America reacts to Arizona shooting spree

A shooting spree that occurred in Tucson, Arizona has spurred a debate across the Internet over the regularity of heated political rhetoric as people across the country mourn. Police say suspect Jared Lee Loughner wounded 13 people, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the head, and left six people dead, including a federal judge, a 9-year-old child, and Giffords’ aide after firing an automatic pistol with an extended magazine at a town hall style gathering.

The Seattle Post blogged about the buzz on Twitter and throughout the Internet condemning the act as “right-wing terrorism” and holding Sarah Palin responsible for the shootings. Giffords’ was one of many Democratic lawmakers targeted on a map of key opponents to conservative ideals promoted by Palin heading into the last elections. Palin had been criticized for her use of cross hairs on the map in combination with rhetoric that included catch phrases such as “don’t retreat, reload.” The Seattle Post questioned the wisdom of the condemnations.

Giffords, herself, commented on the rhetoric in an interview with MSNBC last year: “For example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize that there are consequences to that action.”

Fox News reported that the killing of U.S. District Judge John M. Roll would likely lead to the death penalty for the accused.

Politics Daily’s Jill Lawrence wrote that America needs to stop talking about politics as war.