— from Congressman Rick Larsen’s Office —
“I offer my condolences to the community of Burlington which is undoubtedly struggling to make sense of this senseless gun violence that was brought to their doorstep.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to honor the five individuals who were shot and killed in Burlington, WA last Friday as well as their families and law enforcement officials:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the five individuals who were killed this past weekend in a mass shooting at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington.
Sarai Lara was a 16 year-old sophomore at Mount Vernon High School. She was a cancer survivor and her mother described her as her ‘right hand.’
Chuck Eagan was a Boeing maintenance worker from Lake Stevens. He had two daughters, and was planning on retiring next year.
Shayla Martin was a 52 year-old from Mount Vernon and a makeup artist at the Macy’s where the shooting took place.
Belinda Galde was a 64 year-old from my hometown of Arlington, who had served the public for more than two decades as a probation officer at the Snohomish County District Courts.
Beatrice Dotson was Belinda’s mother and she was 95 years-old.
Today, I rise to honor these five individuals and to express my condolences to their friends and families. I rise to honor and thank the brave law enforcement officials whose quick investigation led to the capture of the suspected shooter in less than 24 hours. And lastly I rise to offer my condolences to the community of Burlington which is undoubtedly struggling to make sense of this senseless gun violence that was brought to their doorstep. Thank you.”
“Senseless gun violence”?
No. It was senseless violence caused by a mentally-disturbed human being.
Rick’s speech emphasized only the “gun” part, thereby diverting our attention from the real problem: Unavailable psychiatric services, unavailable psychiatric-hospital beds, and unavailable, properly trained social workers to monitor unstable people about whom we have already been warned.
I suggest that our emphasis, attention, and our government’s funds would be more productive if they were spent upon correcting the human cause, and not upon the tool.
Blaming the gun is easier than addressing the real problem. Thus, it is a political cheap shot.