But places of worship are supposed to be places of refuge, and in general they have been recognized as such for thousands of years. To murder someone, particularly someone you have a moral disagreement with, in such a place of worship/refuge makes this murder just as vile as any you mentioned, at least in my mind.

To me, a heinous atrocity is something where the victim was made to suffer first. Matthew Shepherd’s murder is a great example of what I categorize as an atrocity. Being tied to a fence and stoned to death is a heinous atrocity, of that few can disagree (oddly enough, those that disagree tend to also see Tiller’s murder as a good thing too). I’d also use the term to categorize mass shootings like Columbine or Virginia Tech, based on the sheer volume of victims.

Of course, it could be semantics, but it’s something to keep in mind. I vehemently condemn Tiller’s murder, just as you do, but I see it in a different light. So I wouldn’t be to hard on the pro-life folks who see this as a murder just as I do. It’s a horrible crime, to be sure, but it is just as horrible as any other murder…which is bad enough.

That said, while many have said that the man should not have been murdered, not as many have condemned the murderer’s action as the heinous atrocity it was.

That said, at the time I posted this, every single pro-life response I had seen basically said “we’re glad Tiller is dead”, and very few acknowledged his murder as wrong – and even fewer condemned his murder.

In the past couple of days, yes, I HAVE in fact seen some pro-life organizations stepping up to condemn the murder, and I applaud them for it.

Still, much like every group has its crazies that the saner members of the organization must try to keep in check, those in the pro-life camp who, like Jenny, were saying they were “thrilled” that a man had been murdered in cold blood paint the movement themselves, and I stand behind my characterization of at least those elements.

I think you’re painting with a very broad brush here. To say that the entire pro-life movement is just like PETA because of Jenny Hodges and a few others on Facebook is a giant leap.

Every major pro-life group condemned the murder and many, many others did as well. Here’s what I posted.
http://www.buzzbrockway.com/?p=907

As a veteran who prepared to shed blood for this nation, I find that logic repugnant. It disgusts me that someone would dare equate what this person did to what troops in harms way do in time of war. This was cold blooded murder, make no mistake. The doctor made his living performing a legal service that I personally find morally wrong. However, it is legal and I will fight to help it remain so. The killer did nothing more than terminate a life.

Was George Tiller a killer? Honestly, that not for mere mortals like me to say. That is for God himself to decide, and I will not presume to know the mind of God. However, I will say that I see little doubt about how the killer stands in God’s eyes.

Pro-lifer folks who want the law changed, I can deal with. Those who protest abortion clinics, I can deal with. Those who kill for that cause? Never. Terrorism is terrorism, and I just can’t give a damn about why it’s committed. I can’t, and I won’t.