The same crowd that warns officials and the public not to “politicize” acts of violence is the first to jump into the fray when criminals prey on each other and the innocent.
Nine people were injured in a recent Tucson mass shooting that investigators now believe exploded in front of Empire Pizza between two groups who knew each other.
The Tucson Police Department arrested 21-year-old David Leroy French, and he faces numerous charges from the incident. The violent encounter was quickly followed by officials misplacing blame, which is as predictable as the sunrise.
It is much easier for some just to let violent perpetrators walk free
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry trade group, used their own words to expose the hypocrisy of those who rushed to smear the Second Amendment.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero (D) trotted out tired anti-gun tropes to cover for the violent criminals actually responsible for the incident and the judicial system that puts them right back on the street.
In an interview with Fox News, she claimed that “easy access to guns and Arizona’s weak gun safety laws have continued to put all of us at risk. From requiring universal background checks to extreme risk laws to funding violence prevention, there is more lawmakers can and should do.”
Taking responsibility for one’s actions is loathsome to too many
Romero piled on, yet again blaming the inanimate object and pushing the community into “taking action against gun violence and helping the victims and those affected by gun violence to heal.”
For clarity, Romero is the co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group funded largely by billionaire Second Amendment opponent Michael Bloomberg.
Former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords of Arizona, who is married to current U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and a prominent Second Amendment opponent, joined the chorus against the right to keep and bear arms.
“It is especially alarming to see another mass shooting in my hometown, Giffords said in a statement. “As we await more information, what I know is this: Arizonans should be able to get a pizza on a Saturday night without fearing the next random act of gun violence. Arizona continues to have laws that make it easy for dangerous people to access guns–the time to act is now.”
Enter the NSSF, which stuck to the facts in explaining the source of the early morning violence.
Turns out, French never should have been on the Arizona streets at all. Less than two years ago, according to local media, the suspect was charged with shooting at a man but missing.
He pled guilty to aggravated assault and faced as much as nine years in prison. Instead, the judge ordered standard probation, which was still in place during the shooting.
That’s right. The defendant pled guilty to shooting at a man and could easily have faced murder charges if he were a better shot. The NSSF blasted the system for yet again coddling a violent criminal.
“Let’s get the facts straight,” the gun rights organization declared. “A criminal misused a firearm in 2024, and the court sentenced him to probation instead of locking him up for nine years. Two years later, he’s charged with criminally misusing a firearm again, this time injuring nine people. And he did it while still on probation. And French is a prohibited individual because of his first violent crime in 2024.”
Judges who let the guilty walk and authorities who blame guns are the real problem. Fortunately, not all leaders are blinded by simple-minded rhetoric that ignores facts.
State Senate President Warren Peterson (R) chose a response based in reality and not mislaid accusations.
“As this tragedy reminds us, evil exists, which is why we remain steadfast in supporting law enforcement and the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans to protect themselves and others,” Peterson said in a statement.
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