thoughts and prayers

File:10-02-17- White House Press Briefing.webm using the term "thoughts and prayers" in reference to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and the victims of Hurricane Maria]]

File:Pelosi Sends 'Thoughts And Prayers' For Scalise.webm sends "thoughts and prayers" for Steve Scalise.]]

The phrase thoughts and prayers is frequently used in the United States as an expression of condolences for victims of natural disasters (e.g. Hurricane Katrina in 2005,{{cite press release |url=https://corporate.walmart.com/_news_/executive-viewpoints/a-message-to-individuals-impacted-by-hurricane-katrina |title=A Message to Individuals Impacted by Hurricane Katrina |date=September 2, 2005 |publisher=Walmart |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124145214/https://corporate.walmart.com/_news_/executive-viewpoints/a-message-to-individuals-impacted-by-hurricane-katrina |url-status=dead }}{{cite press release |url=https://www.clintonfoundation.org/main/news-and-media/statements/statement-hurricane-katrina-relief.html |title=Statement: Hurricane Katrina Relief |author=Clinton, Bill |date=September 2, 2005 |publisher=Clinton Foundation |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928133154/https://www.clintonfoundation.org/main/news-and-media/statements/statement-hurricane-katrina-relief.html |url-status=live }} the 2010 Canterbury earthquake{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/the-girls-guide/4385428/Thoughts-prayers-and-love|title=Thoughts, prayers and love|website=Stuff|date=November 24, 2010|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=April 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404140529/http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/the-girls-guide/4385428/Thoughts-prayers-and-love|url-status=live}} 2011 Christchurch earthquake,{{cite web|url=https://www.fema.gov/blog/2011-02-22/our-thoughts-prayers-go-out-people-new-zealand|title=Our Thoughts & Prayers Go Out to the People of New Zealand - FEMA.gov|website=www.fema.gov|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331050040/https://www.fema.gov/blog/2011-02-22/our-thoughts-prayers-go-out-people-new-zealand|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wn.catholic.org.nz/our-thouhts-and-prayers-are-with-the-people-of-christchurch/|title=Archdiocese of Wellington – Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Christchurch|website=www.wn.catholic.org.nz|date=August 13, 2012|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331023103/https://www.wn.catholic.org.nz/our-thouhts-and-prayers-are-with-the-people-of-christchurch/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/syspages/--headline--.html|title=Stars send prayers to Christchurch quake victims|newspaper=Newshub|date=February 22, 2011|via=www.newshub.co.nz|archive-date=May 21, 2022|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521140053/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/syspages/--headline--.html|url-status=dead}} the 2017 Central Mexico earthquake, and Hurricane Maria in 2017). In addition, "thoughts and prayers" are also offered to victims of numerous mass shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre (1999),{{cite news |url=http://extras.denverpost.com/news/shot0424a.htm |title=Official: Bombs planted during prom party? |author1=Robinson, Marilyn |author2=Obmascik, Mark |author3=Lowe, Peggy |date=April 24, 1999 |newspaper=The Denver Post |access-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116000737/https://extras.denverpost.com/news/shot0424a.htm |url-status=live }} the November 2015 Paris attacks,{{USBill|114|sres|313|site=yes}} the Orlando nightclub shooting,{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4365289/orlando-shooting-pulse-politicans-react/ |title=U.S. Political Leaders React to Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando |author=Chan, Melissa |date=June 12, 2016 |magazine=Time |access-date=October 2, 2017}} and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.{{cite magazine |url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/after-vegas-shooting-trump-sticks-to-thoughts-and-prayers.html |title=Trump Sticks to Thoughts and Prayers in Speech on Las Vegas Shooting |author=Levitz, Eric |date=October 2, 2017 |magazine=New York |access-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-date=August 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810174917/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/10/after-vegas-shooting-trump-sticks-to-thoughts-and-prayers.html |url-status=live }}

Donald Trump used the phrase as U.S. president. In 2016, he used it following the St. Joseph courthouse shooting,{{cite news |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2016/07/donald_trump_offers_thoughts_a.html |title=Donald Trump offers 'thoughts and prayers' to victims in Michigan courthouse shooting |author=Jackson, Angie |date=July 11, 2016 |work=mlive.com |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=September 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910153024/https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2016/07/donald_trump_offers_thoughts_a.html |url-status=live }} the Great Smoky Mountains wildfires,{{cite news |url=http://fox17.com/news/local/president-elect-donald-trump-tweets-about-tn-wildfires-sends-thoughts-and-prayers |title=President-elect Donald Trump's 'thoughts and prayers' with TN amid wildfires |author=Searles, Kaylin |date=November 29, 2016 |work=Fox 17 News Nashville |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010125/https://fox17.com/news/local/president-elect-donald-trump-tweets-about-tn-wildfires-sends-thoughts-and-prayers |url-status=live }} and the shooting of Nykea Aldridge, cousin of professional basketball player Dwyane Wade.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/27/don-cheadle-unleashes-twitter-storm-donald-trump/89477440/ |title=Don Cheadle unleashes Twitter storm on Donald Trump |author=Schouten, Fredreka |date=August 27, 2016 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021165608/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/27/don-cheadle-unleashes-twitter-storm-donald-trump/89477440/ |url-status=live }} In 2017, he used it following the Congressional baseball shooting in June{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-updates-everything-president-trump-s-message-for-the-congressional-1497570775-htmlstory.html |title=Trump's message for the Congressional Baseball Game |author=Wigglesworth, Alex |date=June 15, 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403032849/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-updates-everything-president-trump-s-message-for-the-congressional-1497570775-htmlstory.html |url-status=live }} and the Southern California wildfires in December.{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-southern-california-wildfires-live-trump-tweets-thoughts-and-prayers-to-1512577623-htmlstory.html |title=Trump tweets 'thoughts and prayers' to Californians affected by wildfire |author=Serna, Joseph |date=December 6, 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403033330/https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-southern-california-wildfires-live-trump-tweets-thoughts-and-prayers-to-1512577623-htmlstory.html |url-status=live }} In 2018, Trump used the phrase following the 2018 Marshall County High School shooting in January, the Carcassonne and Trèbes attack in March,{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/03/24/trump-tweets-thoughts-and-prayers-victims-france/456101002/ |title=Trump tweets 'thoughts and prayers' for victims of attack in France |author=Cummings, William |date=March 24, 2018 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331044912/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/03/24/trump-tweets-thoughts-and-prayers-victims-france/456101002/ |url-status=live }} the YouTube headquarters shooting in April,{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Trump-tweets-thoughts-and-prayers-for-12803165.php |title=Trump tweets 'thoughts and prayers' for YouTube shooting victims |author=Garofoli, Joe |date=April 3, 2018 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109005017/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Trump-tweets-thoughts-and-prayers-for-12803165.php |url-status=live }} and the Capital Gazette shooting in June.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/maryland-newspaper-shooting/h_943c67983bb83fbbb8a0edaf10b758b3 |title=Deadly shooting at Maryland Newspaper |author1=Wagner, Meg |author2=Rocha, Veronica |author3=Ries, Brian |date=June 29, 2018 |work=CNN |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403063200/https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/maryland-newspaper-shooting/h_943c67983bb83fbbb8a0edaf10b758b3 |url-status=live }}

