The massacre last week at Virginia Tech has not yet blossomed into a full-blown political issue, but it soon will and I would be remiss if I didn’t say something.

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their friends and family. As an American, a parent and a father of two who are heading off to college this year, I am devastated by what happened – as we all are. I also am struck that I have been reading this week about a gunman and some students who were killed. I have not once read about a murderer and those he murdered. Let’s be clear and accurate: Cho was a murderer.

Calling him a gunman seems to blame the gun as much or more than Cho. If he had poisoned the students, would he be known as chemist? The 32 students and teachers were not killed, they were murdered. Someone is killed in a tragic automobile accident. If a deranged, suicidal maniac systematically and intentionally mows you down with guns – you were murdered. Since there were 32 victims, it was a mass murder.

Why is it so hard for the media to say this? Why is the word “evil” not used? Why is the press already looking to help justify the acts “of a tortured, misunderstood, scared student”? We need to acknowledge this act for exactly what is was before we can learn from it and perhaps stop the next one. Hiding behind language to minimize the level of evil – and the results – is an insult to all of us, but most of all to the 32 victims.

The debates (“college security,” “gun control,” “who’s responsible,” “who will pay,” etc.) will heat up over the next few days and weeks as this shifts from a tragedy to an opportunity. Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) couldn’t even wait one day before saying, “The unfortunate situation in Virginia could have been avoided if congressional leaders stood up to the gun lobby.” Let’s not make this a political football, play partisan politics, and destroy additional lives by blaming innocent people for the act of a madman. If we can do that, maybe there is a silver lining to this tragedy.