They know that “thoughts and prayers” are meaningless. Otherwise, they wouldn’t bother to legislate our rights away.
Why illegalize abortion when you can just pray it away?
Why fight the rights of LGBT people when God is all-powerful, and God hates queers?
Why not just let God do all the shit that the Republicans say we oughtn’t to do, because God would get pissed off? God causes plagues and fires and floods and pillars of salt, customized for the individual. God can stand up for Himself.
But He doesn’t, does He?
They know that “thoughts and prayers” won’t stop gun violence; they know that they won’t bring school children back to life; they know that, push come to shove, God will not intervene on behalf of the righteous or punish the wicked.
They know that laws work.
They know that tax codes affect behavior.
They know that, while criminalization doesn’t stop crime, it does lessen it. And, at least, it defines what is acceptable in our society, and what is not.
They shouldn’t be hiding behind their thoughts and prayers. Their thoughts and prayers mean nothing to the dead. Or to the injured. Or to those who loved them.
Elections matter.
Thoughts and prayers do not.