After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, Slate noted that several Republican politicians who had previously used the idiom (including Trump and senators Marco Rubio and Pat Toomey) avoided using the specific phrase "thoughts and prayers" in response to the shooting.{{cite web|last1=Graham|first1=Ruth|title=Republicans Have Finally Stopped Using the Phrase 'Thoughts and Prayers'|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/republicans-have-stopped-offering-thoughts-and-prayers.html|website=Slate|access-date=February 15, 2018|date=February 15, 2018|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124104043/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/republicans-have-stopped-offering-thoughts-and-prayers.html|url-status=live}} Trump, for example, instead offered "prayers and condolences" via Twitter.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/963878055969198080|title=My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.|last=Trump|first=Donald J.|date=February 14, 2018|website=Twitter|access-date=February 14, 2018|archive-date=February 15, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180215011321/https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/963878055969198080|url-status=live}}

Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, offered his thoughts and prayers to the victims of the 2019 Australian bushfires in November 2019,{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/ScottMorrisonMP/status/1192993222173188096 |title=Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been so directly and horribly impacted by these fires. |first=Scott |last=Morrison |date=November 8, 2019 |website=Twitter |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308210035/https://twitter.com/scottmorrisonmp/status/1192993222173188096 |url-status=live }} for which Morrison was criticized and compared to American politicians who repeated similar phrases in lieu of gun ownership reforms.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50341210 |title=Is climate change to blame for Australia's bushfires? |date=November 11, 2019 |work=BBC News |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=February 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221015825/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50341210 |url-status=live }}

After a natural or human-caused disaster, people may be urged to "go beyond thoughts and prayers", by donating blood or sending aid or money to help the victims. After the Las Vegas shooting, authorities said that although thoughts and prayers are appreciated, the most effective way to help was to give blood.{{cite news|url=https://qz.com/1092031/las-vegas-shooting-people-are-lining-up-at-blood-banks-to-help-the-victims/|title=Beyond thoughts and prayers: People line up at blood banks to help the victims of the Las Vegas shooting|last=Rigby|first=Sam|date=October 2, 2017|work=Quartz|access-date=October 3, 2017|archive-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318035048/https://qz.com/1092031/las-vegas-shooting-people-are-lining-up-at-blood-banks-to-help-the-victims/|url-status=live}} Academic studies have been performed on whether an act of token support leads to sustained contributions;{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/674137 |title=The Nature of Slacktivism: How the Social Observability of an Initial Act of Token Support Affects Subsequent Prosocial Action |author1=Kristofferson, Kirk |author2=White, Katherine |author3=Peloza, John |journal=Journal of Consumer Research |volume=40 |issue=6 |date=April 2014 |pages=1149–66|s2cid=36084345 }} the concept of moral self-licensing, in which prior good deeds can empower individuals to subsequently behave badly,{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00263.x |title=Moral Self-Licensing: When Being Good Frees Us to Be Bad |author1=Merritt, Anna C. |author2=Effron, Daniel A. |author3=Monin, Benoit |date=May 5, 2010 |journal=Social and Personality Psychology Compass |volume=4 |issue=5|pages=344–357 |s2cid=18262436 }} or conversely, whether prior immoral actions can lead to compensatory moral actions{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0146167211400208 |title=Striving for the Moral Self: The Effects of Recalling Past Moral Actions on Future Moral Behavior |author1=Jordan, Jennifer |author2=Mullen, Elizabeth |author3=Murninghan, J. Keith |date=March 14, 2011 |journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin|volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=701–713 |pmid=21402752 |s2cid=13098510 }} has also been cited as a factor in the use of "thoughts and prayers" in lieu of action.{{cite web |url=https://ethicsdaily.com/offering-thoughts-prayers-can-make-you-less-likely-to-act/ |title=Offering Thoughts, Prayers Can Make You Less Likely to Act |author=Zamzow, Jen |date=August 12, 2019 |website=Ethics Daily |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103180811/https://ethicsdaily.com/offering-thoughts-prayers-can-make-you-less-likely-to-act/ |url-status=live }}

As "thoughts and prayers" became associated with post-tragedy condolences, many have criticized the phrase as a form of slacktivism.{{cite news |last=Willingham |first=AJ |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/20/us/thoughts-and-prayers-florida-school-shooting-trnd/index.html |title=How 'thoughts and prayers' went from common condolence to cynical meme |publisher=Cable News Network |work=CNN |date=February 20, 2018 |access-date=February 20, 2018 |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130174953/https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/20/us/thoughts-and-prayers-florida-school-shooting-trnd/index.html |url-status=live }} Jonathan Foiles, writing in Psychology Today, compared the phrase to an infantile response and explained that {{"'}}Thoughts and prayers' is the linguistic equivalent of yelling for something to be different when you have the ability to effect that change yourself".{{cite web |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-thing-feathers/201905/thoughts-and-prayers |title=Thoughts and Prayers: Taking a deeper look at a popular yet polarizing phrase |author=Foiles, Jonathan |website=The Thing With Feathers [blog] |publisher=Psychology Today |access-date=September 3, 2019}}

After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, called on politicians to "move beyond thoughts and prayers".{{cite web |url=http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=186561 |title=Beyond Thoughts and Prayers |author=vanden Heuvel, Katrina |date=April 16, 2007 |work=The Nation |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428201334/http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=186561 |archive-date=April 28, 2007}} In her post, vanden Heuvel referred to a press release by Paul Helmke, then-president of the Brady Campaign, who offered his thoughts and prayers but also stated "it is long overdue for us to take some common-sense actions to prevent tragedies like this from continuing to occur."{{cite press release |url=http://bradycampaign.org:80/media/release.php?release=884 |title=Nation Again Grieves Over A Tragedy "Of Monumental Proportions |author=Helmke, Paul |date=April 16, 2007 |publisher=Brady Campaign |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502133307/http://bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=884 |archive-date=May 2, 2007 }}

