Minneapolis shooting reignites debate over gun control and prayer

"Thoughts and prayers. The invocation appears like a litany after every mass shooting and the backlash is just as inevitable. As if the slaughter of children amid screams and shattered stained glass wasn't cause enough for grief, American opinion makers were convulsed once again this week in a debate over the role of prayer in the wake of a mass shooting, this time at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis."

"Those who support some legal restrictions on guns, often Democrats, say that Republican politicians who appeal to prayer are trying to distract from their own inaction on such things as red flag laws or stricter background checks on gun purchases. Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told a news conference after the shooting, in which an assailant killed two Annunciation students and wounded 18 other people attending Mass."

"Critics, especially on the right, chided the Democratic mayor. It is shocking to me that so many left wing politicians attack the idea of prayer in response to a tragedy, Republican Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, posted on X. Literally no one thinks prayer is a substitute for action. We pray because our hearts are broken and we believe that God is listening."

After a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis that killed two students and wounded 18, public reaction split between appeals to prayer and calls for policy change. Advocates for legal gun restrictions argued that political appeals to prayer can deflect from inaction on measures like red flag laws and stricter background checks. Supporters of prayer emphasized spiritual solace and the sincerity of grieving hearts while saying prayer does not substitute for action. The episode intensified polarization along religious and gun-control lines and added scrutiny of the shooter's motives and gender identity, prompting calls for both spiritual consolation and concrete reforms.

Read at www.mercurynews.com