Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

I’m old enough to remember when then-Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-CA) was shot. In particular, I remember the howls of righteous indignation over a picture from Sarah Palin’s organization that placed crosshairs over Giffords’ district.

We were repeatedly told that it was a clear threat, that Palin’s supposedly hateful actions motivated the madman who opened fire at a campaign event. Nevermind that such rhetoric was a routine part of campaign discussions for decades before, that the crosshairs were only alarming in hindsight, or anything else.

No, the evil Republicans were clearly out to get Giffords, and it happened!

Only, the shooter wasn’t motivated by that campaign literature at all. There’s no evidence he even saw it. He was a deranged, murderous man who wanted to kill someone.

However, those same people blaming Republicans for the attack on Giffords probably thought this was hilarious.

Yes, it’s hilarious to post a video that implies NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch gets shot. Especially since she’s received death threats, even being forced to move to protect her family

While I’d be inclined to let this pass as a pathetic excuse for humor, there’s this caption for the video itself on YouTube:

Description: As the nation’s prominent advocate for gun rights, you’d think the NRA would be better at defending itself.

The two together could undoubtedly be interpreted as a threat.

Now, I don’t think that was the intent. I don’t think late-night comedian Stephen Colbert has the cajones to threaten anyone, especially someone who has the means to resist. He’s a sanctimonious jackwagon who pontificates on television, preaching to the choir and deluding himself into believing he’s both relevant and funny.

He’s neither.

Loesch, however, has become a favorite punching bag for the Left, a target for all its hatred.

Loesch has been a prime target for anti-gun extremists. The activist, who is routinely threatened online, was booed and maligned during a CNN town hall event in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, for example.

“After the broadcast ended, one of my detail had to stop a woman who rushed the stage to tackle me from behind. That is when [Jake] Tapper asked me if I had an escort out. I am positive that CNN’s cameras, still operational, observed this and would like for them to release the footage,” Loesch recalled last month. The spokeswoman made the remark after it was amazingly announced that CNN won the Walter Cronkite Award for the mob-like event.

As reported by NewsBusters, Loesch was also maligned with shouts of “murderer” at the event and had her fitness as a mother questioned by Stoneman Douglas student activist Emma Gonzalez.

“Alright. Dana Loesch, I want to know that we will support your two children in the way that we will not — you will not,” said Gonzalez.

The high schooler went on to ask about gun modifications, such as bump stocks — which have now been outlawed by the Trump administration.

That’s some prescription-grade tolerance, isn’t it?

Now, let’s be clear here. Loesch has gone into environments known to be hostile to both gun rights and her personally, and through all of it has handled herself with intelligence and class. She’s been willing to engage opponents on a regular basis, discussing the issues with facts, all while being maligned and blamed for acts she wasn’t even in the same state of.

And now we see this?

People wonder why so many on this side of the gun debate have no use for the mainstream media. This right here is why.