Hillary Clinton, Scott Walker offer different outlooks on shooting tragedy

Clinton pledges to "do something" about gun violence; Walker, not so much

After a shooting tragedy left two news crew members dead in Virginia today, politicians from both left and right offered their perspectives on the matter.

Look at these two reactions from presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Scott Walker.

Here’s Clinton:

And here’s Walker:

Notice the difference? Clinton offers her prayers and says the time for action to stave off gun violence is now. Walker simply offers his prayers, and is deafeningly silent on what should or can be done.

Which isn’t all that surprising. Walker, who has received an “A+ gold star sticker” rating from the National Rifle Association, has deregulated gun laws in Wisconsin since the start of his tenure.

We’ve since seen a rise in violent crime overall, and a murder rate in our state’s largest city that will undoubtedly be higher than Chicago’s by the year’s end.

Walker’s condolences are obviously genuine. But it’s curious that he refuses to think that anything can be done about the nation’s gun problem.

Part of it is cultural. We rely on and worship our weapons, with some sanctifying the Second Amendment beyond religious texts. But part of it is also legal – allowing individuals to purchase guns without a background check is just plain stupid, for instance. We can change that, but politicians like Scott Walker don’t seem to want to.

---

Less than an hour after he made the tweet above, Scott Walker took the time to troll Clinton on Twitter. What did Hillary Clinton do with the rest of her day?

She renewed her pledge from earlier in the day in a speech on the campaign trail, coming out strongly for balancing gun rights with reasonable laws that can work to prevent future tragedies.

Kind of tells you little a bit about their priorities, don’t you think?