In the wake of the shooting that left 12 people at a Southern California bar dead, MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews said lawmakers in this case sending their “thoughts and prayers” “should be outlawed.”

“Thoughts and prayers … I’m sorry, but that should be outlawed,” Matthews stated. “I know it’s well intended in some cases. It’s a throwaway line by a staffer who knocks off some script, some product, some wordage for somebody political to make it sound like they give a damn.”

He later said, “For the president, it seems like just another cultural button to push. You know, like moving the embassy in the Middle East. One of these things like it will get him some votes in the evangelical community. He says things like protecting your Second Amendment rights. The culture war you’re up against is brutal. They just push these buttons. And these people, ‘Oh, yeah, amen to that, Mr. President. You’re one of us. You’re one of us.’ It’s horrible. Not even about actual safety. It’s not about people shooting each other, plugging 12 people in a bar. It’s about this almost neo-religious notion of the Second Amendment — as if it’s god created. “

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent