As yet another mass shooting claimed the lives of 14 people Wednesday in San Bernadino, Calif., a familiar refrain echoed from the lips of politicians: Pray.
But for many fed up with the now seemingly routine shootings and the resulting inaction from each one over how to stop another tragedy, pleas to God weren't enough anymore.
That was the sentiment the New York Daily News proclaimed on the tabloid's cover Thursday. With the headline blaring, "God Isn't Fixing This," it highlighted the tweets of GOP politicians, each asking for prayer in the wake of the shooting of an office party at the Inland Regional Center.
"Prayers aren't working," the paper wrote. "White House hopefuls on the Democratic side of the aisle called for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting.... But after yet another mass shooting in America, GOP presidential contenders were conspicuously silent on the issue of gun control. Instead, the Republicans were preaching about prayer."
The hashtag #GodIsntFixingThis soon began trending on Twitter.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who called for more gun restrictions in the wake of the devastating shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in his state two years ago, echoed those sentiments.
Others argued back that God wasn't acting, because he had been removed from schools and the public sphere.
The passionate online reactions mirror just how divided Americans are on the issue. An October CNN/ORC poll showed the public was split — 52 percent oppose stricter gun-control laws, while 46 percent support new ones.
Others thought the online backlash against prayer came across as crass.
"Mockery isn't fixing this. As a supporter of stronger gun control, this New York Daily News cover and the related #GodIsn'tFixingThis Twitter storm make me wince. Only people who agree with me can pray for victims of gun violence?" National Journal's Ron Fournier wrote, adding, "[I]t insults anybody who opposes gun control and demeans their sympathies for the victims. It mocks their prayers. That's no way to win a culture war."
Dr. Russell Moore, the head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, wrote this in the Washington Post:
"Ironically, enough, the 'Don't Just Pray There, Do Something' meme will actually keep things from happening. After all, some of our biggest obstacles to policy solutions of any kind is an ideologically fractured populace where virtually every issue is a test of political purity. "If you shame away the most human aspects of public life — such as the call to pray for one another — you will find this situation worsening, not getting better. After all, we learn to listen to one another, and even work together, because we see one another as fellow humans, fellow citizens, as people of goodwill, not just as avatars to be warred against on a screen."
Meanwhile, Republican Ted Cruz said at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Washington that since the shooters in San Bernadino were Muslim it "may be 'yet another manifestation' of 'radical Islamic terrorism,' as USA Today noted.
Donald Trump also connected the shooting as "probably" related to "radical Islamic terrorism," per NPR's Sarah McCammon, who's at the event.
But the truth is, both sides have politicized the issue — on Thursday morning, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an email asking people to sign their gun control petition, which takes you to a fundraising page.
The issue is one that will still factor deeply into the 2016 elections. During the 2012 presidential race, the National Rifle Association alone spent more than 10 times as much as gun control groups.
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