File:The President Delivers a Statement on the Shooting in Oregon.webm

In October 2015, following the Umpqua Community College shooting, US President Barack Obama said that "thoughts and prayers [do] not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted some place else in America next week or a couple months from now." The White House subsequently announced that Obama would continue to take more executive action on the subject of gun control.{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/05/daily-press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-1052015|title=Daily Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 10/5/2015|date=October 5, 2015|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=October 5, 2015|archive-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210220149/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/05/daily-press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-1052015|url-status=live}}

On December 2, 2015, in the wake of the San Bernardino mass shooting, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted his frustration with the phrase "thoughts and prayers", a sentiment echoed by the December 3 cover of the New York Daily News, which included tweets from senators and representatives the newspaper characterized as "meaningless platitudes".{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/san-bernardino-chris-murphy-connecticut-tweet/index.html |title=Connecticut senator has had enough of 'thoughts' and 'prayers' |author=Diamond, Jeremy |date=December 3, 2015 |work=CNN |access-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125115258/https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/san-bernardino-chris-murphy-connecticut-tweet/index.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/daily-news-cover-shooting-prompts-strong-responses-article-1.2454178 |title=Daily News cover calling out pols' empty rhetoric after San Bernardino shooting prompts strong responses |author=Otis, Ginger Adams |date=December 3, 2015 |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125114054/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/daily-news-cover-shooting-prompts-strong-responses-article-1.2454178 |url-status=live }}

After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, demands for "policy and change" were used as a pithy rejoinder to the typical "thoughts and prayers" offered by politicians.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43069230 |title=Florida shooting: 'Policy and change' not 'thoughts and prayers' |date=February 15, 2018 |work=BBC Newsbeat |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224031017/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43069230 |url-status=dead }} Student survivors of the shooting{{cite news |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/parkland-students-are-saying-what-adult-politicians-wont |title=Parkland Students Are Saying What Adult Politicians Won't |author=Elizabeth, De |date=February 18, 2018 |work=Teen Vogue |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=February 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205045035/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/parkland-students-are-saying-what-adult-politicians-wont |url-status=live }} were joined by religious leaders in calling for concrete legislative actions.{{cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/religious-leaders-gop-thoughts-prayers_n_5a861dcde4b004fc319078cd |title=These Religious Leaders Are Fed Up With GOP's Thoughts and Prayers |author=Kuruvilla, Carol |date=February 16, 2018 |website=Huffpost Politics |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412150507/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/religious-leaders-gop-thoughts-prayers_n_5a861dcde4b004fc319078cd |url-status=live }}

{{quotebox |quote=[Prayers] are something we do when we feel our survival depends so much upon sheer luck that no one can help us but God.

These people, these congressmen and legislators who are praying, are not powerless. There is so much they could do, if only they chose to. When they offer their prayers, they attempt to make it seem as though they are in the same boat as us, their hands sadly tied. |author={{pad|0.5em}}— Jennifer Wright |source=Harper's Bazaar, August 5, 2019{{cite magazine |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a28611490/why-politicians-offer-prayers-after-mass-shooting-gun-violence/ |title=Why Politicians Offer Prayers After a Mass Shooting |author=Wright, Jennifer |author-link=Jennifer Wright |date=August 5, 2019 |magazine=Harper's Bazaar |access-date=October 3, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403132913/https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a28611490/why-politicians-offer-prayers-after-mass-shooting-gun-violence/ |url-status=live }} |width=25em |align=right}}

By August 2019, as reported by the Gun Violence Archive, there were 251 mass shootings in the United States only 216 days into the year. Robin Lloyd, managing director of the nonprofit Giffords, stated "The days when politicians can get away with offering thoughts and prayers are over. The public knows thoughts and prayers won't prevent the next tragedy." Lloyd called upon Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take action on gun control legislation passed by the House but not heard in the Senate.{{cite news |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/08/04/more-thoughts-prayers/ |title=Utah's congressional delegation calls for a national conversation about ways to reduce gun violence |author=Burr, Thomas |date=August 4, 2019 |newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108000635/https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/08/04/more-thoughts-prayers/ |url-status=live }}

After the 2022 Buffalo shooting, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy called for stricter federal and state gun laws. He criticized gun control opponents and conspiracy theorists, saying "I think every single one of them knows where they can shove their 'thoughts and prayers{{'"}}.{{cite news |first=Brent |last=Johnson |date=May 16, 2022 |url=https://www.nj.com/politics/2022/05/murphy-calls-for-more-gun-laws-after-buffalo-shooting-opponents-can-shove-their-thoughts-and-prayers.html |title=Murphy Calls for More Gun Laws after Buffalo Shooting. Opponents 'Can Shove Their Thoughts and Prayers.' |work=NJ.com |access-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521120113/https://www.nj.com/politics/2022/05/murphy-calls-for-more-gun-laws-after-buffalo-shooting-opponents-can-shove-their-thoughts-and-prayers.html |url-status=live }}

Shortly after the 2023 Michigan State University shooting Michigan House of Representatives member Ranjeev Puri released a statement which included the phrase "Fuck your thoughts and prayers."{{cite web | last=Murphy | first=Mike | title='F— your thoughts and prayers,' state lawmaker says in wake of Michigan State mass shooting | website=MarketWatch | date=February 15, 2023 | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/f-your-thoughts-and-prayers-michigan-lawmaker-says-after-latest-mass-shooting-3caf42d5 | access-date=February 20, 2023 | archive-date=February 15, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215075350/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/f-your-thoughts-and-prayers-michigan-lawmaker-says-after-latest-mass-shooting-3caf42d5 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Ladden-Hall | first=Dan | title=Michigan State Rep. Says 'F*ck Your Thoughts and Prayers' After Mass Shooting | website=The Daily Beast | date=February 14, 2023 | url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/michigan-state-shooting-state-rep-ranjeev-puri-says-fck-your-thoughts-and-prayers | access-date=February 20, 2023 | archive-date=February 15, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215120904/https://www.thedailybeast.com/michigan-state-shooting-state-rep-ranjeev-puri-says-fck-your-thoughts-and-prayers | url-status=live }}

