Do Drag Queens Cause Mass Shootings?

by

John J. Dunphy

(Originally published in The Telegraph of Alton, IL, 8/10/19 edition)

The carnage last weekend, August 3–4, was horrifying. Thirty-one of our fellow Americans were killed during mass shootings in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX. The lone gunman in Dayton took nine lives in addition to wounding 27. The El Paso murderer killed 22 and left 26 wounded.

The perpetrators of these massacres were well-equipped to commit carnage. Dayton police chief Richard Biehl stated that the suspect’s .223-caliber weapon had been legally purchased. Police found at least 41 spent shell casings. The accused shooter, who was taken alive, had enough magazines for his weapon to fire 250 rounds of ammunition.

The El Paso shooter, who was shot to death by law enforcement officers, used a WASR-10. In a rambling manifesto that he posted on line, the gunman bemoaned the fact that his weapon, which is a variation on the AK-47, couldn’t equal the deadly firepower of an AR-15. To boost his weapon’s killing power, he sought 8M3 ammunition. According to Alain Stephens in a piece he wrote for The Trace, the 8M3 bullet is “a hollow-point rifle round known for its ability to expand and fragment on impact, creating catastrophic wounds.” As of this writing, the police still aren’t certain whether the gunman was able to procure this deadly ammunition.

Both massacres occurred on the heels of a July 28 mass shooting at a garlic festival in California. Three were killed, including a six-year-old child, while 13 were wounded. How can such atrocities occur in a nation that is thought by many of its citizens to be the greatest in the world? Some Americans have attempted to answer that disturbing question.

Candice Keller, a Republican state legislator in Ohio, posted on Facebook, “Why not place the blame where it belongs?” According to Keller, the blame specifically belongs on “transgender, homosexual marriage and drag queen advocates.” It also belongs on open borders as well as violent video games, recreational marijuana, “disrespect to law enforcement (thank you, Obama),” politicians “who have no interest in learning about our Constitution and the Second Amendment; and snowflakes, who can’t respect a duly-elected President.”

Keller later deleted this post, so we’ll never know exactly why she thinks “drag queen advocates” are responsible for mass shootings.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, appeared on Fox and Friends to assail what he regards as the cause of mass shootings. “We won’t let our kids even pray in our schools,” he said. Reality to Dan Patrick: While mandatory, teacher-led prayer is illegal, individual students are perfectly free to pray in public schools.

Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and unsuccessful contender for the GOP presidential nomination, posted on his web site, “I would posit that the lack of thoughts and prayers is probably the biggest factor in what is behind them [mass shootings].” Reading Huckabee’s theory left my mouth agape for a full thirty seconds.

Christian author and activist Eric Metaxas tweeted his explanation as to why we have mass shootings. “Can it be that He has allowed this evil so that we will return to Him in prayer and repentance?” In other words, we Americans will be brought to God over the bullet-riddled corpses of massacre victims and the perpetrators of these outrages are actually part of some divine plan.

There’s not even any unintentional, campy humor in Metaxas’ words. The insinuation that God uses mass murderers to transform doubters and the apathetic into devout Christians is patently offensive. It also stands in diametric opposition to the assertion in I John, chapter 4, verses 8 and 16, that God is love. Metaxas’ tweet brings to mind another Biblical verse. Proverbs 8:5 states, “You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.”

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John J. Dunphy is the author of “Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois” and “Unsung Heroes of the Dachau Trials: The Investigative Work of the U.S. Army 7708 War Crimes Group, 1945–1947.”