Samuel Wurzelbacher gave his condolences this week to the families of the victims of the mass shooting near the University of California, Santa Barbara. But no tragedy is going to stop “Joe The Plumber” from defending the Second Amendment.

In an open letter published Tuesday on the website Barbwire, Wurzelbacher went out of his way to explain to the victims’ parents that the deaths won’t undermine his “Constitutional rights.”

“I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through now,” wrote Wurzelbacher, who became something of a mascot for John McCain’s failed 2008 presidential campaign. “But: As harsh as this sounds – your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights.”

Wurzelbacher singled out Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was one of the six students killed by Elliot Rodger in Isla Vista, Calif. Since the deadly rampage, Martinez has twice railed against politicians and the National Rifle Association for the failure to pass new gun laws after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

“There are no critical words for a grieving father. He can say whatever he wants and blame whoever he’d like – it’s okay by me. You can’t take a step in his shoes – at least I can’t,” Wurzelbacher wrote. “But the words and images of Mr. Martinez blaming ‘the proliferation of guns’, lobbyists, politicians, etc.; will be exploited by gun-grab extremists as are all tragedies involving gun violence and the mentally ill by the anti-Second Amendment Left.”

Wurzelbacher added that he has a responsibility as a “father, husband and a man” to protect his family. Addressing Martinez directly, Wurzelbacher wrote that “anyone calling for more restrictions on American’s rights need to back off and stop playing into the hands of the folks who merely capitalize on these horrific events for their own political ends.”

Wurzelbacher closed with an admonition.

“In conclusion, I cannot begin to imagine the pain you are going through, having had your child taken away from you,” he wrote. “However, any feelings you have toward my rights being taken away from me, lose those.”

h/t RightWingWatch

