COLORADO SPRINGS, December 11, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Yes, you read that correctly: there was a strong Christian pro-life element to the tragic shooting at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood. But it is not the motive or the person the media has been focused on.
The person is Officer Garrett Swasey, and his motive was his Christian faith.
I would like to see at least one news story cover the shooting at the Planned Parenthood from the perspective of Officer Swasey. I would like at least one reporter to ask: what was his motivation?
I think Officer Swasey earned it, don't you?
Instead of focusing on the motivation of a deranged killer, from which we will learn nothing of substance, why not focus on the motivation of a committed Christian pro-lifer who laid down his life for his prodigal brothers and sisters at the abortion mill?
Of course, other than the empty platitudes from president Obama and others, Officer Swasey's motivation has not been a story of interest for the media. Instead, immediately following the murders, the media went into a frenzy to link the deranged killer to the pro-life movement and advocate for more gun control laws.
Never mind that there is not a single credible pro-life organization in the whole world that advocates violence against abortionists or that most of these big shootings occur in tightly regulated gun-free zones. Never mind that the shooter apparently didn't target or kill a single abortionist or any of their helpers. The story was already written, and the motive was known – and the solution, too.
Swarms of reporters were dispatched by the media, and within hours, “clues” as to the motivation of the deranged killer started to emerge – pictures of twigs taped together to a shack vaguely resembling a cross in one of the former dwellings of the accused murderer, Robert Dear; a decades-old statement uttered to an ex-wife (!); apparent disgust at Planned Parenthood's trafficking of aborted baby parts.
Immediately, Planned Parenthood started – I should say, continued – to callously fundraise from the killings.
What was not reported was that the officer who had rushed to the abortion mill to stop the killings was a vocal opponent of abortion and a committed Christian pastor, who signed the petition that I wrote to amend the Colorado constitution to recognize all unborn human beings as persons.
For that amendment, which Officer Swasey and another 140,000 Colorado voters supported and put on the ballot in 2014, personhood supporters have been labeled as American “Taliban,” “extremists,” and “anti-woman.” They've been labeled potential right-wing extremists by the Department of Homeland Security.
Let me repeat that so that it can sink in: for supporting the view that all human beings deserve to be constitutionally protected, pro-lifers are considered potential extremists.
In reality, holding the view that all human beings are endowed by their Creator with inherent dignity and constitutional protection (even the most heinous abortionist or other such mass killers) should make the holding of pro-life views an indication not of violent extremism, but of extreme civic-mindedness. But the media is not interested in that story.
The heroic death of Officer Garrett Swasey proves this point. Here was a man who believed that what is going on inside Planned Parenthood is nothing less than the killing of innocent persons, but he was willing to lay down his life, leaving his wife and young children, in order to protect the lives of those who profit from the killing of the unborn.
So instead of looking into the motivation of the deranged killer (who will probably plead insanity), why don't we ponder the motivation of Officer Swasey? Why don't we think about the thought process and beliefs that probably motivated his heroic actions?
As for me, I imagine that, being an evangelical pastor, Officer Swasey was well aware of the biblical commandment to love even the evil and unrighteous. I can imagine the words that Jesus himself spoke racing through his mind as the bullets flew towards him.
You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt. 5:43-48)
It takes a great man to make the ultimate sacrifice for evildoers, and that is exactly what Officer Swasey did that day at Planned Parenthood. In doing so, he followed the steps of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who died to redeem others less worthy than He.
The ludicrous media narratives and the Obama administration's obsessive focus on Christians and pro-lifers as potential terrorists are completely exposed by Officer Swasey's sacrifice and his consistent Christian pro-life beliefs and actions. Signing the 2014 Personhood Amendment to protect unborn babies and dying to protect abortionists most probably had one and the same motivation: Jesus Christ.
That snowy day on the hills of Colorado Springs, the entire Christian faith was replayed for all to see. A righteous man laid down his life for many who did not deserve his sacrifice.
I pray that the heroic action of Officer Garret Swasey reaches even the most hardened hearts of the worst abortionists and causes them to undergo a conversion. When that happens, I know that those abortionists will stop committing abortions and will stop the taking of innocent life, choosing instead to protect that most precious gift. That is what Christian pro-lifers do.
Gualberto Garcia Jones is the author of the 2010 and 2014 Colorado Personhood Amendments and the national policy director of the Personhood Alliance.