Some critics of the phrase "thoughts and prayers" point to the Christian New Testament to argue that action is needed in addition to expressions of faith. One verse cited to back up this argument is{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/10/03/why-thoughts-and-prayers-is-starting-to-sound-so-profane/ |title=Acts of Faith: Why 'thoughts and prayers' is starting to sound so profane |author=Powers, Kirsten |date=October 3, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 4, 2017 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203053202/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/10/03/why-thoughts-and-prayers-is-starting-to-sound-so-profane/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/10/las_vegas_mass_shooting.html |title=Opinion: Your thoughts and prayers haven't stopped mass shootings |author=DeBerry, Jarvis |date=October 2, 2017 |newspaper=The Times-Picayune |location=New Orleans, Louisiana |access-date=October 4, 2017 |archive-date=May 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518032934/http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/10/las_vegas_mass_shooting.html |url-status=live }} James 2:14–16: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?"{{Bibleverse|James|2:14–2:16|ESV}} Pope Francis stated that "prayer that doesn't lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer.{{nbsp}}... Prayer and action must always be profoundly united" in his Sunday Angelus message on July 21, 2013.{{cite news |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27669/always-unite-prayer-and-action-pope-francis-says |title=Always unite prayer and action, Pope Francis says |author=Lenartowick, Kerri |date=July 21, 2013 |work=Catholic News Agency |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515181427/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27669/always-unite-prayer-and-action-pope-francis-says |url-status=live }}

Laura Coward, a writer for The Huffington Post, defended the use of the phrase "thoughts and prayers", acknowledging the inadequacy of not taking actions, but arguing that prayer "jolts us and disrupts us, removing us from our comfort zones{{nbsp}}[... it] takes us to uncomfortable places – spiritually, physically and emotionally – and asks us to do the hard work of accepting more than one perspective."{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/in-defense-of-offering-our-thoughts-and-prayers_us_57817fb5e4b0f06648f505d9 |title=In Defense of Offering Our 'Thoughts and Prayers' |author=Coward, Laura |date=July 9, 2016 |website=Huffpost |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903161610/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/in-defense-of-offering-our-thoughts-and-prayers_us_57817fb5e4b0f06648f505d9 |url-status=live }}

The criticism of the phrase "thoughts and prayers" has itself received criticism as insensitive to those who sincerely pray for victims.{{cite news |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-friends-guest-those-rejecting-thoughts-and-prayers-after-texas-have-more-in-common-with-the-shooter/ |title=Fox & Friends Guest: Those Rejecting Thoughts and Prayers Have 'More in Common With The Shooter' |author=McLaughlin, Aidan |date=November 8, 2017 |work=Mediaite |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109035748/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-friends-guest-those-rejecting-thoughts-and-prayers-after-texas-have-more-in-common-with-the-shooter/ |url-status=live }} Katelyn Beaty argued that prayer "is perhaps the most powerful form of action you can engage in during a crisis", citing studies which showed that regular meditation and prayer improved focus and reduced anxiety, touting the potential beneficial effects for "better policy solutions than would an urgent, fretful, ill-considered response".{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/thoughts-and-prayers-las-vegas/542319/ |title=The Case for 'Thoughts and Prayers'—Even If You Don't Believe in God |author=Beaty, Katelyn |date=October 6, 2017 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213182904/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/thoughts-and-prayers-las-vegas/542319/ |url-status=live }}

In 2019, following a weekend in which mass shootings occurred in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee suggested that, of the continued occurrence of mass shootings, "the lack of thought and prayers is probably the single biggest factor in what is behind them".{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/456287-mike-huckabee-suggests-lack-of-thought-and-prayers-behind-mass-shootings/|title=Mike Huckabee suggests 'lack of thought and prayers' behind mass shootings|last=Wise|first=Justin|date=August 5, 2019|website=The Hill}}

In The Week, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote that:{{cite web |last1=Gobry |first1=Pascal-Emmanuel |title=In defense of 'thoughts and prayers' |url=https://theweek.com/articles/735566/defense-thoughts-prayers |website=The Week |language=en |date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407083740/https://theweek.com/articles/735566/defense-thoughts-prayers |url-status=live }}

{{quotation|Some people have to offer "thoughts and prayers" because they genuinely want to express their grief over an unthinkable act. If the only thing you think about after a tragedy is the next bill that should be passed, then you have no consideration for the victims as human beings — they are simply pawns in your political calculations. You are using still-warm bodies as props in a political marketing campaign — how noble!}}

According to Mark Tapson of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, the "value of thoughts and prayers is that they help victims and survivors get through an atrocity or tragedy by offering compassion, solace, and encouragement, and by invoking divine healing."{{cite web |last1=Tapson |first1=Mark |title=In Defense of "Thoughts and Prayers" |url=https://www.crisismagazine.com/opinion/in-defense-of-thoughts-and-prayers |website=Crisis Magazine |date=April 3, 2023 |access-date=April 7, 2023}}

Critics say the use of "thoughts and prayers" can be part of a political effort to avoid legislative action intended to reduce gun violence. For example, President Obama said in October 2015 that "to actively do nothing is a [political] decision as well."{{cite news |author=Lopez, German |date=October 7, 2015 |title=Obama is right. Inaction in the face of mass shootings is also a political act. |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9471503/politicize-shootings-gun-violence |access-date=January 2, 2020 |work=Vox |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108115141/http://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9471503/politicize-shootings-gun-violence |url-status=live }}

Such efforts can include the use of "now is not the time" and similar phrases to dismiss calls for reforms as inappropriate attempts to politicize a tragedy.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/magazine/do-politicians-thoughts-and-prayers-mean-anything.html |title=Do Politicians' 'Thoughts and Prayers' Mean Anything? |author=Leibovich, Mark |date=October 13, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times Magazine |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126043957/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/magazine/do-politicians-thoughts-and-prayers-mean-anything.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/what-were-really-saying-when-we-say-dont-politicize-tragedy/2017/10/02/33e28fb8-a784-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html |title=What we're really saying when we say 'Don't politicize tragedy' |author=Hesse, Monica |date=October 2, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505130048/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/what-were-really-saying-when-we-say-dont-politicize-tragedy/2017/10/02/33e28fb8-a784-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/how-president-obama-politicized-thoughts-and-prayers-after-mass-shootings/2019/04/19/2895d7b6-5d5c-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html |title=How President Obama politicized the use of 'thoughts and prayers' after mass shootings |author1=Harden, John D. |author2=Iati, Marisa |date=April 20, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411085840/https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/how-president-obama-politicized-thoughts-and-prayers-after-mass-shootings/2019/04/19/2895d7b6-5d5c-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html |url-status=live }} Such efforts can also include suggestions for alternatives to gun-control laws such as mental health reform or increased efforts to prevent terrorism.{{cite news |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6493018/thoughts-and-prayers-a-familiar-part-of-the-cycle-of-disaster/ |title=Opinion: 'Thoughts and prayers' a familiar part of the cycle of disaster |author=Yim, Noah |date=November 17, 2019 |newspaper=The Canberra Times |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=April 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403132911/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6493018/thoughts-and-prayers-a-familiar-part-of-the-cycle-of-disaster/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2017/11/08/opinion/contributors/thoughts-prayers-and-babies-killed-in-church-lets-politicize-the-texas-shooting/ |title=Opinion: Thoughts, prayers and babies killed in church: Let's politicize the Texas shooting |author=Henneberger, Melinda |agency=The Kansas City Star |date=November 8, 2017 |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020184018/https://bangordailynews.com/2017/11/08/opinion/contributors/thoughts-prayers-and-babies-killed-in-church-lets-politicize-the-texas-shooting/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.pittsburghcurrent.com/thoughts-and-prayers-following-recent-mass-shootings/ |title=Opinion: Thoughts And Prayers Following Recent Mass Shootings |author=Deitch, Charlie |date=August 6, 2019 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Current |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103050536/https://www.pittsburghcurrent.com/thoughts-and-prayers-following-recent-mass-shootings/ |url-status=dead }}

