Aftab Pureval continues to use the shooting that killed three people at a bank in Cincinnati as a political weapon.
Since the shooting Thursday Pureval has tweeted several times, indirectly alluding to his opinion that guns are killing Americans, rather than the criminals who use them to commit heinous crimes, just like other weapons such as knives, vehicles and explosive devices.
He tweeted a photo of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s opinion page Friday, which the paper left blank with one word at the bottom: “ENOUGH.”
Pureval pounced on the issue.
“Thank you Enquirer for expressing how we all feel today as we continue to pray for the victims and their families,” Pureval tweeted, adding the pro-gun control hashtag #Enough.
Thank you to the @Enquirer for expressing how we all feel today as we continue to pray for the victims and their families. #Enough #CincinnatiStrong pic.twitter.com/qjuSxJCJuv
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) September 7, 2018
Those who clicked on the #Enough hashtag used by Pureval Saturday would have found a tweet that posted a picture of a billboard calling the NRA a “terrorist organization.”
This is in the middle of Wisconsin. I think we've officially reached the turning point. #EndGunViolence #Enough @MomsDemand pic.twitter.com/sd7jtCe8d9
— Erin Preese (@e_preese) September 1, 2018
The day before, Thursday, which was the very day that the tragic shooting occurred, Pureval retweeted Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley’s tweet, which The Ohio Star previously reported was based on false data about mass shootings in America.
Proud to have @JohnCranley as my Mayor. https://t.co/lYA4KsEBwY
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) September 6, 2018
The Cincinnati mayor’s false claim was that mass shootings are somehow unique to the U.S..
Before that, Pureval tweeted:
Tragedy struck our beloved Cincinnati today with a senseless act of gun violence. Our hearts ache for the victims and their families. Our gratitude is with first responders who reacted so bravely. This kind of tragedy occurs far too often in our country. May it never occur again.
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) September 6, 2018
Pureval is one of the many Democrat candidates who are taking a risk by embracing gun-control in campaigns for the 2018 midterm elections. He believes even Republicans in Ohio’s first congressional district, where he is running against Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH-01), are eagerly anticipating the chance to vote for an anti-gun representative.
“But after a spate of school shootings, including February’s massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Pureval believes voters in the Republican-leaning district have had enough of congressional inaction,” Reuters reported.
And now Pureval has his own mass shooting, right in his district’s largest city, to piggy back off of while promoting his favorite issue.
It remains unclear what new law Pureval would propose that would have stopped the Cincinnati shooting. The shooter, Omar Enrique Santa-Perez legally purchased his 9mm handgun, the most popular handgun in America, and passed a background check, according to police statements. He showed signs of being mentally unstable but was never diagnosed as having a mental illness.
According to the Reuters’ analysis, 38 of the 59 Democrats backed by the party’s “Red-to-Blue” midterms’ campaign have supported gun restrictions in their official platforms. Several others separately released statements calling for limits on Americans’ access to guns.
“November’s midterm elections will test whether gun violence has become a defining issue for U.S. voters in the wake of the Parkland shooting that killed 17 students and staff and reignited a nationwide movement for stricter gun laws after a campaign by student survivors,” Reuters reported.
Look for Pureval to continue hitting this issue hard in the final two months before the Nov. 6 election.
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Anthony Accardi is a writer and reporter for The Ohio Star.
