Bill O’Reilly responded to the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history on Monday morning by suggesting these types of events are simply “the price of freedom.” In a blog post on his website, O’Reilly wrote, “Once again, the big downside of American freedom is on gruesome display.” He went on to declare that “government restrictions will not stop psychopaths from harming people,” adding: “The NRA and its supporters want easy access to weapons, while the left wants them banned. This is the price of freedom. Violent nuts are allowed to roam free until they do damage, no matter how threatening they are. The Second Amendment is clear that Americans have a right to arm themselves for protection. Even the loons.” After last year’s ISIS-inspired mass shooting in Orlando, however, O’Reilly surprised many Fox News viewers by saying that the right had a “responsibility” to address the gun-control issue. “There is too much gun crime in the USA, and high-powered weaponry is too easy to get,” O’Reilly said at the time. “That’s the fact. So let’s deal with it.”