File:March For Our Lives San Francisco 3 24 2018 (26190080337).jpg (2018)]]

{{main|Gun politics in the United States}}

Advocacy for gun control legislation in response to gun violence in the United States has been criticized repeatedly by the use of the phrase "now is not the time", offered as a defense against what could potentially be hastily drafted laws.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/27/why-its-never-the-right-time-to-discuss-gun-violence/ |title=Why it's never 'the right time' to discuss gun control |author=Ingraham, Christopher |date=July 27, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630141856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/27/why-its-never-the-right-time-to-discuss-gun-violence/ |url-status=live }} David Weigel pointed out that repeated calls to wait for an "appropriate time" to discuss gun control is the strategy used by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to avoid meaningful legislative action.{{cite news |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/12/nra-and-gun-control-the-national-rifle-association-scares-its-members-into-thinking-the-government-will-take-their-guns-and-then-keeps-quiet-after-the-next-mass-shooting.html |title=How the NRA Defeats National Tragedies |author=Weigel, David |date=December 17, 2012 |work=Slate |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220124729/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/12/nra-and-gun-control-the-national-rifle-association-scares-its-members-into-thinking-the-government-will-take-their-guns-and-then-keeps-quiet-after-the-next-mass-shooting.html |url-status=live }} The BBC called "the enthusiasm gap" the "single biggest obstacle to new gun-control laws" in the United States: "Pro-gun politicians offer their thoughts and prayers, observe moments of silence and order flags flown half-staff. Then, in the quiet, legislative efforts are deferred and ultimately derailed."{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41489552 |title=US gun laws: Why it won't follow New Zealand's lead |author=Zurcher, Anthony |date=March 21, 2019 |work=BBC News |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329194348/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41489552 |url-status=live }}

Following the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, several politicians used the phrase "thoughts and prayers" in place of taking immediate legislative action. President Obama called for "meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics",{{cite news |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-12-14/obama-politicians-react-sandy-hook-shooting-sadness-questions-video |title=Obama, politicians react to Sandy Hook shooting with sadness, questions (VIDEO) |author=Trifunov, David |date=December 14, 2012 |work=PRI |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329014022/https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-12-14/obama-politicians-react-sandy-hook-shooting-sadness-questions-video |url-status=live }} and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg challenged him to go further: "the country needs [Obama] to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem – and take immediate executive action. Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We have heard that rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership – not from the President and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response."{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/connecticut-school-shooting-lawmakers-offer-prayers-085096 |title=Pols offer prayers |author1=Cirilli, Kevin |author2=Robillard, Kevin |date=December 14, 2012 |work=Politico |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125025037/https://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/connecticut-school-shooting-lawmakers-offer-prayers-085096 |url-status=live }} The resulting proposed federal legislation to control guns, including universal background checks, failed to pass Congress; after the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey amendment failed on April 17, 2013, Obama called it "a pretty shameful day for Washington".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/17/us-gun-control-sandy-hook-five-years-later |title='Shameful day in Washington': five years after gun reform failed, is change coming? |author=Siddiqui, Sabrina |date=April 17, 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317061717/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/17/us-gun-control-sandy-hook-five-years-later |url-status=live }} However, President Obama has also used "thoughts and prayers" in response to gun violence, showing the ubiquity of the phrase in American politics. {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-president-obamas-full-remarks-on-fort-hood-shooting/2014/04/02/86996ea4-bac3-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html |title=Transcript: President Obama's Full Remarks on Fort Hood Shooting |date=April 2, 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 12, 2024}}

Following the Orlando nightclub shooting in June 2016, astronomer and skeptic Phil Plait wrote that while it was "natural and very human" to "send their thoughts and express their grief{{nbsp}}... it's cynically hypocritical when politicians do it {{em|and nothing else}}", later noting it was "particularly galling" to see "all the NRA-funded lawmakers tweeting their 'thoughts and prayers{{' "}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/06/13/orlando_shooting_we_need_to_do_more_than_send_thoughts_and_prayers.html |title=Orlando: What can you do in the Face of Another Senseless Gun Tragedy |author=Plait, Phil |date=June 13, 2016 |work=Slate |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003230645/http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/06/13/orlando_shooting_we_need_to_do_more_than_send_thoughts_and_prayers.html |url-status=live }} An accompanying Slate post provided a selected list of members of Congress who had tweeted "thoughts and prayers" along with the amount of campaign contributions they had received from gun rights groups, based on research provided by Igor Volsky of the Center for American Progress.{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/06/12/gop_congressmen_offering_thoughts_and_prayers_for_orlando_accepted_nra_donations.html |title=GOP Congressmen Offer 'Thoughts and Prayers'. Here's How Much the NRA Gave Them to Offer Nothing More. |author=Wickman, Forrest |date=June 12, 2016 |work=Slate |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015064523/http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/06/12/gop_congressmen_offering_thoughts_and_prayers_for_orlando_accepted_nra_donations.html |url-status=live }} NRA donations to politicians who expressed "thoughts and prayers" in lieu of meaningful gun control legislation were again publicized after the Las Vegas shootings in October 2017{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/04/opinion/thoughts-prayers-nra-funding-senators.html |title=OPINION: Thoughts and Prayers and N.R.A. Funding |author1=Leonhardt, David |author2=Philbrick, Ian Prasad |author3=Thompson, Stuart A. |date=October 4, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=October 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004231024/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/04/opinion/thoughts-prayers-nra-funding-senators.html |url-status=live }} and the Stoneman Douglas shooting in February 2018.{{cite news |url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/02/15/thoughts-prayers-nra-congress/ |title=Did Politicians Tweeting 'Thoughts and Prayers' Receive Millions of Dollars from the NRA? |author=MacGuill, Dan |date=February 15, 2018 |work=Snopes |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110010028/https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/02/15/thoughts-prayers-nra-congress/ |url-status=live }}

