The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing
By Cristina Page
HuffingtonPost: May 31, 2009
For those who would like to think today's murder in church of Dr. George
Tiller, an abortion provider, is an isolated incident, here's the horrifying
news: You are wrong. The pattern is clear and frightening.
In March 1993, three months into the administration of our first pro-choice
president, Bill Clinton, abortion provider Dr. David Gunn was murdered in
Pensacola, Florida. That was the beginning of what would become a five-fold
increase in violence against abortion providers throughout the Clinton
years.
Today's assassination of Dr. George Tiller comes 5 months into the term of
our second pro-choice president. For anyone who would like to believe that
this is a statistical anomaly, a coincidence that doesn't portend anything,
again, you are wrong.
During the entire Bush administration, from 2000-2008 there were no murders.
During the Clinton era, between 1994-2000 there were 6 abortion providers
and clinic staff murdered, and 17 attempted murders of abortion providers.
There were 12 bombings or arsons during the Clinton years.
During the Bush administration, not only were there no murders, there were
no attempted murders. There was one clinic bombing during the Bush years.
One can only conclude that like terrorist sleeper cells, these extremists
have now been set in motion. Indeed the evidence is already there. The
chatter, the threats, the hate-filled rhetoric are abundant.
In the last year of the Bush administration there were 396 harassing calls
to abortion clinics. In just the first four months of the Obama
administration that number has jumped to 1401.
And so the execution of Tiller, 67, is not only tragic but ominous. He was
born into an era when being an abortion provider meant saving women's lives.
And the cold-blooded murder in church and in front of his wife of this
stalwart defender of women rights and beloved physician, comes as a message
for others, as well as tragic deja vu.
Battered women are at greatest danger of being killed by their abusers when
they are most strong -- that is, when they muster the courage to leave. The
same phenomenon may be true in the abusive political abortion debate. The
pro-choice movement, specifically our abortion providers, are in the
greatest danger of violence when we take power. When the anti-abortion
movement loses power, their most extreme elements appear to move to the fore
and take control. The murder of Dr. Tiller suggests that violence against
abortion providers may be far more linked to the power, or lack thereof,
anti-abortion groups have politically than to laws designed to increase
penalties against such acts.
History has another disturbing lesson for us. The escalation of
anti-abortion rhetoric plays a direct role in instigating violence. When
anti-abortion groups ratchet up the rhetoric, they know exactly what they're
doing and the results it will have. Even if they maintain deniability, as
Operation Rescue recently did saying, in effect, we wanted Tiller gone, but
didn't want him murdered, they have inflamed the rhetoric. And suddenly
people Like Dr. Tiller's murderer become inspired.
Eleanor Bader, co-author of Targets of Hatred: Anti-Abortion Terrorism, in
an article in March for RHRealityCheck.org about clinics bracing for an
uptick in violence after the election of Obama wrote, "immediately after
Obama's election, Douglas Johnson, Legislative Director of the National
Right to Life Committee, called him a "hardcore pro-abortion president." The
American Life League dubbed him "one of the most radical pro-abortion
politicians ever," and Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life warned that
Obama will "force Americans to pay for the killing of innocents." Americans
United for Life, the Family Research Council and Operation Save America
quickly joined the chorus."
Bader interviewed clinic staff -- many seeing a direct relationship between
the pro-choice victory in November and increased aggression against them and
their patients. Claire Keyes, of Allegheny Reproductive Health in
Pittsburgh, explained:
Right after the election we saw a small upsurge in anti-abortion activity.
But since the inauguration, things have gotten measurably worse. There's
been an increase in picketing by students from Franciscan University in
Ohio. On Saturdays there are 60-plus protesters and there's been an increase
in screaming and aggression. We don't have a parking lot so people park on
the street. The antis have surrounded cars, trapping the women inside, and
in several cases the antis jumped into vehicles and touched or grabbed at
them. The police were called but so far they don't seem to be responding
appropriately.
Bader also quotes Elizabeth Barnes, Executive Director of the Philadelphia
Women's Center, who explained, "When the pendulum swung in the direction of
protecting women's rights, we expected something. The way the antis are
reacting has changed, they're taking more liberties, pressing the boundaries
of legal, civil protest."
Many in the pro-choice movement believed that the Freedom of Access to
Clinic Entrances (FACE) law, passed in 1994 in response to Gunn's murder,
was responsible for reigning in violence against abortion providers. Clearly
that is not the case. Based on statistics on violence against abortion
providers compiled by the National Abortion Federation, even after the
passage of FACE in 1994, there was still considerable violence and threats
against clinic personnel, including six murders. As appears clear, the
pro-choice movement has looked through rose-colored glasses, assuming or
hoping that legalities can restrain terrorists.
In fact, it didn't abate after FACE, as we've seen. It was not until a
comforting anti-abortion president did they calm down and stop the murder,
bombing and harassment spree.
