Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) used the news of the terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday by attacking the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The attack, which occurred during Friday prayers, has killed 49 people as of this writing, and wounded dozens of others.
In two tweets, Ocasio-Cortez mocked the idea of sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of the shootings. After significant pushback, clarified that the target of her criticism was the NRA.
“At 1st I thought of saying, ‘Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.’,” she tweeted.
“But I couldn’t say ‘imagine.’ Because of Charleston. Pittsburgh. Sutherland Springs.
“What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?” she concluded.
At 1st I thought of saying, “Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.”
But I couldn’t say “imagine.”
Because of Charleston.
Pittsburgh.
Sutherland Springs.What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?pic.twitter.com/2mSw0azDN8
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
Advocates of gun control on the left have begun to mass shooting events by disdaining the expression “thoughts and prayers,” treating it as an excuse for legislative inaction rather than as a genuine expression of sympathy and anguish.
Left-wing critics have also taken to using the phrase “thoughts and prayers” as a way to mock the NRA even outside the context of a shooting event. Last year, for example, liberal celebrities wished “thoughts and prayers” to the NRA after reports that it was having financial trouble.
In that vein, Ocasio-Cortez added a subsequent tweet to clarify her meaning in the original one:
(“Thoughts and prayers” is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies. Not directed to PM Ardern, who I greatly admire.)
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
The NRA had not (and, as of the writing, still has not) reacted to the Christchurch attacks. There is also no evidence that it invented the phrase “thoughts and prayers.”
Moreover, New Zealand already has gun control measures similar to those Democrats want to pass into law in the United States, including the universal background check bill that the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed last month.
The NRA has argued that a better way to stop mass shootings would be to encourage responsible gun ownership and make armed guards available to vulnerable targets like schools.
Early reports from Christchurch indicated that an armed Muslim man helped chase away assailants from the second mosque that was attacked.
Ocasio-Cortez also retweeted an attack blaming President Donald Trump for inspiring the New Zealand terrorists.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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