The Tiller Parallel

Even if  today’s shooting at the Family Research Council headquarters was indeed motivated by the shooter’s support of same-sex marriage (or abortion, or anything else the FRC opposes), people should not leap to the conclusion that violent extremism is typical of the political left. Recall that in 2009, a pro-life activist named Scott Roeder murdered George Tiller, a Kansas-based doctor who performed late-term abortions, in Tiller’s church . The killing was quickly condemned by pro-life groups  and individuals, including several on this website .

Were all pro-life activists nevertheless responsible for or somehow implicated in Roeder’s actions? If you want to answer that question in the negative, you probably shouldn’t blame the Family Research Council shooting on gay rights activists. Every cause has its violent extremists, unfortunately.