The ever controversial, former-republican-presidential hopeful, Ron Paul, has brought more attention to himself with his recent tweet about the death of former Navel SEAL, Chris Kyle.
"Kyle, 38, a decorated Iraq war veteran, a former SEAL and author of "American Sniper," was shot and killed Saturday by 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, a veteran authorities say may have a mental illness related to his military service," according to Fox News.
Initial reports state that Kyle was at the firing range to assist Routh through his post-traumatic-stress disorder, but Routh allegedly turned the gun on him, killing him in cold blood.
Upon hearing the news Paul released this tweet:
"Chris Kyle's death seems to confirm that 'he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.' Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn't make sense."
His comment started a chain-reaction from many who felt the comment was out of line.
Aaron Worthing (@AaronWorthing) responded: "What the Hell, @RonPaul? Are you actually blaming Chris Kyle for his own death?," according to Fox News.
Michelle Lancaster (@SkiGarmisch) added, "Very disrespectful commentary to this man, his memory and his family. Shame on you," according to Fox News.
Razor (@hale.razor) wrote, "So all veterans, once done serving our nation with honor, deserve to be murdered as civilians? Wow," according to Fox News.
Though these comments might have been mis-timed on Paul's part, it does bring up a debate about guns and ownership of those guns.
Should a person who has been diagnosed with PTSD be able to handle a gun?
Who knows when that person will decide to snap? Or, if something triggers an emotion that cannot be controlled?
Gun-control is the center of Paul's comments, it just so happened to be said about the Navy SEAL's "most-lethal sniper in the U.S., with 160 confirmed kills," reported Fox News.
The backlash forced the ex-congressman from Texas to issue an apology via Facebook.
"As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend's violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle's family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences. A policy of non-violence, as Christ preached, would have prevented this and similar tragedies.-REP," stated businessinder.com.
With the rise in the number of gun-violence incidents over the past several months, gun control has been a hot topic for debate and all Paul did was throw more fuel on the fire.
The U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment gives Its citizens the "Right To Bear Arms."
But, some pundits feel that shouldn't be the case anymore. One pundit, John Stewart, on The Daily Show, pointed out that "The U.S. Constitution was made during the revolution, while in war with Great Britain-it was a different time, all they had were muskets, not assault weapons."
With the death of Kyle, at the hands of an alleged mentally-handicapped man, Routh, who was in possession of a rifle, it is a big blow for gun-activits who claim guns don't kill people, it is people who kill people. Though, that statement is exactly what happened here, the opposite argument can also be made--if there were stricter gun laws, or, if taking it to the extreme, no guns at all (at least not civilan guns), Routh wouldn't be able to shoot Kyle because he wouldn't have the gun in the first place (not legally anyway).
Watch this video of Kyle discussing gun-rights.