After the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, prominent international figures offered their thoughts and prayers, including Queen Elizabeth II,{{cite news |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/03/queen-elizabeth-deeply-saddened-by-horrific-terror-attacks-in-christchurch.html |title=Queen Elizabeth 'deeply saddened' by horrific terror attacks in Christchurch |author=Barraclough, Breanna |date=March 15, 2019 |work=Newshub New Zealand |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526102403/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/03/queen-elizabeth-deeply-saddened-by-horrific-terror-attacks-in-christchurch.html |url-status=dead }} Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan,{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1106444958423281669 |title=Tweet |website=Twitter |date=March 14, 2019 |author=Khan, Imran |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122002844/https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1106444958423281669 |url-status=live }} Pope Francis, and President of the Republic of China Tsai Ing-wen.{{cite news |url=https://www.apnews.com/34e1c625ecb8497181d91a612ce1646a |title=The Latest: Iranian minister says bigotry led to attack |agency=AP |date=March 15, 2019 |work=AP News |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904154153/https://www.apnews.com/34e1c625ecb8497181d91a612ce1646a |url-status=live }} New Zealand legislators responded by passing a law banning the ownership of most semi-automatic weapons{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/10/711820023/new-zealand-passes-law-banning-most-semi-automatic-weapons |title=New Zealand Passes Law Banning Most Semi-Automatic Weapons |author=Schwartz, Matthew S. |date=April 10, 2019 |work=NPR |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301003833/https://www.npr.org/2019/04/10/711820023/new-zealand-passes-law-banning-most-semi-automatic-weapons |url-status=live }} aside from pistols under limited circumstances.{{cite web |url=http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2019/0012/latest/LMS181180.html |title=Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts): Amendment Act 2019 |date=April 11, 2019 |website=Parliamentary Counsel Office, New Zealand |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227065215/https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2019/0012/latest/LMS181180.html |url-status=live }} The response in New Zealand was singled out as a counterexample to "the same old tired script: one politician after another condemning the attack and offering thoughts and prayers to the victims and families. But something different happened. Instead of offering thoughts and prayers, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised action".{{cite news |url=https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/new-zealand-chirstchurch-mass-shooting-gun-control-nra-20190318.html |title=Editorial: New Zealand response to massacre puts us to shame |author=Editorial Board |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=March 18, 2019 |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403132901/https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/new-zealand-chirstchurch-mass-shooting-gun-control-nra-20190318.html |url-status=live }} New Zealand had previously had less restrictions on gun ownership than many other Western countries.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/15/asia/new-zealand-gun-control-intl/index.html |title=New Zealand Prime Minister says, 'Our gun laws will change' |author=Kolirin, Lianne |date=March 19, 2019 |work=CNN World |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301224548/https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/15/asia/new-zealand-gun-control-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} Social media posts were made mocking the effectiveness of "thoughts and prayers", comparing the rapid passage of gun control legislation in New Zealand with the repeated failure of United States gun control laws.{{cite news |author=Bostock, Bill |date=March 21, 2019 |title=People are mocking 'thoughts and prayers' messages after New Zealand announced new gun laws within 6 days of a mass shooting |newspaper=Business Insider Australia |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/thoughts-and-prayers-mocked-nz-bans-all-semi-automatic-guns-2019-3 |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903164731/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/thoughts-and-prayers-mocked-nz-bans-all-semi-automatic-guns-2019-3 |archive-date=September 3, 2019}}

In many other Western countries, stricter gun control laws have been passed in response to gun violence.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/world/gun-laws-australia-uk-germany-canada.html |title=New Zealand Took 6 Days to Plan New Gun Laws. Here's How Other Countries Reacted to Shootings. |author=Mervosh, Sarah |date=March 21, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317085455/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/world/gun-laws-australia-uk-germany-canada.html |url-status=live }} Besides New Zealand, new gun control laws were introduced in the United Kingdom (after the Hungerford massacre in 1987, and again after the Dunblane massacre in 1996),{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/17/world/europe/dunblane-lessons/index.html |title=Dunblane: How UK school massacre led to tighter gun control |author=Wilkinson, Peter |date=January 30, 2013 |work=CNN |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=March 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323230601/https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/17/world/europe/dunblane-lessons/index.html |url-status=live }} Australia (the National Firearms Agreement, following the Port Arthur massacre of April 1996),{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35048251|title=Would Australia's gun laws help the US?|last=Beck|first=Katie|work=BBC News|date=October 4, 2017|access-date=September 3, 2019|language=en-GB|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310173841/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35048251|url-status=live}} Germany (after shootings in Erfurt in 2002 and Winnenden in 2009),{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-gun-control-20160615-snap-story.html |title=After its own mass shootings, Germany beefed up gun control laws. The number of shootings dropped. |author=Kirschbaum, Erik |date=June 15, 2016 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307204917/https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-gun-control-20160615-snap-story.html |url-status=live }} and Norway (a belated response to the 2011 Norway attacks).{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/27/norway-guns-ban-semi-automatic-law |title=Norway set to ban semi-automatic guns from 2021, 10 years after Utoya shooting |agency=AFP |date=February 27, 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109020521/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/27/norway-guns-ban-semi-automatic-law |url-status=live }} The sustained grassroots campaign that resulted in a ban of all handguns in the UK following the Dunblane massacre of 1996 was contrasted with American inaction in 2018 by a Dunblane resident: "I wouldn't want thoughts and prayers, I would want policies and regulation and a grown-up discussion about changing the American gun culture."{{cite news |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/02/we-banned-guns-killed-school-children-dunblane-here-s-how |title=We banned the guns that killed school children in Dunblane. Here's how |author=Hunter, Rosemary |date=February 16, 2018 |newspaper=New Statesman |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325232143/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/02/we-banned-guns-killed-school-children-dunblane-here-s-how |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Climate change in Australia}}

In the wake of the February 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sent his "thoughts and prayers" to those affected;{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-08/bushfire-deaths-appalling-army-on-stand-by-rudd/287254 |title=Bushfire deaths appalling, army on stand-by: Rudd |date=February 7, 2009 |work=ABC News |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109001806/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-08/bushfire-deaths-appalling-army-on-stand-by-rudd/287254 |url-status=live }} a royal commission was set up to investigate the cause and response.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10825229 |title=Australia bushfires report calls for response changes |date=July 31, 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805133032/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10825229 |url-status=live }} The Climate Institute of Australia and the United Firefighters Union of Australia concluded that climate change had caused the extreme forest fire danger index leading up to Black Saturday and may have contributed to earlier bushfires dating back to 2001.{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-20/the-fires-of-climate-change/303046 |title=The fires of climate change |author=Dempster, Quentin |date=February 20, 2009 |work=ABC News |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114091636/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02-20/the-fires-of-climate-change/303046 |url-status=live }}{{cite report |url=http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/verve/_resources/tcibushfiresubmission_May2009.pdf |title=Submission [to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission] |date=May 2009 |publisher=The Climate Institute of Australia |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328072717/http://climateinstitute.org.au/verve/_resources/tcibushfiresubmission_May2009.pdf |url-status=dead }}

