Bryan Fischer
This conservative calls for the execution of the shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
By Bryan Fischer
Update: This column was written when media outlets reported that Rep. Giffords had in fact died. While the hospital now reports that she has survived and continues to fight for her life, as I write this addendum, hospital spokesmen have confirmed that one nine-year-old girl has died, and other reports are that a federal judge also was killed in the shooting. In other words, there are homicide victims. This perspective applies to any and all victims of this homicidal attack.
Late-breaking reports are that the shooter has been identified. The shooter, one Jared Laughner, claimed on a personal website that his favorite books are the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf.
Democrat congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was murdered on Saturday, shot down in cold blood at point blank range by an assailant who at last word is in custody.
Let me be the first conservative to go on record to say that her murderer should be executed. It doesn't matter what his politics are, what his motives were, he deserves to be hung by the neck until dead.
Rep. Giffords was a human being made in the image of God, and her blood cries out from the ground for justice.
According to Genesis 9:5-6, God says:
"And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning ... I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."
This principle of justice, the foundation of Western jurisprudence on the matter of homicide, has never been rescinded. It is still in force. Justice calls for her killer to forfeit his life for depriving the congresswoman and bystanders of their right to life.
God has delegated his own authority to civil government to exact the ultimate penalty for murder. Simple justice calls for life for life, the life of the murderer in exchange for the life of Rep. Giffords.
One can assume some kind of political motivation on the part of her killer. A prominent politician was killed at a political event. But Giffords supported border security, second amendment rights, and the rights of the unborn. This makes it hazardous at best to even guess at what drove her killer.
CNN has already allowed a guest — a cartoonist of all people — to lay the blame for her death on the political right. This is obviously premature. But let's say, for the sake of argument, that her murderer had rightward political leanings. It makes no difference. Liberal or conservative, this cold-blooded killer deserves a swift and fair trial, and then a speedy death.
Violence is not how we pursue change in a republican form of government. We use ballots, not bullets.
Let's see if the left is as resolved as I am to see this man pay the ultimate penalty for this crime. My guess is that we will see the oddity of conservatives calling for stiffer punishment for this killer than Rep. Gifford's liberal friends. This is a tragic event, and justice will not be satisfied until her killer is buried in the ground.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
January 8, 2011
Update: This column was written when media outlets reported that Rep. Giffords had in fact died. While the hospital now reports that she has survived and continues to fight for her life, as I write this addendum, hospital spokesmen have confirmed that one nine-year-old girl has died, and other reports are that a federal judge also was killed in the shooting. In other words, there are homicide victims. This perspective applies to any and all victims of this homicidal attack.
Late-breaking reports are that the shooter has been identified. The shooter, one Jared Laughner, claimed on a personal website that his favorite books are the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf.
Democrat congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was murdered on Saturday, shot down in cold blood at point blank range by an assailant who at last word is in custody.
Let me be the first conservative to go on record to say that her murderer should be executed. It doesn't matter what his politics are, what his motives were, he deserves to be hung by the neck until dead.
Rep. Giffords was a human being made in the image of God, and her blood cries out from the ground for justice.
According to Genesis 9:5-6, God says:
"And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning ... I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."
This principle of justice, the foundation of Western jurisprudence on the matter of homicide, has never been rescinded. It is still in force. Justice calls for her killer to forfeit his life for depriving the congresswoman and bystanders of their right to life.
God has delegated his own authority to civil government to exact the ultimate penalty for murder. Simple justice calls for life for life, the life of the murderer in exchange for the life of Rep. Giffords.
One can assume some kind of political motivation on the part of her killer. A prominent politician was killed at a political event. But Giffords supported border security, second amendment rights, and the rights of the unborn. This makes it hazardous at best to even guess at what drove her killer.
CNN has already allowed a guest — a cartoonist of all people — to lay the blame for her death on the political right. This is obviously premature. But let's say, for the sake of argument, that her murderer had rightward political leanings. It makes no difference. Liberal or conservative, this cold-blooded killer deserves a swift and fair trial, and then a speedy death.
Violence is not how we pursue change in a republican form of government. We use ballots, not bullets.
Let's see if the left is as resolved as I am to see this man pay the ultimate penalty for this crime. My guess is that we will see the oddity of conservatives calling for stiffer punishment for this killer than Rep. Gifford's liberal friends. This is a tragic event, and justice will not be satisfied until her killer is buried in the ground.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
