Rewarding Violence

I'm with the great muddled middle of Americans who won't go to either extreme of the abortion debate, that is, the best of a bad menu of choices is that abortion should be permitted with restrictions. If anything, I tilt toward the pro-life rather than the pro-choice side. However, I hated to see this headline:

Slain Kansas abortion provider's clinic to close

By murdering George Tiller an anti-abortion extremist not only eliminated a despised symbol but stopped future abortions from being performed. The killer got his way through violence and not by lawful means. I fear that like-minded individuals are absorbing the lessons of this event. Law enforcement should use deadly force, if necessary, to stop this terrorism from spreading.

And to those who nod in agreement but believe that, in the international arena, words without bullets can dissuade terrorists who have already succeeded through violent acts, I might ask, what makes their fanatics more reasonable than ours? It's a puzzlement.