Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal slammed Ian Harper-Mercer, father of the gunman responsible for the fatal mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, for failing to raise his son the right way.
"This killer's father is now lecturing us on the need for gun control and he says he has no idea how or where his son got the guns," Jindal wrote on his blog. "You know why he doesn't know? Because he is not, and has never been in his son's life."
Last weekend, Ian called for gun control during an interview with CNN. He also said that he never held a firearm before and condemned gun ownership. Jindal called Ian's statement to question.
"He brags that he has never held a gun in his life and that he had no idea that his son had any guns," Jindal retorted. "Why didn't he know? Because he failed to raise his son. He should be ashamed of himself, and he owes us all an apology."
Besides criticizing Mercer, Jindal pointed to the glorification of murder in popular culture as being another reason behind mass shootings.
"Our movies and TV shows feature a continuous stream of grotesque killing of every kind imaginable. And this is true of virtually every genre, from horror to drama to comedy," he explained.
"We celebrate and document every kind of deviant behavior and we give out awards to producers who can push the envelope as far as possible. Rape, torture, murder, mass murder, all are cinematic achievements."
Jindal was also disturbed by the popularity of violence in video games.
"We have generations of young boys who were raised on video games where they compete with other young boys around the country and the world to see who can kill the most humans," he added. "We make it so fun, so realistic, so sensational."
On October 1, Chris Harper-Mercer opened fire in a classroom at Umpqua Community College. By the first responders arrived, the 26-year-old has already killed ten people. Harper-Mercer died in the subsequent gun battle with police.
On Friday, U.S. President Barrack Obama met privately with survivors and families of the victims at the site of the massacre. Obama was quick to emphasize that the reason behind his trip was to console "families of those who were so profoundly affected by that tragedy." The President will be making additional fundraiser stops in California.
