After last week’s awful shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, President Obama took to the stage to criticize America’s gun-control laws. There were a couple of things he failed to mention in his speech, including offering up praise to a hero amid the nine lost lives.
Chris Mintz, an Army veteran, was on campus that day and reportedly charged the shooter. He received at least five gun-shot wounds but thankfully, survived the attack. As David French wrote:
In virtually every mass shooting incident, there are stories of incredible courage — of unarmed men charging shooters, of men shielding loved ones with their bodies — and these stories should give us great hope about the character of our citizens. After all, Chris Mintz did not wake up this morning planning to be a hero. It was just any other day for him, yet his immediate reaction to a shocking, horrifying event was not to flee but to protect. While mass shooters are a tiny few, when they attack their random samples of the American population, there are always people who show courage and resolve.
While President Obama is often quick to recognize those individuals who fit the profile of his political agenda, he has failed to acknowledge others who are deserving. Chris Mintz is the lone hero we have heard about in the days of news coverage since the shooting, yet he’s received no public mention from the president.
When 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed got in trouble for bringing a “homemade clock” to school, he was invited to the White House within 24 hours. When African-American youth Michael Brown was killed, no less than three White House aides attended his funeral.
When a hero like Chris Mintz charges an armed killer at a school shooting, risking his own life to save others, Obama can’t see past his gun-control agenda to stop for a moment and thank him for his bravery.