The Massacre in Tucson

The Tucson shooting has served to blame Republicans for generating a “climate of hate.” Last Saturday’s tragic attempt on the life of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has, in a few days, turned into a sign of the exacerbated ideology that for years has been heating up political activity in the U.S.

Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old young man with apparent mental problems, shot at the Arizona Democratic representative — who, at the close of this publishing, remains in serious condition — and at 19 other people. A few hours after the shooting, several political conflicts sprang up at the most varying levels.

The first is linked to Arizona. Giffords is a part of the congressional delegation of this Western state bordering Mexico — [a state] with a libertarian tradition and in the middle of a heated U.S. immigration debate. The victim of the attack is known for her stance in favor of the legalization of undocumented immigrants.

The second conflict involves the radical right and freedom of expression. Barack Obama’s two years in office have been witness to a resurrection of an extreme conservative bloc, the tea party, that centers on the repeal of the new healthcare law and tax reduction. In the campaign for the midterm elections last November, candidates from those Republican groups unfurled a malicious strategy of demonizing their Democratic adversaries. In fact, on the webpage of their supreme leader, Sarah Palin, the eighth district of Arizona, Giffords’ district, appears with a bull’s-eye.

Although the initial investigations do not show a clear connection between the perpetrator and the conservative blocs, the shooting has served as an excuse for Obama’s followers to blame Republican polarization of generating a “climate of hate,” in which these attacks brew up. As always, the line between fervent activism and political violence is not well marked.

Nonetheless, the debate that should have arisen from the tragedy is paradoxically the one that is missing: that of arms control. Arizona is among the states with more laxity regarding sales and use. The fact that they are not a part of the public discussion shows how effective lobbying is on the part of the rifle manufacturers and the rifle union.