(Image by Gazette Staff) A screenshot of the Twitter exchange between Bell and O’Malley.
Arkansas state Rep. Nate Bell, who suggested April 19 on Twitter that Bostonians are “cowering” because they lack assault rifles during the marathon bomber manhunt, and was rebuked by local City Councilor Matt O’Malley, partly apologized for those comments.
“I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine?” Bell tweeted.
O’Malley responded in a tweet, “You are a moron.”
In a statement posted on Facebook the same day, Bell said, “I would like to apologize to the people of Boston & Massachusetts for the poor timing of my tweet earlier this morning. As a staunch and unwavering supporter of the individual right to self defense, I expressed my point of view without thinking of its effect on those still in time of crisis. In hindsight, given the ongoing tragedy that is still unfolding, I regret the poor choice of timing. Please know that my thoughts and prayers were with the people of Boston overnight and will continue as they recover from this tragedy.”
More than 1,200 comments immediately responding to Bell’s Facebook page indicated that his apology was widely not accepted. “I’m from Arkansas, and I’m disgusted by this jackass,” read one of the less profane responses.