Gun control: A logic-free zone

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., recently disclosed that a congressional investigation found at least 72 employees of the Department of Homeland Security listed on the U.S. terror watch list.

In other news, President Barack Obama used a memorial service for the victims of the Orlando massacre to advocate for more gun control laws. Anyone else see a contradiction here?

Interviewers frequently ask me why I don’t favor more gun control laws. My response: Name one law that deters someone intent on breaking the law. Murder has been prohibited since the beginning of civilization, but people still murder.

Only those predisposed to obey laws will obey them. Florida prohibits openly carrying firearms and many places advertise “gun-free zones,” which can be an open invitation to anyone intent on mass murder. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, reportedly visited Pulse nightclub several times before breaking its gun-free zone policy. That night, the club’s security guard, an off-duty police officer, was the first person Mateen shot. He then retreated to a bathroom, taking hostages. Had Mateen cased the place during several previous visits to make sure the guard would be the only one standing in his way? It would appear so.

Despite the president’s claim to the contrary, it is reasonable to believe that even a small number of armed patrons might have limited the damage caused by the gunman. It is more than speculation to say that had the shooter known some patrons were armed, he might not have chosen the club as his target.

Britain has some of the toughest gun laws in the Western world, but that did not stop a deranged man last week from shooting—and stabbing to death—Jo Cox, a Member of Parliament.

Why is it so difficult to believe the truth? Omar Mateen was a soldier of Allah who “self-identified” as a Muslim. We are told to allow people to self-identify when they claim a gender different from the one they were born with. Why then do so many find it hard to accept that Islamists want to kill us as part of a strategy to create a worldwide caliphate?

The answer is political correctness.

The owner of a Florida gun store said Mateen asked him about body armor, which he does not sell. Mateen was heard speaking to someone on his cell phone in a language that sounded like Arabic. The owner contacted authorities, but their follow-up appears insufficient.

Ed Kallstrom is a former FBI assistant director and was a counterterrorism adviser to the governor of New York following 9/11. Kallstrom told Megyn Kelly of Fox News that active agents he has spoken to told him orders from the White House forbid the FBI from investigating any mosque or Islamist-related activity unless someone from inside that community asks them to. If they want to keep their jobs, he says, they had better comply.

The media and liberal activists have returned to their default positions. New York Times columnist Charles Blow blames conservative Christians and their biblical doctrines on marriage, sexuality, even evolution for fomenting “hate” against LGBT people. This smacks of some of the “blood libels” directed at Jews. It is dangerous language that can lead to holocausts.

Truth is often a casualty in politics, but in a presidential election year, it has become a mass casualty.

© 2016 Tribune Content Agency LLC.

Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on the June 21 edition of The World and Everything in It.