During the disastrous 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other government officials extended their "thoughts and prayers" to the victims; the phrase was criticized for how it was used to deflect attention away from how climate change and government policy may have affected the duration and intensity of the fire season.{{cite web |url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/nsw-fires-morrison-mccormack-berejiklian-thoughts-prayers/ |title=While NSW Burns, The coalition Is Wasting Time Offering Prayers & Climate-Denying Bullshit |author=Tyeson, Cam |date=November 11, 2019 |work=Pedestrian Daily |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103164258/https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/nsw-fires-morrison-mccormack-berejiklian-thoughts-prayers/ |url-status=live }} Also, PM Morrison was singled out for failing to provide support to fire victims.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50737887 |title=Why Australia's PM is facing climate anger amid bushfires |date=December 20, 2019 |work=BBC News |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=December 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221172353/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50737887 |url-status=dead }}

David Littleproud, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, stated he did not "want to weaponise [climate change policy] in the middle of someone's misery", stating it was "not the time" to discuss the government's policy.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/raving-inner-city-lunatics-michael-mccormack-dismisses-link-between-climate-change-and-bushfires-20191111-p539ap.html |title=Deputy PM slams people raising climate change in relation to NSW bushfires |author=Crowe, David |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=November 11, 2019 |access-date=January 3, 2020}} Deputy Premier of New South Wales John Barilaro called those who would link climate change to Australia's deadly 2019 bushfires a "bloody disgrace" for politicizing the tragedy.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/deputy-premier-says-climate-change-talk-amid-fire-crisis-a-disgrace-20191111-p539ig.html |title=Deputy Premier says climate change talk amid fire crisis a 'disgrace' |author1=Smith, Alexandra |author2=Crowe, David |date=November 11, 2019 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111204934/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/deputy-premier-says-climate-change-talk-amid-fire-crisis-a-disgrace-20191111-p539ig.html |url-status=live }}

In his 2015 stand up special Thoughts and Prayers, comedian Anthony Jeselnik skewers people who tweet out "thoughts and prayers" on the day of a tragedy, calling it a way for those people to garner attention in the face of a tragedy and saying that tweeting thoughts and prayers is so useless that it achieves "less than nothing".

In 2016, a web-based video game, Thoughts and Prayers: The Game, was published to argue that thoughts and prayers have had no effect on saving lives in the context of mass shootings.{{cite web |url=http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/06/computer-game-shows-just-how-effective-your-thoughts-and-prayers-are.html |title=This Is Not Your Average Shooting Game |author=Kircher, Madison Malone |date=June 17, 2016 |work=New York |access-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629212706/http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/06/computer-game-shows-just-how-effective-your-thoughts-and-prayers-are.html |url-status=live }}

The fifth episode of the fourth season of animated series BoJack Horseman, titled "Thoughts and Prayers", presents a real-life shooting that delays the opening of a new movie featuring gun violence.

In the Doctor Who episode "Boom" (2024), robot ambulances use the phrase while killing soldiers. The episode's writer Steven Moffat revealed that its incorporation was to critique its perceived futility, saying "I thought that if I can just get it in there like, "Exterminate," as what evil robots say, then maybe people will stop saying that idiotic phrase."{{cite web |last1=Zhan |first1=Jennifer |title=Doctor Who Recap: Pray Son or Thought Daughter |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/doctor-who-recap-series-14-disney-season-1-episode-3-boom.html |website=Vulture |access-date=22 May 2024 |date=May 17, 2024 |archive-date=May 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522203444/https://www.vulture.com/article/doctor-who-recap-series-14-disney-season-1-episode-3-boom.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Tyrrell |first1=Caitlin |title=Steven Moffat Explains What Makes "Boom" A Defining Doctor Who Episode For Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-season-14-steven-moffat-interview/ |website=Screen Rant |access-date=22 May 2024 |date=May 17, 2024 |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521040512/https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-season-14-steven-moffat-interview/ |url-status=live }}

In early August 2018, after court documents were made public showing the National Rifle Association was having financial issues, satirical tweets were made offering thoughts and prayers for the NRA's troubles.{{cite tweet |title=If the @NRA goes bankrupt because of the State of New York, they'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

I'll see you in court. |user=NYGovCuomo |number=1025836151930798082 |date=August 4, 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Pitofsky |first1=Marina |title=Twitter users troll NRA for financial woes, calling for 'thoughts and prayers.' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/08/04/nra-thoughts-and-prayers-twitter/905413002/ |access-date=November 21, 2018 |work=USA Today |date=August 4, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317074851/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/08/04/nra-thoughts-and-prayers-twitter/905413002/ |url-status=live }} Thoughts and prayers were again directed to the NRA in November 2018 after news broke that free coffee at the headquarters was being discontinued amid a sharp drop in revenue{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nra-no-coffee-thoughts-and-prayers_n_5bee2fd6e4b0860184a6dbb9 |title=Twitter Users Taunt NRA With 'Thoughts And Prayers' Amid Reports Of Financial Struggles |author=Mazza, Ed |date=November 16, 2018 |work=Huffpost |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207173404/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nra-no-coffee-thoughts-and-prayers_n_5bee2fd6e4b0860184a6dbb9 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/27/nra-fundraising-gun-rights-gun-control-1020051 |title=NRA's fortunes fell as gun-control groups gained power |author=Woellert, Lorraine |date=November 27, 2018 |work=Politico |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114222740/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/27/nra-fundraising-gun-rights-gun-control-1020051 |url-status=live }} and again in December 2018 after suspected spy Maria Butina pleaded guilty to using her connections with the NRA as a way to infiltrate American conservative groups.{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/david-hogg-sends-thoughts-and-prayers-nra-after-maria-butina-pleads-guilty-1258192 |title=David Hogg sends 'thoughts and prayers' to NRA after Maria Butina pleads guilty |author=Phifer, Donica |date=December 13, 2018 |work=Newsweek |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108095913/https://www.newsweek.com/david-hogg-sends-thoughts-and-prayers-nra-after-maria-butina-pleads-guilty-1258192 |url-status=live }}

