A lot of you who never listen to talk-radio probably think that the conservative airways are filled with the following kind of commentary about the horrible shootings at the Aurora movie theater last week:
"God is knocking on the door of this state right now. God is waking us up to some kind of reality... This state is culpable on this one. This state was the first state to legalize abortion in 1967 and set a trend... The first state to do it. Is it any wonder that these things are happening to us some 45 years later. Now, not everyone will put these pieces together, but friends, the ungodly don't understand that all of god's works are judgement."
That's an actual quote from a podcasted radio sermon, by a guy named Kevin Swanson, posted on his Generations Radio podcast Monday.
But you'll be happy to know that this lunacy hasn't been the norm on the conservative airwaves since the shooting.
The response, especially among local conservative talk show hosts, has been more muted, respectful of the victims.
But, still, you hear plenty of outrage, particularly at the idea that the shooting should inspire America to take gum control seriously.
On the contrary, some radio hosts are saying that Cinemark's reported gun-free-zone policy, banning movie goers from carrying concealed weapons, could be responsible for the deaths of some of those killed at the theater.
For example, Sunday night on KOA, Bill Cunningham, talking to a national audience from his home radio station in Ohio, offered the view that the "movie theaters should reconsider having signs up telling permit holders not to carry on their premises. If there were five or six permit holders in there firing back at James Holmes, maybe lives could have been saved...."
Bill Cunningham (speaking to a caller who identified himself as someone who carries a concealed gun): Guys like you should be considered an extension of law enforcement. Cops can't be everywhere. So there's guys like you to help cops do their job... There are hundreds and hundreds of crimes thwarted each year by permit holders. And I would think, if there were permit holders permitted in that theater early Friday morning, there's a chance that all the victims of James Holmes would not have been killed. And none of us should consider the cries of liberal democrats to do something more with restrictive gun laws as necessary... AMC movie theaters should reconsider having signs up telling permit holders not to carry on their premises. If there were five or six permit holders in there firing back at James Holmes, maybe lives could have been saved...
The other thing is, [the shooter] had no vest below his navel. He could have been gut shot. He could have had a leg shot off. He could have had an arm shot off, in which case he would have stopped.
On KLZ's Grassroots Radio Colorado Friday, fewer than 24 hours after the shooting, host Ken Clark said that he'd "bet money" that the Aurora shooting would lead to a campaign by Obama for the United Nations Small Arms Treaty.
Clark: "I will bet money that the [Obama] Administration uses this to justify the UN Small Arms Treaty, because that is gun control, and that's coming after each and every one of us. And as Dick Morris was so - the way he pointed it out on Grassroots Radio Colorado, if Obama signs that or Hillary Clinton as his surrogate, it will become the law of the land."
On the radio, the news media also comes up as an advocate for gun control, post shooting. Monday morning, former Larimer County Republican Chair and KFKA morning talk-show host Tom Lucero, told his listeners that the media is "interjecting themselves into the stories and advocating gun control," and it's "fun to watch" the hysteria coming from the media.
Tom Lucero: I don't know how much of this you caught, whether it's on radio or TV or in print. The media is interjecting themselves into the stories and advocating for gun control. The predictable politicians, Diane Feinstein was on Fox this weekend calling for an extension of the assault weapons ban, because it had sunset. And so here we are right in the middle of another gun-control debate. It's fun to watch. You can pull out the playbook and predictably turn from page to page and see the hysteria that's going to come from media and politicians.
To overall, to their credit, local conservative talkers on some shows have, to some degree, held back in talking too much, with too much anger, about gun control and the political aspects of the shooting. This undoubtedly won't continue as the story's focus shifts, which is good thing, because the conservative views on gun control should be aired out.
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