Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped the NRA Friday after gunmen opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing at least 49 people.
Taking to Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) condemned the massacre and turned her attention to the American gun advocacy group, The Hill reports.
“At 1st I thought of saying ‘Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore. But I couldn’t say ‘imagine'” she wrote, citing deadly shootings at churches in Charleston, South Carolina, Sutherland Springs, Texas, and at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?” she tweeted.
Ocasio-Cortez added that she was referring to the oft-used NRA phrase because it’s “used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies.”
At 1st I thought of saying, “Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.”
But I couldn’t say “imagine.”
Because of Charleston.
Pittsburgh.
Sutherland Springs.What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?pic.twitter.com/2mSw0azDN8
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
But Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have also parroted this phrase far too often. It’s become a symbol of their hypocrisy.
I'm deeply saddened by the horrific violence in Florida. Praying for the victims, their families, and the Parkland community. Always grateful for first responders who charge into harm’s way.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) February 15, 2018
Reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our prayers right now.
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) November 5, 2017
Now Ocasio-Cortez is calling for communities to “come together, fight for each other & stand up for neighbors.”
“Isolation, dehumanizing stereotypes, hysterical conspiracy theories & hatred ultimately lead to the anarchy of violence,” she tweeted. “We cannot stand for it.”
The progressive lawmaker has received some push back from Twitter users who considered her “thoughts & prayers” comment disrespectful, The New York Post reports.
Yes the one way to show empathy for people murdered at their place of worship is to mock prayer https://t.co/qMe1jmPePQ
— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) March 15, 2019
this is incredibly insensitive to my muslim brothers and sisters who were slain in cold blood while they were literally praying because they want to be closer to their creator and they want to become better people. https://t.co/uq9VzofTsN
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) March 15, 2019
In a later tweet, Ocasio-Cortez clarified her remarks.
“(‘Thoughts and prayers’ is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies,” she tweeted. “Not directed to PM Ardern, who I greatly admire).”
(“Thoughts and prayers” is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies. Not directed to PM Ardern, who I greatly admire.)
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
In the aftermath of the shootings, Ardern has raised the national security threat to its second-highest level, telling The Associated Press this was “one of New Zealand’s darkest days” that turned into “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.”
“It is clear now that this can only be described as a terrorist attack,” she said.
One man, identified as Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been arrested and is being held on a charge of alleged murder, The Telegraph reports.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern discusses the tragedy below.
Featured image license Attribution 2.0 by Dimitri Rodriguez via Flickr