As a result of Bush's policies, recent reportings from clinics suggest that
we may be seeing a surge in abortions. That has failed to inspire
introspection from anti-abortion groups. That Clinton presided over the most
dramatic decline in abortion rates in the recorded history of our country
left them unmoved. That Obama has assigned his senior-most staff to the task
of finding ways to reduce the need for abortion has not protected clinics
nor providers nor Obama. Holder and his Justice Department should take note
of the chatter and move aggressively against this form of domestic
terrorism. The hate-filled rhetoric against Obama from the anti-abortion
movement is at unprecedented levels, even for this reflexively inflammatory
group. They refer to him as the "Most Pro-Abortion President Ever" ignoring
the fact that he is the first to extend an olive branch in hopes that
together we can make abortion more rare.
Anti-abortion groups will put out carefully worded press statements
condemning the murder of Dr. Tiller, as became routine for them during the
Clinton years. But unless the rhetoric they choose from now on becomes
careful too -- they may be the enablers of murder and terror.
***
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/440168/gun_in_sanity?rel=emailNation
Gun (In)Sanity
By Katrina Vanden Heuvel
The Nation: June 2, 2009
Despite a Democratic Congress and President, it's been a bad time for common
sense measures to curb gun violence.
Earlier this year, a voting rights bill for the citizens of the District of
Columbia was stalled by a Senate amendment that would strip the city of its
right to regulate guns. And last month, the credit card reform bill was
hijacked in the Senate and amended so that concealed guns are now permitted
in our national parks.
Here's hoping the majority of Americans who support sane gun control begin
to turn the tide.
Bills have now been introduced in both the House and Senate to at long last
close the absurd and dangerous gun show loophole which permits the sale of
guns without any criminal background check.
Background checks are required for any gun purchase at federally licensed
dealers. The result? 1.6 million felons and other prohibited purchasers have
been stopped from buying guns. But those same people can go to a gun show in
more than 30 states and buy a weapon -- no questions asked. It doesn't
matter, for example, if Maryland requires a background check when the same
individual can cross into Virginia and buy an assault weapon without a
hitch. That's why 4 out of 10 guns are sold by unlicensed sellers without
background checks.
The Columbine killings were committed using two shotguns, an assault rifle,
and a TEC-9 assault pistol -- all four weapons were purchased from gun
shows. The person who bought three of the weapons later said she wouldn't
have done so if a background check had been required. Recently, the brother
of a Virginia Tech victim was followed by ABC News into a gun show where he
was able to purchase ten guns in under an hour -- again, no questions asked.
Senator Frank Lautenberg's Gun Show Background Check Act would require
background checks at any event where 50 or more firearms are offered for
sale. It wouldn't stop a grandfather from giving his prized handgun to his
grandson, as the cynical NRA would have America believe. Nor does it take on
the 2nd Amendment. Despite the NRA's whipping gun owners into a buying
frenzy over the notion that President Obama and the Democrats are coming
after their guns -- a hysteria that has led to a surge of sales at gun shows
nationwide -- this legislation does no such thing.
It simply insists -- in the interest of public safety -- that you clear a
criminal background check before buying a gun.
"There is no rational reason to oppose closing the loophole," Senator
Lautenberg said when he introduced the bill with 14 cosponsors last month
just days after the 10th and 2nd anniversaries of the shootings at Columbine
and Virginia Tech, respectively. "The reason it's still not closed is
simple: the continuing power of the special interest gun lobby in
Washington."
Which brings us to the politics.
The Senate bill is in the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Patrick
Leahy, who perhaps has made a decision in his career to never be outflanked
by a pro-gun opponent -- despite his generally progressive values. So,
frankly, the prospect of the bill getting a hearing there is bleak. The
House Judiciary Committee is chaired by Congressman John Conyers so it might
stand a better chance of consideration there. Conyers has supported similar
legislation in the past and will in all likelihood support this bill too.
What seems more likely, however, is that the legislation might be offered as
an amendment to a different bill -- the same tactic the GOP has employed to
try to get guns on Amtrak, in our national parks, and throughout our
nation's capitol. In 1999, Senator Lautenberg successfully passed
legislation identical to this bill as an amendment to a juvenile justice
bill (it was later killed in a House-Senate conference).
The White House has clearly made a political decision at this time not to
push for closing the gun show loophole or the assault weapons ban -- both of
which it clearly supports and would gladly sign into law.
So it's time for rational, concerned citizens to take matters into their own
hands. Polls show over 85 percent of the public wants the gun show loophole
closed now. That's a lot of voters. Speak out -- let your Senators and
Representatives know where you stand. Threaten to stop any contributions to
representatives who won't listen. Hold house parties to get the word out.
Ask MoveOn and bloggers to launch a day of blogging to ensure people know
how wrongheaded this is.
Don't let the NRA's lies and fulmination hold sway over this life-saving
measure.
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