Flag Counter The Political Freakshow • Everybody needs to step back from the ledge: About Wednesday's shooting incident at FRC

Everybody needs to step back from the ledge: About Wednesday's shooting incident at FRC

timekiller-s:

Original title: “The lowdown on today’s shooting at the Family Research Council

gaywrites:

By now you have very likely heard that there was a shooting at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the conservative Christian organization Family Research Council this morning. This story isn’t making the headlines it should be, but here’s a rundown of what has been confirmed:

  • The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Floyd Corkins of Virginia, and he’s in custody.
  • The victim is Leo Johnson, a security guard who Corkins shot in the arm. Johnson tackled and disarmed the guy before he could do anything else. He’s in stable condition. 
  • The phrase “domestic terrorism” was tossed around in some reports this morning, but as of yet the FBI do not know whether they’ll charge Corkins with a federal crime. 
  • Corkins had been volunteering at a local LGBT center. He began making statements opposing FRC in the organization’s lobby before the shooting. 
  • A group of LGBT organizations have released a joint statement saying they do not condone violence and they wish the best for the victim. 

In case it is not perfectly clear: violence is never OK. This is starting ALL kinds of debate about whether the people who say the Family Research Council is a hate group (liberals, gay rights advocates, the SPLC, people who understand the work FRC actually does) are actually the hateful ones. They will think everybody who opposes FRC is in favor of shooting the place up.

And we’re not. Just like not every Christian, conservative, or non-LGBT person believes what FRC believes. Sure, this makes us look really bad, but more importantly, it’s incredibly scary and dangerous. And we can’t be OK with that. 

We can’t overlook something like this just because it happened to a group many of us disagree with. There’s no knowing now whether this guy is stable or radical or somehow ill or an extremist or anything like that. But what he did was completely not OK, and we cannot let it go by unnoticed.

Shooting people you disagree with will not change their minds about you. Yes, the Family Research Council is a repugnant organization that has done terrible things to good people. But that doesn’t merit shooting at them. It never will. 

Bold emphasis on last point is mine.

Source: gaywrites

140 Notes/ Hide

  1. holdmyspear reblogged this from fluffballs-and-scales
  2. fluffballs-and-scales reblogged this from damegreywulf
  3. corneliusdawgiusmaximus reblogged this from damegreywulf
  4. damegreywulf reblogged this from daemonicfae and added:
    Additionally, doing these things is what will make the whole movement look bad, okay. One of the key ways civil rights...
  5. comedanceintherain reblogged this from gaywrites
  6. sulkylass reblogged this from daemonicfae
  7. jayspeakswords reblogged this from fantasticfemme
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  9. daemonicfae reblogged this from timekiller-s
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  11. timekiller-s reblogged this from goodreasonnews and added:
    Original title: “The lowdown on today’s shooting at the Family Research Council...Bold...
  12. trotskitty reblogged this from goodreasonnews
  13. thecourtofthecrimsonking reblogged this from goodreasonnews
  14. goodreasonnews reblogged this from gaywrites
  15. leftistshuffle reblogged this from gaywrites
  16. tilimblue reblogged this from effie214 and added:
    There’s an article about it on yahoo! If you don’t want headaches or the urge to smash your computer, don’t do what I...
  17. the-snarkmark reblogged this from gaywrites
  18. daredevilboysurvivesfall reblogged this from gaywrites
  19. thatbandnerd reblogged this from gaywrites
  20. homoanatinus said: I reject the use of ‘we’ and ‘us’ when discussing this. It is not going to make ‘us’ look bad, because ‘we’ don’t exist. He was an individual.
  21. ionaonie reblogged this from gwinny3k
  22. gwinny3k reblogged this from gaywrites
  23. tomlet said: Here’s why this isn’t making headlines like other recent shootings: one person, a security guard, was shot in the arm.
  24. electradaddy said: I’m not too worried about the opinions of folks who think that this guy represents all gay people. People who think that way were opposed to the gay community before this. Rational people don’t equate him with the entire gay community.
  25. equalityishumanity reblogged this from gaywrites
  26. secretenglish reblogged this from gaywrites and added:
    Violence is always wrong.
  27. niquezmavie reblogged this from socialistexan