What The GOP Had To Say About The PP Shooting

Three people were killed and nine others were wounded on Friday after gunman Robert Lewis Dear opened fire at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Although the motive for the shooting, and whether or not the gunman chose Planned Parenthood as his target, is not yet known, members of the Democratic Party have already come out in support of Planned Parenthood in the hours after the deadly attack. But the Republican response to the Planned Parenthood Colorado Springs shooting has remained almost nonexistent.

Although the Democratic National Committee released a statement Saturday morning condemning the shooting, the Republican National Committee has not made any public statements. Bustle has reached out to the RNC for request to comment, but did not hear back at the time of this writing.

The House Republicans, who opened the congressional inquiry into Planned Parenthood's fetal-tissue donation program in July, have yet to comment on the Colorado Springs shooting. The leader of the Congressional investigation, House Oversight & Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), has only commented that he would be praying for fallen Officer Garrett Swasey.

“Praying for [Swasey] and his family,” Chaffetz wrote on Twitter. Chaffetz has not made any statements about Planned Parenthood, nor has he publicly condemned the shooting.

So far, only one Republican presidential candidate has made public comments about the shooting. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted on Saturday that he was "praying for the loved ones of those killed, those injured & first responders who bravely got the situation under control in Colorado Springs."

Cruz also posted a similar sentiment on his official Facebook page Saturday morning. Yet GOP presidential front-runners Donald Trump and Ben Carson have remained silent on the shooting. Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have not made any public statements at this time.

All of these GOP candidates have publicly supported defunding Planned Parenthood. The Republican candidates have also described themselves numerous times this election season as "pro-life."

Meanwhile, the three Democratic presidential candidates—Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley—have either condemned the shooting at the Planned Parenthood Colorado Springs facility or expressed their support for the nation's largest family planning organization. Sanders tweeted on Saturday that he hopes "people realize that bitter rhetoric can have unintended consequences."

O'Malley tweeted on Saturday: "My thoughts and prayers are with those in Colorado. #StandWithPP." Clinton also tweeted that her campaign stands with Planned Parenthood "today and every day."