“You can’t let your emotions take over, or you won’t be able to help anybody.” Those are the words of one of the first responders to the shooting Sunday in Sutherland Springs. He was speaking about how he, and others responding to the scene, had to steel themselves in order to do their jobs. His words can and should apply to more than just the first responders. Instead of having knee-jerk reactions to what happened and calling for even further restrictions on the Second Amendment, our politicians, not to mention those in Hollywood who were so glad to have a tragedy to take attention away from Weinstein and his ilk, should have set emotion aside and waited for the facts to be determined. If nothing else, they should have taken a moment to remember the victims, living and dead. But no, they saw a political horse and had to flog it.

No one denies the tragedy that happened in Sutherland Springs. When Devin Kelley opened fire, he changed that town forever. His actions also pointed out a major breakdown in a system that should have protected his victims. But, instead of focusing on that breakdown, liberals around the country stepped onto their soapboxes and once again began their chant of “Gun control! Gun control! Gun control!” Even as they do so, they ignore the fact that men who legally owned guns used those guns to drive the shooter away from the church and gave chase.

The system failed Sutherland Springs, not the law. Kelley applied for a concealed carry permit in Texas and was denied. The Texas Department of Public Safety found something in his background the precluded him from being licensed. Yet, as we now know, the standard background check did not reveal his conviction for spousal abuse. It did not reveal his dishonorable discharge. The Air Force failed to report those actions, actions that would have prevented him from buying a weapon.