(AP) WASHINGTON – A man suspected of shooting and wounding a security guard in the lobby of a Christian lobbying group had been volunteering at a community center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
A law enforcement official has identified the suspect arrested in Wednesday’s shooting as Floyd Corkins II of Herndon, Va. Investigators were interviewing his neighbors.
Another official says the shooter made a negative reference about the work of the Family Research Council before opening fire. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
David Mariner is executive director of The DC Center for the LGBT Community. He says Corkins had been volunteering at the center for about the past 6 months. Mariner describes Corkins as “kind, gentle and unassuming.”
Until he tried to shoot a bunch of people over their politics.
While police have not yet stated what motivated Corkins, a coalition of 25 gay rights groups released a statement through GLAAD condemning the shooting.
Yesterday, the leader of those groups, the Human Rights Campaign, called the Family Research Council a “hate group.” Today the HRC still insists that the FRC is a “hate group.” The Huffington Post concurs. By their reckoning, a majority of voters in states from California to North Carolina are haters, and the Catholic Church and just about every other Christian church is a “hate group.”
Funny thing, though: You never hear these groups utter a peep about the Islamic position on gay marriage. Hint: They’re really really against it. Yet they escape the “hate group” label.
Speaking of hate, for much of July, the HRC et al waged a nasty campaign against Chick-Fil-A because its CEO donates to the Family Research Council and supports traditional marriage. That campaign may have culminated in today’s attempt to attack the FRC’s headquarters. The shooter was a) volunteering at a group opposed to the FRC for the last six months, b) reportedly carrying Chick-Fil-A paraphernalia when he launched his attack and c) said that his attack was political, against what the FRC stands for. The FBI is currently treating the attack as an act of domestic terrorism. The suspect reportedly had enough bullets on him to commit an act of mass murder, had the security guard not stopped him and taken him down.
Poke around lefty blogs today and you won’t see a lot of sympathy or any self-reflection going on.
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