OK...this has been the busiest week I have had in some time and this the first chance I have had to respond to the shooting that took place recently at the DC offices of The Family Research Council and I have a lot to say about it.....
For those of you who may not be up on what happened, 28 year old Floyd Lee Corkins(above) walked into the DC office of the anti-gay lobbying organisation, The Family Research Council, with a gun and a back pack full of Chick-Fil-A sandwiches...made the statement, " I don't like your politics." and opened fire hitting a security guard in the arm. In spite of having been shot, the guard...Leo Johnson...managed to wrestle Corkins to the ground before he could hurt anyone else...rightfully, earning him the title of hero. In addition to Corkins comments and the contents of his bag, he was also reported to be a volunteer at the local LGBT center. Given the history of The FRC's actions against the gay community...a history that earned them a listing as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center....there is little doubt that Corkins chose this violent act because....well, I can't even guess what he thought he was going to accomplish by shooting people in cold blood...but we know it had everything to do with the long history of the FRC and it's work against LGBT people....more about that after the jump.
First off I need to say that picking up a gun and shooting random people because you are angry or frustrated with the world is just plain wrong. Period. Full Stop. My heart goes out to the security guard who stopped Floyd Corkins from hurting more people. I feel that what he did was the essence of bravery and self sacrifice. Not many people would continue to subdue an attacker after having been shot once already and face that attacker at point blank range.
Now.... I wish I could stop there. In a situation like this it is just simple human compassion and decency to support those who lived through it, pick up the pieces and help the healing to begin. But instead, what we often do is look for a source of blame. Being that the Corkins was gay and the victim in this case was one of the most prolific and vocal of anti-gay lobbying organisations. It didn't take much to know where this was going to end up.
Let the martyrdom of the FRC and every religiously motivated anti-gay group begin in 3...2...1...
