28-year-old Democratic gay rights advocate Floyd Lee Corkins II, from Virginia, shows up at the Christian Conservative Family Research Council in DC, Chik-fil-A bags in tow, walks in with a loaded weapon and starts shooting. Before he opens fire, he mentions something about not liking FRCs policies [on gay marriage]. He wounds a guard who manages, with the help of others, to overpower Corkins, and prevent a potential massacre.
How long did that story stay in the mainstream media? Not long at all. Of course, had it been a right wing-nut job attacking some liberal organization, we'd still be hearing about it. But since it was a liberal-nut job, it's no big deal.
Corkins had apparently volunteered at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. The executive director, David Mariner, condemned the attack- as did 40 other LGBT organizations- saying:
"I was shocked to hear that someone who has volunteered with the DC Center could be the cause of such a tragic act of violence. No matter the circumstances, we condemn such violence in the strongest terms possible. We hope for a full and speedy recovery for the victim and our thoughts are with him and his family."Are the media and police officials taking the attack seriously? It doesn't seem like it. The Hollywood Reporter mentions this:
Despite the Chick-fil-A connection, his activities as a gay-rights activist and the shooter's reference to what FRC "stands for," law enforcement officials were careful not to imply a motive while speaking to the press.
"We don't know enough about him or his circumstances ... we are going to try to sort this all out, pull the evidence and do all the interviews we can," FBI agent James McJunkin told ABC News.
The motive seems pretty darn obvious. Some news reports did say the FBI were treating it as a case of domestic terrorism, whether that sticks is another story.
Corkin's 9mm handgun was legal, and purchased "fairly recently", which would indicate that it was purchased specifically for this attack.
I doubt we'll hear too much more about this whole incident.
Cartoon Source: Media Research Center
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