their twisted, socialist like agenda when the country is torn or emotional in the wake of a tragedy. After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, gun control was immediately the topic of discussion - how did we let this man get a gun? Instead of taking the route of personal liberty, and considering allowing more people to have guns, the left was, and is, looking to take away guns.

The party of personal liberty, the party of civil liberty, is trying to take away the freedoms of the individual in order to attempt to provide, at no guarantee, safety for the whole. It falls directly in line with the philosophy of from each according, to each according.

Governor Kaine now wants to tie the tragedy at Virginia Tech to background checks at gun shows. By no measure is this as far of a stretch as Reid’s efforts to link the socially driven hysteria called global warming, but it is still a stretch. The “loophole” as it is perceived, has no relation to the shootings at Virginia Tech. Basically, Governor Kaine wants to require a background check at private gun shows. His argument is the background check will help prevent another Virginia Tech. O.k., sure great idea - but unnecessary and a waste of time and money.

In the first place, it wasn’t the “loophole” that allowed the crooked, twisted mind to murder 32 innocent, college students. Rather, it was a failed and broken background check system in the first place. He bought his guns at a gun shop, the legal way via a background check and across the time frame required by law. Now, kudos to Governor Kaine - he has made progress in fixing the failed, broken system I mentioned. Now, Kaine wants to create new laws, more of the same laws that failed the first time around. Why do we need more laws already proven to be ineffective when not properly enforced? Regulations, restrictions, and mandates never make things simpler. This could become a classic case of when seconds count, police are only minutes away. Removing arms from the population is not a way to make the population safer, but more vulnerable.

Roughly two percent of guns purchased at gun shows are used for violent crimes. Millions of guns are bought at gun shows every year and more guns purchased through the national database system are used for crimes than ones purchased at gun shows. This is another example of creating another excess law that infringes on the rights of Americans, without accomplishing anything.

Tim Kaine is the Governor of a rather red state, and we Virginians are partial to our firearms. He knows this, and the now blue legislature knows this too. As a detour, Kaine is politicizing the tragedy still alive in the hearts of Virginians to gain control and remove the rights reserved for citizens in accordance with the 2nd Amendment. This situation is very similar to the situation following 9/11, when the Bush Administration and the GOP (as well as the rest of Congress) pushed through the illegal and encroaching Patriot Act.

As I said, politicizing natural disaster and tragedy is a common trait among politicians. True conservatives would be innocent of this, and the left is guilty of this practice far more often than the right. I will shortly be in contact with my state representatives regarding this incident, hoping Governor Kaine is unsuccessful in his attempt to wrest away my 2nd Amendment rights.

We’re full steam into the primary season and the firey campaign rhetoric is just now heating up. Continue Reading »