Terror Ensues! (Again)

Just outside of our nation's capital this morning a deranged gunman opened fire on a Congressional baseball practice. Five to seven (excluding the gunman) people were injured, but thankfully none were killed. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, was one of the injured. As of this writing, he is in critical condition but is expected to make a recovery. Among the others injured were a congressional staffer, a lobbyist, and a couple of Capitol police officers.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA)
Every year the congressional Democrats and Republicans get together to play a baseball game for charity. Both sides were holding practice for the game, which remains scheduled for tomorrow. One of the participants spoke with a man who asked if it were Democrats or Republicans who were practicing. "Republicans," he told the man. We now know this to be the assailant: James T. Hodgkinson, a former home inspector from Illinois. It is suspected that the motive for the shooting was Hodgkinson's disapproval of Republican politics, as seen with his anti-Republican and anti-Trump social media posts.

Surely this tragedy will spark the gun control debate once again. We mustn't shy away from what this really was: an act of terrorism. This was an act of violence for political reasons; the literal definition of terrorism. Many may not recognize this as such, though, because the gunman was an old white guy from Illinois, and that is a shame. Terror knows no identity. While we are all hoping and praying for speedy recoveries for all the victims, lets remember that terror is terror, no matter who causes it.

With all that said, I hope the Congressional Baseball Game tomorrow goes excellently. The series is tied at 39-39 with one tie.

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