Colorado Springs has a wild west mentality . . . . making it ripe for violent anti-abortion rhetoric

From Josiah Hesse, reporting for the Guardian from Colorado Springs about the Planned Parenthood shooting that killed three people and wounded another nine:

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"Colorado Springs, the location of an attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic that left three people dead, is a centre of rightwing Christian culture with a “wild west mentality” when it comes to guns.

"The attack, by a lone gunman carrying a rifle or shotgun, took place at a clinic that is the site of regular anti-abortion protests by the city’s pro-life Christian groups. . . .

"Colorado’s second largest city, with a population of 445,800, has built itself a reputation as a playground for white, pro-gun, pro-life Evangelical Christians. . . .  [It was] featured in the documentary film Jesus Camp, where evangelical Christian children were taught to engage in anti-abortion protests. . . . 

"The city’s pro-gun contingent flexed its muscles in 2014 with an unprecedented recall election, ousting state senator John Morse. The recall was primarily motivated by new gun control laws in Colorado – following the Aurora cinema shootings in Denver -- which banned magazines holding more than 15 rounds, and demanded a universal background check for all gun purchases. . . .

"Three weeks before Friday’s Planned Parenthood shooting, a man was seen brandishing a rifle while walking down the streets of Colorado Springs on Halloween morning. A concerned citizen called the 911 Emergency Line to notify the police, but was told by the operator [that] . . . 'Well, it is an open carry state . . . . 

"Shortly after the call the man shot and killed three people before being shot dead by police.  Following the Halloween shooting, Colorado Springs resident Jessie Pocock organised a vigil with her fellow citizens, who expressed a mix of grief and outrage at the deaths. She feels that there is a 'wild west mentality' when it comes to guns in Colorado Springs. 

“'It’s important that we can go to the grocery store and not be worried about someone randomly shooting us down on the streets, and right now that is not the case in Colorado Springs,' said Pocock, who lives close to the abortion clinic. . . .

"Colorado Springs’ year of violence began last January when a bomb detonated outside the local chapter of the NAACP. No one was harmed in the attack, but the incident put many in Colorado Springs on edge."

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From what is now known, the Planned Parenthood attacker likely is a mentally ill man.  That cannot be used to excuse the gun lobby or those who claim the 2nd amendment gives them unfettered rights to own any weapon they chose (Why stop at assault rifles?   Why not nuclear weapons?)

The fact is that the tone of the anti-abortion messages, plus the near-paranoid flavor of the 2nd amendment zealots, practically begs for some deranged person to step up and do what he thinks they want done.

And maybe it is what they really want.   Some social media reactions to the shootings justify it by citing how many "babies are killed" in the abortions.   Some of them actually see it as justifiable.

It's pretty disturbing that Ted Cruz has proudly flaunted the endorsement of a man who justifies killing abortion providers.   This was in the news at the same time the PP Clinic was attacked.    No, I'm not blaming Ted Cruz . . . not directly.   But he and those like him contribute to the problem.

Ralph