Joe the Plumber: Your dead kids don’t trump my constitutional rights

A US conservative activist has written an open letter to the families of mass killer Elliot Rodger’s victims, arguing the deaths of innocent people “don’t trump” his constitutional rights.

Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known by the nickname “Joe the Plumber”, said his letter is directed “only to the families of the gunshot victims in Santa Barbara” and not the families of three others who were stabbed before the shooting spree.

Rodger, 22, killed seven people, including himself, and wounded 13 others when he went on a killing spree in Isla Vista, Califoia, on Friday.

But the bloodbath wasn’t enough to convince conservatives like Wurzelbacher that America has a problematic gun culture, where the issue of the right to bear arms is hotly contested.

“I am sorry you lost your child. I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through now. But: As harsh as this sounds — your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights,” Wurzelbacher wrote.

Disturbed man ... Elliott Rodger, 22, went on a murderous rampage on Friday — killing six young people before dying in a shootout with deputies. Source: AP

Wurzelbacher acknowledged his comments are “harsh” but claimed pro-gun control activists “don’t care about your family or your dead children at all.”

“They sound like they do, whereas I sound uncaring and like I say, harsh,” Wurzelbacher wrote. “Don’t be fooled — I care about your family and mine. The future of our very liberty lies in the balance of this fight.”

Unbearable pain ... Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was killed in Friday night's mass shooting, breaks down. Source: AP

Wurzelbacher’s letter was published on Barbwire on Monday, just days after one victim’s father blamed “craven, irresponsible politicians” and the National Rifle Association for his son’s death.

Wurzelbacher said the words of Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher Martinez was a victim in Friday’s incident, “will be exploited by gun-grab extremists as are all tragedies involving gun violence and the mentally ill by the anti-Second Amendment Left.”

The 39-year-old told Martinez to “back off.”

Grief-stricken ... students of UCSB and UCLA mou at a candlelight vigil at UCLA for the victims of a killing rampage. Source: AFP

Wurzelbacher rose to prominence in 2008 when he stood up against then-candidate Barack Obama.

He has since stood as a failed Tea Party congressional candidate and made some money as a talkback radio commentator.

This is not his first controversy, having previously said gun laws stopped Europe’s Jews being unable to defend themselves in the Holocaust and joked about going to Mexico and “starting shooting” to cut illegal immigration.

Read Wurzelbacher’s entire letter here.