Coincidence or Conspiracy is Irrelevant: Leave Victims Out of Gun Control Debate

by Claire DeRoin

Chris Kyle, an American veteran and author of American Sniper: an Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History¸ was killed Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, at a gun range in Texas, according to the New York Times.

Kyle had been assisting a fellow veteran at a shooting range when the veteran turned the gun on Kyle and another man that has been identified as Chad Littlefield. Both men were killed. The shooter fled in Kyle’s vehicle but was later apprehended.

This double-murder happened in the midst of a metaphoric firestorm between the government and the NRA over gun control.

Within the past year, the spotlight seems to have focused on sensational gun murders, and choosing to ignore the more commonplace ones, such as the 435 murders that occurred in Chicago alone in 2012.

Bizarre shootings including: the shooting in Aurora, Colo., at the midnight premier of a film; the Sandy Hook school shooting; and now the murder of a former Navy SEAL and one of the deadliest snipers in military history – all fell within a small window during which Americans reviewed the validity of assault weapons, the Second Amendment, mental health issues, and a possible government conspiracy to garner public support for gun control laws. Now, the victims of these crimes, innocent movie-goers, children, and now an American legend, are being used as pawns in the pro-gun control and the conspiracy theorists’ debate about gun control.

Chris Kyle had been reaching out and using a session at a shooting range as therapy for a veteran with post-traumatic stress– something Kyle reportedly did often through his foundation FITCO Cares. FITCO Cares focuses on helping veterans readjust to civilian life.

Conspiracy theorists have been quick to jump on this newest murder. Yes, Chris Kyle saved countless American lives by using a gun. That fact doubled with the fact that his death occurred at gunpoint should not subject this hero and his family to being used as pawns in the great gun control debate.

America should figure out its issues and leave victims, whether victims by coincidence or conspiracy, out of the argument.