There's a column in the Boston Globe by someone named Michael Cohen in which he tells us that we are all to blame for the Orlando attack by an ISIS terrorist because we have failed to force Congress to pass gun control legislation. There are many things that could be said about Orlando and the attack which would be true; the gun control charge, however, is not one of them.
Consider this:
1. The shooter/terrorist Omar Mateen used weapons that he bought legally. These were not bought at gun shows or on the black market. These were weapons for which Mateen had permits. He went through background checks. He met all the requirements of federal and state law, and he got his guns.
2. Mateen worked for a company that provides security for various federal agencies among others. On that job, he got to carry a gun in his work. Although we don't have all the details yet, he most assuredly went through special background checks before being hired.
Those two facts tell you that it was not the lack of what the left calls "common sense gun regulations" that gave Mateen the guns he used to kill so many people in Orlando. So how could it have happened. What was the mistake, if any, that let this occur?
Consider this:
1. On his job, Mateen often made racial and homophobic slurs. He also talked about wanting to kill people. At least one employee reported Mateen to his superiors because of this. The boss refused to take any action because, according to the employee, Mateen was a Moslem.
2. Mateen's father broadcast a TV show in which he spoke in Dari, one of the languages of Afghanistan. The show contained praise for the Taliban and spoke of the need to arrest all the current leaders of Afghanistan. Nothing was ever done about this even though these statements were assisting the enemies of the USA.
3. Mateen's former wife says that he beat her repeatedly. This was reported to the authorities. Nothing was done.
4. The FBI investigated Mateen on multiple occasions. He was suspected of being a potential terrorist. Despite those suspicions, Mateen was still allowed to continue his work providing security for federal agencies.
Put all this together and you see that Mateen was not limited in his access to guns because of political correctness. Would Mateen have passed the background checks if he had been fired by a government contractor for making death threats? I don't think so. How about if you threw in that his father was promoting support for the Taliban and that Mateen was a wife-beater? That ought to clinch it. But none of that happened because Mateen was a Moslem and we wouldn't want to profile him for that, right?
The truth is that it is the corrosive disease of political correctness foisted upon America by the left that prevents us from protecting ourselves and acting rationally.
Consider this:
1. The shooter/terrorist Omar Mateen used weapons that he bought legally. These were not bought at gun shows or on the black market. These were weapons for which Mateen had permits. He went through background checks. He met all the requirements of federal and state law, and he got his guns.
2. Mateen worked for a company that provides security for various federal agencies among others. On that job, he got to carry a gun in his work. Although we don't have all the details yet, he most assuredly went through special background checks before being hired.
Those two facts tell you that it was not the lack of what the left calls "common sense gun regulations" that gave Mateen the guns he used to kill so many people in Orlando. So how could it have happened. What was the mistake, if any, that let this occur?
Consider this:
1. On his job, Mateen often made racial and homophobic slurs. He also talked about wanting to kill people. At least one employee reported Mateen to his superiors because of this. The boss refused to take any action because, according to the employee, Mateen was a Moslem.
2. Mateen's father broadcast a TV show in which he spoke in Dari, one of the languages of Afghanistan. The show contained praise for the Taliban and spoke of the need to arrest all the current leaders of Afghanistan. Nothing was ever done about this even though these statements were assisting the enemies of the USA.
3. Mateen's former wife says that he beat her repeatedly. This was reported to the authorities. Nothing was done.
4. The FBI investigated Mateen on multiple occasions. He was suspected of being a potential terrorist. Despite those suspicions, Mateen was still allowed to continue his work providing security for federal agencies.
Put all this together and you see that Mateen was not limited in his access to guns because of political correctness. Would Mateen have passed the background checks if he had been fired by a government contractor for making death threats? I don't think so. How about if you threw in that his father was promoting support for the Taliban and that Mateen was a wife-beater? That ought to clinch it. But none of that happened because Mateen was a Moslem and we wouldn't want to profile him for that, right?
The truth is that it is the corrosive disease of political correctness foisted upon America by the left that prevents us from protecting ourselves and acting rationally.
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