Interestingly enough, the young shooter at Arapahoe High School in Colorado was a proud Keynesian who hated the Republican Party as the party that just wants "people to die."

In a Facebook posting prior to his death, Karl Pierson mocked free-market thinkers and Adam Smith's "invisible hand" theory of economics.  The Los Angeles Times quoted acquaintances of Pierson in an article that he was a strong advocate of gun rights, yet they conveniently left out his other political views.  His alleged position on gun rights, however, seem contradicted by his Facebook posts, which criticized the Republican stance on gun laws.  A female classmate of Pierson -- in an MSNBC interview, of all places -- stated that the shooter proudly identified himself as a socialist.

Now, the political views of someone who obviously was mentally ill are not as significant as is the way in which they are treated by the media.  If Pierson had been an evangelical Christian or free-market and small-government advocate, we all know that such would be the lead headline in every story about him, along with prominent mention of his shared views with the Republican Party.  But since he was a socialist who hated Republicans, that little tidbit will be buried at the end of any article, if it is mentioned at all.

Regardless of the facts, the gun control community is out in force, asking for more bans on high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic rifles -- even though Pierson used a shotgun.  Facts can never get in the way of a good tragedy to be exploited.

Victor Keith writes from Burbank, California and can be contacted at victorakeith.com.