In the immediate aftermath of a horrific tragedy, it is inevitable that some number of politicians will expose themselves as fools. The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting is no exception. Here, we nominate Oregon State Rep. Dennis Richardson as a strong candidate for "Most Inappropriate Reaction."

The email below, which was forwarded to us by a source, was sent on the day of the shooting by Rep. Richardson to several school superintendents in his district. (It did receive some media pickup over the weekend, but it seems egregious enough to publish in full today.) If only State Rep. Dennis Richardson had gone into education. Bolding ours:

From: "Rep Richardson"

Subject: RE: Preventable Tragedy in Connecticut

Date: December 14, 2012 2:53:06 PM PST

To: [redacted] [redacted]: The Sandy Hook shootings are another heart breaking failure of school personnel to ensure the protection of innocent children and adults. Sadly, most of the deaths could have been prevented. If I had been a teacher or the principal at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and if the school district did not preclude me from having access to a firearm, either by concealed carry or locked in my desk, most of the murdered children would still be alive, and the gunman would still be dead, and not by suicide. When will our school officials open their eyes to the reality that law enforcement officers, in such instances as these, can respond only after the unfettered killings have occurred, and that our children's safety depends on having a number of well-trained school employees on every campus who are prepared to defend our children and save their lives? Dennis Richardson

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