Forty-three years ago, a crazed political fanatic by the name of John Hinkley, Jr. thought he could change American history by taking aim at the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. In pulling the trigger, the gunman’s bullet hit President Reagan in a ricochet, and stole the agency of White House Press Secretary James Brady and injured Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy and policeman Thomas Delahanty. It was a day that shocked America and put the Secret Service at the forefront of scrutiny.

However, the ability to protect people of high importance has again been called into question following this weekend’s assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump, who was giving a speech at a political rally on the campaign trail for the White House in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

In similar lunacy to that day in 1981, the shooter thought his weapon to be the harbinger of change – but thankfully failed in his attempt to alter the course of history.

Saturday’s evil was snuffed out quickly by Secret Service snipers, but as the eight shots rang out, the target – Donald Trump – suffered a wound to his ear, two others were injured, and one man, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, described as loving, faithful, a “girl dad” and firefighter, shielded his family from bullets and died a hero. Once again, the burdens of a mad man were placed on the shoulders of innocent bystanders and every American who witnessed this terrifying incident over and over again on both television and on the internet. 

With so many questions still unanswered, we pray that the investigation leads to determining how a 20-year-old assassin was able to gain access to a nearby rooftop with direct line of sight, only 150 yards from a former President of the United States, with a high-powered rifle in his hands.

His motives in trying to take the former president’s life are still unclear and the Secret Service, FBI and all law enforcement agencies involved will need to review and revise their protocols to address this latest incident. 

As we await more answers, we wish former President Donald Trump and the two other injured individuals – David Dutch and James Copenhaver – a speedy recovery.

We would also like to extend our deepest condolences to the Corey Comperatore family as they try and heal from this latest senseless shooting of an American. 

Following the shooting, President Joseph Biden said in his speech from the Oval Office, “politics must never be a literal battleground.” 

To resort to this type of violence will never be the answer to healing America’s great divide.

That responsibility lies with each and every American to respect each other’s right to express our beliefs, whether we believe them or not.

May God bless America – and all our troops.