Almost as soon as it was confirmed Sunday that Dr. George Tiller had been murdered while serving at his church, bloggers began blogging, Twitter users hit the keyboards to "tweet," and news stations from across the state, then from across the country descended on my hometown of Wichita, KS. The news was shocking. While it was not a surprise to see the news cycle take hold of the story, it truly does show how far social media has come when people are sharing stories of this magnitude and having discussions on topics such as murder, abortion and media reaction on their Facebook accounts, Tiny Twitters and blogs.

My point is, this blog may be a bit redundant. In fact, there are already several blogs on this very site offering opinions on the Tiller slaying. However, I will use this opportunity to blog a few thoughts of my own regarding the murder and the media storm that followed, and I invite you to leave your own comments on my blog. I only ask you be respectful of my opinions and of one another.

We do not all agree on abortion, and that is fine. In fact, in life, there are very few things we will all agree on. Be it religion, politics, or where to have dinner, we can and will disagree on anything that is open for debate and discussion. Despite my recognition of the obvious (surprise! people don't always agree!) I was disappointed and saddened to see some of the comments on the various web sites (including our own) regarding the death of Tiller. Dr. Tiller performed a legal medical service and, like it or not, was acquitted on various charges stemming from performing late-term abortions in a court of law. The state said his career was legal, the courts determined he was not a criminal. He was also a husband, father and grandfather.

When the news first broke on our web site, I received a phone call from someone telling me it was God's work that Tiller was shot down in his church. I have since noted several web comments stating that he (paraphrasing) "got what he deserved," or that this was in some way justifiable homicide.

I can't imagine the people writing these kinds of comments have ever had to hear the news that a family member had been killed. Or attended a friend's funeral and have to watch the family slowly pass by the casket. I can't imagine anyone who has experienced death in any kind of intimate way would wish that on anyone, regardless of how they feel about abortion. I also can't imagine people who oppose abortion on the basis of their religion would turn around and be so hypocritical. A man is dead because someone decided they would take God's work into their hands -- that they would judge their fellow man. That this person would end one man's life work as an abortion provider by committing the gravest of all sins.

Many pro-life supporters came out against the murder of Dr. Tiller, as they should. So my comments about the faceless people of the web who feel the need to denigrate Dr. Tiller even after his death are by no means a shot at the people on that side of the issue. I am not trying to start a fight about which side is right, which is wrong, or when and where it is appropriate to protest (outside of an abortion clinic? A doctor's home? His church?). I am simply saying there is no moral way to justify the cold-blooded murder of a human being in front of his family inside of his church, and I hope we can (mostly) agree on that.

As we move forward, this story will continue to grow. We'll follow the trial of Tiller's accused killer. We will wait and see if his clinic reopens, and if so, what kind of security it will have. We'll be curious how this murder affects the national abortion debate. We've even see ancillary stories about church safety, clinic protests, PETA signs in Wichita and many more. I hope we never forget that when this is all broken down, at the heart of the story is a man who was killed in the one place we should all be safe, with his family members and fellow church members looking on, helpless to do anything.