VP Visits Victims of Church Shooting and Attends Prayer Vigil: ‘We Do Not Grieve Like Those Who Have

Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence met with victims and their families of the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting Wednesday to offer condolences and attend a prayer vigil. The largest mass shooting in Texas history took the lives of 26 people and left more than 20 injured.

Pence tweeted earlier in the week that he and his wife would meet with families of the fallen, injured and law enforcement. He added, “We are with you Texas.”

The couple first went to Brooke Army Medical Center to visit with victims. Pence then met with law enforcement in Sutherland Springs for a briefing. Shortly after the briefing, Pence and his wife, along with Governor Greg Abbott, spoke at a press conference. Sen. Ted Cruz was also present.

Pence said the people of Sutherland Springs are “well-grounded” in their faith. “They’ve been through a trauma that few people will ever experience in their lives,” he said. “But they’re coming through it because they’re guided by the strongest power that exists, and that’s the power of God.” He told those in attendance that “The Bible tells us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted,” adding that he and Karen were inspired by the “community of faith.” He asked for Americans to pray for the “precious families” impacted by the shooting. “Prayers make a difference,” he said.

Help us champion truth, freedom, limited government and human dignity. Support The Stream »

The Vice President also spoke at an evening prayer vigil at Floresville High School. “We mourn with those who mourn and we grieve with those who grieve but we do not grieve like those who have no hope, because our faith gives us hope,” he told the crowd. “We find hope in [this] community of faith.” https://stream.org/hold-vp-visits-victims-of-church-shooting-and-attends-prayer-vigil/ Pence is right. I’m glad that he and the second lady went down there. His words were right on.

 

The new leftist trend is to spit upon "thoughts & prayers" and then demand "action".

What is the "action" they want?

Well, its to prevent people form buying guns.

Except, here's the thing.

This guy was already supposed to have been prevented from buying guns.

So as another poster had previously pointed out to me, the only "action" that has relevance here would be to demand government follow the law.

But good luck getting that done.

And why?

Because if we start to impose penalties on government agents that fail/refuse to follow laws then then we're going to end up putting a **** ton of Democrats in prison (/cough sanctuary cities).

 

Thoughts and prayers are an insufficient response in the face of constant and repeated mass shooting events in the only country where this regularly happens.

Demand a license to purchase system.

 

Pence was right to say what he did. I can’t imagine how people who have no hope and believe this life is all there is cope with loss.

 

Nor can I.

 

Demonstrate how a license would reduce gun violence. Perhaps the killing zones of Chicago or Baltimore would be a good place to do a before and after comparison.

 

Connecticut passed the law, saw gun homicides reduce by 40%. Missouri repealed the law, saw gun homicides increase by 25%.

The license works because it helps to ensure that individuals have passed a background check and obtained training on the front end.

 

We have that. It would have been nice if the government employed bureaucrats didn’t screw up a basic data entry job.

 

Thoughts and prayers by the right-wing translates to "We ain't doin' nothing and more people will continue to die in these tragedies. Sorry for your loss though."

 

No, there are some states that have this system, but it is not a national program.

 

You mean NICS isn’t a national system? What do you think the “N” stands for? Not to mention, it’s ran by the FBI.

Seriously, I’ve mentioned that you need to change your username, it’s an embarrassment to the legal profession.

 

Dude. I said a license to purchase system.

In other words, a system where you can purchase a firearm if you show a specific type of license. A license that is granted after you have passed a background check, taken safety training courses, and paid a small fee. In an ideal world, I would want some type of mental check as well.

 

GOVERNMENT SNAFU: Colorado Springs gun store owner says Texas gunman passed 2 background checks.

 

This is how we deal with when a tragedy affects us.

 

I demand that you must have a license to exercise any first amendment rights.

 

Deal with it however you like, but demand more than mere thoughts and prayers.

 

Let me know when the first amendment rights for which you want to demand a license results in the death of 30 people in a church.

If you can meet that barrier, then I may even join you in calling for such a license.

 

I can meet that barrier, are you SURE you want the government to license your first amendment rights?

 

I would note that the government is already permitted to license your first amendment rights, but I would also point out that you are the one calling for the government to license your first amendment rights.

 

Anyone who wants a gun can get a gun, no license required. Did you hear about the hooker who stole the FBI agent's gun?

 

If some god-bothering hypocritical stranger who doesn't GAF offered me their 'thoughts and prayers' on a personal tragedy, I'd tell them to stick their sentiments where the sun doesn't shine.

 

Yes, I did.

 

Politicians' behavior is so disgusting. A few white people get shot and they show up with tears in their eyes like it's the end of the world. Hell, during an average year anywhere from 31,000 to over 38,000 people get shot dead in America. So every day an average of about 100 people get blown away. So I'm not really feeling it for the people who got blasted at church.

 

Sounds like a nice speech. i won't criticize Pence for a speech that is obviously heartfelt, and a difficult speech to make at such a tough time.
I will pick the nit slightly though since Pence is using his platform to once again seperate the religious from the atheists. Is this really the time to seperate the Christionas from the rest of Americans? I understand the shooting happened in a church, so obviously the fact that all of the victims were christians is not irrelevant at all, but is "we do not grieve like those who do not hope" really necessary? Can't you just underline your own faith and hope without denigrating others, and using this tragedy as a platform to underline your 'superiority' to others?

 

I see, now let me explain to you what that is since I’m in a state (MD) who’s last outgoing anti gun governor introduced the Handgun Qualification Licence (HQL) for all handgun purchases in the state.

You have to go get fingerprinted, pay a $70 fee (for some, that’s tip money at a restaurant, for others, it’s a full work day after paying taxes) and wait a week or two to get your HQL, during which time you take a multiple choice online test about gun safety, which I’m not against, but this one is a joke that anyone can take/pass.

Then you get your HQL in the mail and are now “allowed” to go purchase a handgun at the gun store. Thank you comrade governor for allowing me such a privilege!

Now you get to the gun store and decide on your pistol choice, but the FFL dealer will still have to (like before the HQL) run a NICS background check through the FBI before selling you a pistol.

So what’s changed? Other then adding a unnecessary level of red tape that does nothing but add cost for low income, law abiding people from having the the means to defend themselves?

This thread has explained to you that the murderer in Texas was not, under federal law, allowed to purchase a firearm, yet you think that implementation of more red tape would somehow have helped? Bureaucracy fails at basic data entry, so let’s add another level of bureaucracy to help! Yeah, and you wonder why we can’t take you libs seriously on nearly every topic, but especially when it comes to guns.