It was supposed to be a game honoring the victims of the Manchester terror attack — until Wednesday morning, when it turned into a bloody tragedy of its own. A baseball diamond — one of the few places in Washington where there are no politics, no agendas, and no animosity — turned into a killing field when a man opened fire on Republican members of Congress at a practice for today’s exhibition at Nationals Park. Four people were shot, including my good friend and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). Thanks to the heroic actions of the Capitol police, who suffered serious injuries of their own, the gunman was fatally wounded — and countless lives were saved. “Without the Capitol Hill police, it would have been a massacre,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told reporters.

While the shooter fired off round after round, members tried to jump into the dugouts for cover; others crawled through the dirt, desperately trying to find cover. “We had nothing but baseball bats to fight back against a rifle with,” said Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL). “While all of this is going on, Steve Scalise, our whip, was lying on the ground near the second base position inching into right field, leaving a trail of blood.” Brooks, a doctor, was able to use a staffer’s belt to tie a tourniquet on another victim’s leg and stop the bleeding. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) told Fox News how defenseless the members were in the open air as a madman sprayed bullets in every direction. “[I] felt like I was in Iraq,” the combat surgeon said, “but without my weapon.” Ultimately, he was able to get to Steve and treat him until first responders arrived.

Early reports are that Congressman Scalise is in critical condition after undergoing surgery Wednesday. As his office said, “He is grateful for the brave actions of U.S. Capitol Police, first responders, and colleagues.” But it was a sobering reminder of the days in which we live. Every generation has its differences, but America is experiencing a time of sustained hostility. The cloud of vitriol that grew under Barack Obama has so poisoned our dialogue that it may have once again driven a man to target innocent people — this time public servants whose only crime was gearing up for one of the few moments of camaraderie and bipartisanship left in the city. Late Wednesday afternoon, the media confirmed that in addition to his anti-Trump rants, this gunman had liked the Southern Poverty Law Center’s page on Facebook, the same organization tied to domestic terrorism in federal court for inspiring the shooting at FRC. This is where the path of intolerance can lead. And in a country spewing inflamed rhetoric from Broadway to the Beltway, it’s time for reasonable people to step in and say, “Enough.”

From the White House, President Trump appealed to the country to remember, “We may have our differences, but everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because they love our country… We are strongest,” he went on, “when we are unified and work together for the common good.” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) echoed the president’s message in a gathering of the chamber. “We are united in our shock and we are united in our anguish. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

We continue to pray for Steve and the entire Scalise family, the brave law enforcers, and young Hill staffer injured on the scene. Most importantly, we lift up our nation, which desperately needs God’s healing touch if we have any hope of rediscovering the mutual respect that makes America great. May the Lord help us to be reflective as a people about what’s at stake and seek His hand as we navigate these difficult waters.

Originally published here.

Army Sessions a Training Wreck

It’s been a long time since Americans read a headline about the U.S. military that actually had to do with national defense. And unless the Trump administration steps in, that’s not about to change any time soon. Days after requesting a two-year delay on Barack Obama’s transgender troop policy, the Army was forced to start training its soldiers and its civilians on how to welcome the gender confused into its ranks.

With the July 1st deadline looming for all branches to accept people who identify as transgender, the Army had no choice but to start the process with special sessions Tuesday. “The training module specifically outlines key roles and responsibilities of commanders, transgender soldiers, military medical providers, and administrative management organizations,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson. It’s a “lesson,” she went on, “that will assist soldiers in understanding Army policy for the military service of transgender soldiers so that they can implement the policy while maintaining morale, readiness, and good order and discipline” — important values that at least two service chiefs already worry will be compromised.

Both the Army and Marine Corps have been vocal about their objections to the change, which puts political correctness ahead of common sense — and more importantly, national security. Of course, the Obama administration argued that excluding the gender-confused is “discriminatory.” But the reality is, the military discriminates constantly to find the best physical and mental recruits it can. Why is this any different? Otherwise qualified men and women are turned away from the military every day for bad eyes, flat feet, asthma, and a host of other traits. But in the phony name of fairness, the Defense Department would willingly let people into the military whose mental state is not only unstable but a detriment to their fellow service members? It’s incredible. Allergies can keep you out of the military, but gender dysphoria can’t?

If the Left were as focused on the world’s threats as it was on LGBT activism, America would be the safest, most powerful country in the world. Instead, Obama’s legacy is jeopardizing the nation’s safety by catering to (what generous estimates say) is one half of one percent of the population! Making matters worse, these are struggling people, who, as even the Left admits, aren’t deployable because of the medication they’re under or treatments they’re receiving.

And the frustrating piece of this is that rolling back the guidance is as simple as a DOD memo. Since the policy wasn’t approved by law, Secretary James Mattis, President Trump, or even Congress could step in and stop the change from taking place. But so far, with the clock running out, none have. Now, as a result, tens of thousands of our finest soldiers and civilians are wasting hours learning about transgender etiquette at the expense of warfighting skills. Today’s military, FRC’s Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (U.S. Army-Ret.) points out, spends “all their training time in classrooms listening to lectures on diversity, tolerance, and inclusion instead of the Military Code of Conduct.”

“Talk to any service member today,” he points out, “and you will find that a majority of them will express great frustration with the amount of time that they spend in these lectures at the expense of preparing for war. Now you can add another classroom lecture and more wasted training time, which will further degrade their individual and unit readiness… We must restore the warrior culture and ethos because the enemies of this nation will have no mercy and will not care about how well versed we are on tolerance, inclusion, diversity, or sensitivity. All they will be concerned with is whether we are capable of and willing to kill or capture them on the battlefield.”

Originally published here.

Oregon Starved for Morals Under Suicide Bill

If you have a history of mental illness in your family, stay away from Oregon! The state isn’t exactly the friendliest place to be for people suffering from things like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Under a new bill just passed by the Oregon Senate, SB 494, there could be situations, the local Right to Life chapter writes, “where an incompetent person’s life may be ended according to the wishes of their health care representative, even if it’s against the unwritten or ambiguously written desires of the incompetent person.”

That’s the shocking situation staring down Oregon residents, where a controversy around a woman’s dying wish sparked a new push for a far more extreme assisted suicide policy than the one on the books. The bill was introduced after a woman’s family sued her nursing home to stop feeding and hydrating her intravenously. They argued that the woman, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, signed a directive saying she didn’t want to be fed. The family lost the suit in court, because she was still expressing a desire to eat — and could still do so with her hands.

Now, Oregon liberals are taking the state in a radical new direction in response, voting a bill through the senate that some, including pro-life leader Gayle Atteberry, believe “opens a door to a whole new classification of people who can be legally killed… including killing conscious, non-dying adults, incapacitated because of mental illness, who have not asked to be killed.” If the measure passes, patients with mental issues may actually have to opt-in to basic necessities like food and water instead of opt-out. It’s a frightening new world, where cost outweighs care. And killing is excused by a twisted conscience.

If you live in Oregon, join us in opposing this slippery slope. Contact your leaders in the state house and remind them that there’s no freedom in taking a life — at any stage. Unfortunately, this is the lie of the culture of death that’s expanding right along with abortion. Both movements are fueled by a selfish belief that people are burdens, not blessings. But as far too many people find out — too late — ending a life will always cause more suffering than it cures.

Originally published here.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.