Today in Arizona, at least 19 people were shot at a peaceful political rally. Thus far a Federal Judge, a nine year old girl and four others have died from this tragedy. A US Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the temple and is currently in critical condition. The perpetrator is a 22 year old white male, having posted many "last notes" and several political rants about the failure of the government in various ways, such as not backing the US currency in gold. So far, he is the only real suspect. He fired with a semiautomatic pistol with an extended clip.
I'd like for this not to turn into Republican versus Democrat(at least not to a very strong extent), but what does this say about American society? What does this say for the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution? Does the propaganda of various political pundits and even politicians have a large role, such as Sarah Palin's cross-hairs over the portraits of various left-wing politicians, Giffords included?
Post your thoughts.
Update on Arizona:
Six confirmed dead now, Congresswoman Giffords is still sedated and in critical care.