Virginia shooting of Republican lawmaker revives debate on gun control

WASHINGTON: A Republican Congressman was among five people shot and wounded by a white gunman on Wednesday morning in a state with liberal gun laws that adjoins Washington DC.
Several lawmakers and their staffers had gathered early morning for a baseball practice game in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside the capital city when the lone gunman, after reportedly inquiring whether those on the field were Republicans or Democrats, began shooting at the gathering.
Representative Steve Scalise, the third ranking Republican in the House who is also the majority whip, was hit in the hip. Several others, including a police officer from the small posse protecting him, were injured before the suspect was shot, brought down, and taken into custody.
Police said it was too early to determine the motive behind the attack.
Mo Brooks, another Republican lawmaker from Louisiana who was at the practice, provided some of the first details, tweeting soon after the assault that the "shooter attacked a GOP baseball practice. Rifle. 50+ shots fired. 5 hit including Steve Scalise. I am not shot." He estimated 50 to 100 shots were fired during the shootout that lasted five to seven minutes before reinforcements arrived.
Brooks later said he ran to the first-base side and hid behind a batting cage as gunfire erupted, and he saw Scalise crawling out of the outfield leaving a trail of blood. He and another lawmaker helped staunch the blood flow from Scalise's bullet injury after police had downed the gunman. Scalise was said to be out of danger, but undergoing surgery.
The incident recalled the shooting in Tucson, Arizona in 2011 of Congresswoman Gaby Giffords, a Democrat, by a deranged white gunman with anti-government views. Giffords suffered severe brain damage and eventually resigned from Congress to focus on her recovery.
Reports that the gunman in this incident sought to determine the political affiliation of those at the practice inflamed an already toxic political atmosphere, although Democratic lawmakers and their aides, who were practicing elsewhere for Thursday night's Congressional baseball game, immediately suspended their routine and sent prayers and condolences to their GOP colleagues.
But camp followers on both sides spat out poisonous invective about who was responsible for the noxious politics that has highlighted differences between the two parties on everything from the role of government to taxes and gun control.
Liberals were quick to point out that Virginia, which is just across the Potomac river from the capital, has liberal gun laws with no permit required for concealed weapons and background checks that are not considered stringent. One liberal tweeter said Scalise himself had introduced a bill in Congress to relax gun restrictions.
The headquarters of the National Rifle Association is also located in nearby Fairfax County. Among other liberal talking points: because the gunman happens to be white, no one termed the attack terrorism.
Conservative Republicans expectedly defended gun rights with some going so far as to argue that the victims would have been more secure if they had weapons on them. "Liberals Already Using Shooting To Call For Gun Control," read a headline in the conservative website Daily Caller.
President Trump issued a statement soon after the incident saying, "The vice president and I are aware of the shooting incident in Virginia and are monitoring developments closely. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the members of Congress, their staffs, Capitol Police, first responders, and all others affected."