Pundits, editorial writers and cartoonists react to Arizona shooting

Arizona's gun laws in need of scrutiny after killing spree: "Today, {the governor} will step before the podium and open the 2011 session of the Arizona Legislature. A Legislature that has slashed funding for the seriously mentally ill. A Legislature that has loosened gun laws to the point that any nutball can legally walk around with a pistol in his pants." (Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic columnist)

Shooting from the lip in reaction to Gabrielle Giffords tragedy: "The sane and rational approach to such an event is to stop, take a deep breath, listen to the facts — and above all, to condemn violence in the harshest possible terms. That, however, was not the immediate reaction of many Americans . . ." (Los Angeles Times editorial)


Photographs of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and and slain U.S. District
Judge John M. Roll were displayed at a memorial in front of the University
Medial Center in Tucson, Arizona, on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Politics and vitriol: We're dubious about the accusation — voiced often by TV's chattering class — that vitriol today plays an unprecedented, or even exceptional, role in the body politic. The notion that ours is an especially nasty era is self-centered. (Chicago Tribune editorial)

Aftermath of Tucson shooting as dismaying as actual event: "If the incident itself was not political, there’s no question that the reaction to it became intensely political. What could have and should have been an opportunity to unite as Americans was instead quickly seized as an opportunity to divide ourselves further, to heighten rather than dampen the animosity and vitriol." (Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist)

Gabby Giffords, a tragic prophet: "Liberals were rightly pressed in the 1960s to condemn violence on the left. Now, conservative leaders must take on their fringe when it uses language that intimates threats of bloodshed. That means more than just highly general statements praising civility." (E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist)

Questions about mental illness, access to guns follow Arizona shooting: "Metaphors don't kill people - guns kill people. Politicians should choose their words with care and keep debate civil, but it seems an unsupported leap to blame either the political climate or any particular individual or group for inciting the gunman." (Washington Post editorial) Continue ►