Rand Paul jabs ‘snide, snotty and arrogant’ prayer backlash

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he is “shocked” by the backlash against political figures offering prayers for the victims of mass shootings.

“The whole story above and beyond the tragedy amazes me,” he said on Fox News on Thursday, one day after an attack in San Bernardino, Calif., killed 14.

{mosads}“Until we know exactly what happened here, for people to be snide, snotty and arrogant about the fact that they believe prayer doesn’t impact our lives, I’m offended by it,” Paul said.

“I’m shocked by that kind of attitude. I think it’s a big mistake for the president — a big mistake for liberals in general — to mock people of religion and to mock people who believe in prayer,” the GOP presidential candidate added.

At least 14 died and 21 were wounded after multiple gunmen opened fire at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday.

Paul said prayer is a natural response for moments of extreme grief and fear.

“Some of the victims were actually tweeting out, ‘pray for us — pray for our safety,’ ” he said.

“If this were a member of my family, that’s what I’d be doing, praying for their safety, knowing I physically couldn’t remove them from harm.”

Paul cautioned against using the bloodshed as an excuse to tighten national gun regulations.

“In reality, this is a human tragedy first,” he said. “They were people — they were someone’s brother, someone’s sister, someone’s mother.

“I also think it’s a big mistake to immediately politicize something where when the facts come out, there are going to be some important policy decisions to make,” Paul added.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday sharply criticized politicians for focusing on prayer rather than material solutions following the shooting.

“Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage,” he tweeted. “Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing — again.”

President Obama renewed his calls for congressional action on gun control in the wake of the shooting.

Police killed two suspects — later identified as Syed Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27 — following a chase into Redlands, Calif., on Wednesday evening.