Gun-control Fans Mock Republicans for ‘Thoughts and Prayers’

Gun-control advocates slammed Republicans calling for “thoughts and prayers” in the aftermath of the horrific San Bernardino shooting, prompting accusations of “prayer shaming” on the right.

Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, sparked the outcry on social media by appearing to mock the traditional call for “thoughts and prayers” following the Wednesday shooting, saying on Twitter that, “Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing—again.”

The hashtags #thoughtsandprayers and #prayershaming continued to draw myriad comments Thursday on both sides of the gun-control debate.

Igor Volsky, contributing editor for the left-wing website ThinkProgress, said on Twitter, “Thanks for tweeting, following, & watching today as we shamed NRA-bought lawmakers for #thoughtsandprayers.”

The New York Daily News ran the dramatic headline “God Isn’t Fixing This” on its front page Thursday, alongside highlighted statements asking for prayers from Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul, as well as House Speaker Paul Ryan.

“As the latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes,” said the cover of the newspaper, which regularly advocates for tougher gun-control measures.

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