{"id":2480403,"date":"2025-08-29T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T13:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:13:10","slug":"the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Left Doesn&#8217;t Care About Gun Violence &#8212; Only Exploiting It"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2480403&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses a tragic mass shooting at a Catholic elementary school where two children were killed and over a dozen injured by a mentally ill man named Robert Westman, who identified as female and held extremist anti-Trump and anti-Catholic views. The piece contrasts how the political right and left interpret the incident: the right focuses on the shooter&#8217;s mental illness and ideological motives, arguing the tragedy is not simply about gun violence.In contrast, the left allegedly concentrates solely on blaming guns, using the event to push gun control agendas without addressing the underlying causes. The article accuses the left of selectively exploiting high-profile shootings to advance political goals while downplaying everyday gun violence in inner cities because such incidents do not fit their narrative. It further cites examples of left-leaning politicians minimizing other crimes by attributing them to socioeconomic factors, suggesting a pattern of excusing violence to serve broader political aims. the author contends that the left is more interested in using tragedies to promote policy changes than in genuinely solving the root causes of violence.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Students_Protest_Gun_Violence_%2853451913221%29.jpg\">  Phil Roeder \/ Wikimedia Commons <\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/29\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=The%20Left%20Doesn%E2%80%99t%20Care%20About%20Gun%20Violence%20%E2%80%94%20Only%20Exploiting%20It&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/29\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=The%20Left%20Doesn%E2%80%99t%20Care%20About%20Gun%20Violence%20%E2%80%94%20Only%20Exploiting%20It&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/29\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/29\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=The%20Left%20Doesn%E2%80%99t%20Care%20About%20Gun%20Violence%20%E2%80%94%20Only%20Exploiting%20It&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/29\/the-left-doesnt-care-about-gun-violence-only-exploiting-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>On Wednesday, two young children were murdered and more than a dozen others injured when a mentally ill man cosplaying as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nashville-preds-honor-victims-first-responders-of-christian-school-shooting\/\" title=\"Nashville Preds Honor Victims, First Responders Of Christian School Shooting\">woman opened fire<\/a> during morning Mass at a Catholic elementary school. The tragedy has sparked national conversation &mdash; but really, two different conversations. <\/p>\n<p>On the right, the focus is on <em>why<\/em> the shooter committed such a heinous act. The shooter, Robert Westman (later legally known as Robin) was deeply disturbed, believed he was a female, and had those delusions affirmed by those closest to him. Notably, his mother signed off on his legal name change in 2020 because he was still a minor, as reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/29\/us-news\/moment-federal-agents-descend-on-minneapolis-shooter-robin-westman-moms-florida-home-before-she-hires-criminal-defense-attorney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York Post<\/a>. A manifesto purportedly from Westman reveals anti-Trump and anti-Catholic animus, intertwined with other extremist ideologies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-719171917\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The right recognizes the true root cause of this tragedy. This wasn&rsquo;t about &ldquo;gun violence.&rdquo; It was about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-california-politicians-need-private-security-to-protect-them-from-conservatives\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: California Politicians Need Private Security To Protect Them From Conservatives\">mentally ill leftist<\/a>, propped up by an ideology that tells men they can become women, acting out his hatred toward Trump and Christians.<\/p>\n<p>The left, predictably, has taken the opposite approach. For them, it doesn&rsquo;t matter that the shooter was delusional about his gender, or that his anti-Catholic and anti-Trump bigotry were central to his motive. None of the <em>why<\/em> matters &mdash; only that a gun was involved. And because a gun was involved, they insist, the gun must be the problem. This <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >reflexive blame-shifting reveals<\/a> the left&rsquo;s true motive in covering the story: exploitation. They&rsquo;re not interested in stopping violence at its roots, only in exploiting a tragedy to advance their political goals.<\/p>\n<p>And how do we know this to be true?<\/p>\n<p>Take for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox32chicago.com\/news\/chicago-mayor-elect-brandon-johnson-not-constructive-to-demonize-youth-starved-of-opportunities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">example<\/a> how Chicago Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson said in 2023 after three teenagers were shot that while their behavior is &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo; it&rsquo;s &ldquo;not constructive to demonize young people who have been starved of opportunities.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Or take for example how Democratic New York Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/2020\/07\/12\/aoc-blames-nyc-crime-spike-on-parents-shoplifting-food-for-their-hungry-families\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> dismissed theft in 2020: &ldquo;They feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Do we think this has to do with the fact that &hellip; people are at a level of economic downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic?&rdquo; Ocasio-Cortez asked, before answering herself. &ldquo;People aren&rsquo;t paying their rent &hellip; and they need to feed their child and they don&rsquo;t have money.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Or then-White House press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/amateur-criminologist-jen-psaki-retail-store-looting-is-caused-by-the-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jen Psaki<\/a>, who said the &ldquo;pandemic&rdquo; was the root cause of crime in a lot of communities.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to theft, rioting, or gang violence, the left rushes to explain away the criminal behavior with excuses of poverty, inequality, or the pandemic. In all of <em>these<\/em> instances, it&rsquo;s the <em>why<\/em> that matters. And why is that? Because the left is exploiting these acts of violence to serve political ends too &mdash; whether it be expanding state power, dismantling law enforcement or normalizing disorder.<\/p>\n<p>It also can&rsquo;t be said that Democrats truly care about gun violence itself, because if so, we&rsquo;d see wall-to-wall coverage every time it claims lives. But that&rsquo;s not what happens.<\/p>\n<p>Consider this: between Tuesday and Wednesday, two men were killed and three injured in various shootings in the Bronx, New York. But there was no wall-to-wall coverage (even though in both horrible instances, two individuals were killed). There is no national call to action. Why? Because inner city crime can&rsquo;t be weaponized to attack the Second Amendment. The victims and perpetrators don&rsquo;t fit the narrative. But the moment a tragedy can be framed as a morality tale about &ldquo;guns,&rdquo; the coverage explodes.<\/p>\n<p>The left doesn&rsquo;t treat all gun violence the same, because they&rsquo;re not actually interested in solving it. The left cynically exploits tragedies, like a heinous attack on a quiet suburban school, that it knows it can use to manipulate Americans into giving up their rights. That&rsquo;s why the left jumps on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-hasnt-conducted-a-single-strike-against-isis-k-since-leaving-afghanistan\/\" title=\"U.S. Hasn\u2019t Conducted a Single Strike Against ISIS-K Since Leaving Afghanistan\">high-profile attacks<\/a> while ignoring the carnage that takes place daily in inner cities. To the left, not all crime is equal &mdash; they just care about the crime they can weaponize to advance their radical agenda.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" https:>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alexandria Ocasio Cortez<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/brandon-johnson\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Brandon Johnson<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/crime\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gun-control\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">gun control<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gun-violence\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">gun violence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jen-psaki\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jen Psaki<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mass-shooting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mass Shooting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/second-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Second Amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two children killed, others hurt by mentally ill shooter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2480404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Students_Protest_Gun_Violence_53451913221-e1756478081977.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[35423,34991,5129,62258],"class_list":["post-2480403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-gun-control-debate","tag-gun-violence","tag-left-wing","tag-political-exploitation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Students_Protest_Gun_Violence_53451913221-e1756478081977.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2480403"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2480408,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480403\/revisions\/2480408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2480404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2480403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2480403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2480403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}