After the state of New York announced it would investigate the tax-exempt status of the NRA in April 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he would remember the organization in his thoughts and prayers.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/441171-cuomo-responds-to-trump-criticism-new-york-will-remember-nra-in-our/ |title=Cuomo responds to Trump criticism: New York will remember NRA 'in our thoughts and prayers' |author=Samuels, Brett |date=April 29, 2019 |work=The Hill |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904165646/https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/441171-cuomo-responds-to-trump-criticism-new-york-will-remember-nra-in-our |url-status=live }} In June 2019, after the NRA discontinued live programming that had been carried on NRATV, "thoughts and prayers" were sent via social media.{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/thoughts-prayers-dana-loesch-nratv-cancelled-1445959 |title=People send 'thoughts and prayers' to Dana Loesch after NRATV cancelled |author=Joyner, Alfred |date=June 26, 2019 |work=Newsweek |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124154518/https://www.newsweek.com/thoughts-prayers-dana-loesch-nratv-cancelled-1445959 |url-status=live }}

In August 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the NRA, seeking to dissolve it for illegal conduct. The NRA is registered in the state of New York as a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, and the suit charges the NRA and four named defendants with failure to fulfill their fiduciary duty, resulting in a loss of $64 million in three years.{{cite press release |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra |title=Attorney General James Files Lawsuit to Dissolve NRA |date=August 6, 2020 |publisher=New York State Office of the Attorney General |access-date=August 10, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806184914/https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra |url-status=live }} The March for Our Lives organization responded by sarcastically offering 'thoughts and prayers' to the NRA via Twitter.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/510880-march-for-our-lives-trolls-nra-after-new-york-lawsuit-sending/ |title=March For Our Lives trolls NRA after NY lawsuit: 'Sending thoughts and prayers' |author=Gstalter, Morgan |date=August 6, 2020 |work=The Hill |access-date=August 10, 2020 |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808180731/https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/510880-march-for-our-lives-trolls-nra-after-new-york-lawsuit-sending |url-status=live }}{{cite tweet |user=AMarch4OurLives |number=1291400999446470657 |date=August 6, 2020 |title=Sending thoughts and prayers to the @NRA...}}

A song entitled "Thoughts and Prayers" appears on the 2018 album My American Dream by singer-songwriter Will Hoge, who wrote it after the Sutherland Springs church shooting. Hoge told Rolling Stone writer Jonathan Bernstein "I know that phrase can be a kind and thoughtful way to express sympathy when there is no other way to help, but after these shootings, using that stock response from these cowards on Capitol Hill is incredibly insulting. They have all the opportunities in the world to make a difference, but they do nothing. Then to just send out a phrase like 'thoughts and prayers,' as if we don't all know that there is something they could do? It's shameful."{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hear-will-hoge-rip-the-nra-weak-politicians-in-new-thoughts-prayers-124547/ |title=Hear Will Hoge Rip the NRA, Weak Politicians in New 'Thoughts & Prayers' |author=Bernstein, Jonathan |date=November 30, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308144738/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hear-will-hoge-rip-the-nra-weak-politicians-in-new-thoughts-prayers-124547/ |url-status=live }}

After the Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland, Florida, Canadian-American musician grandson wrote and released the song "thoughts & prayers" on March 23, 2018, which also criticizes politicians who resist "any attempt at meaningful gun reform".{{cite news |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8285184/grandson-signs-with-fueled-by-ramen-following-his-powerful-post |title=Grandson Signs With Fueled By Ramen Following His Powerful Post-Parkland Theme, 'Thoughts & Prayers' |author=Newman, Melinda |date=April 4, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612200711/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8285184/grandson-signs-with-fueled-by-ramen-following-his-powerful-post |url-status=live }}

The heavy metal band Motionless in White released a song entitled "Thoughts & Prayers" on June 2, 2019, the first single from their album Disguise. According to Chris "Motionless" Cerulli, "It's my commentary on the very evil ways that [religion is] used".{{cite news |url=https://wallofsoundau.com/2019/06/07/chris-motionless-says-thoughts-and-prayers-takes-aim-at-the-evil-ways-religion-is-used-globally/ |title=Chris Motionless Says 'Thoughts And Prayers' Takes Aim At The Evil Ways Religion Is Used Globally |author=Browny |date=June 7, 2019 |work=Wall of Sound |access-date=September 4, 2019 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125193540/https://wallofsoundau.com/2019/06/07/chris-motionless-says-thoughts-and-prayers-takes-aim-at-the-evil-ways-religion-is-used-globally/ |url-status=live }}

The Raconteurs also released their album Help Us Stranger in June 2019; the closing track is entitled "Thoughts and Prayers". When asked about that song, Jack White stated "That phrase has become meaningless. It's a thoughtless phrase. Basically an insult."{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/url-raconteurs-interview-jack-white-brendan-benson-help-us-stranger-a8969401.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/url-raconteurs-interview-jack-white-brendan-benson-help-us-stranger-a8969401.html |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The Raconteurs' Jack White and Brendan Benson: 'Shockingly, it's still seen as a novelty when a woman plays an instrument' |author=Pollard, Alexandra |date=June 22, 2019 |newspaper=Independent |access-date=September 4, 2019}}{{cbignore}}

The punk group Good Riddance released an album entitled Thoughts and Prayers in August 2019. According to Russ Rankin, "I'm sick of hearing that [phrase], especially when there's a mass shooting in New Zealand and the nation takes steps to outlaw semi-automatic weapons in the same week. Meanwhile, here in America, we're dealing with hundreds and hundreds of mass shootings and not doing anything about it."{{cite interview |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/a-continuance-of-momentum-good-riddance-on-new-album/ |title=A Continuance Of Momentum: Good Riddance On new Album |subject-first1=Russ|subject-last1=Rankin |interviewer=Gen Handley |date=July 25, 2019 |work=New Noise |access-date=November 12, 2019 |archive-date=November 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112184923/https://newnoisemagazine.com/a-continuance-of-momentum-good-riddance-on-new-album/ |url-status=dead }}

The Drive-By Truckers publicized their song "Thoughts and Prayers" from the studio album The Unraveling in January 2020, which contains the lyric "stick it up your ass with your useless thoughts and prayers". In his review of the album for Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein characterizes the song as taking aim at the phrase he called "phony right-wing piety".{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/drive-by-truckers-the-unraveling-945910/ |title=Drive-By Truckers Channel Their Disgust With Trump's America on 'The Unraveling' |author-last1=Bernstein|author-first1=Jonathan |date=January 31, 2020 |newspaper=Rolling Stone |access-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122001411/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/drive-by-truckers-the-unraveling-945910/ |url-status=live }}

Filter released "Thoughts and Prayers" ahead of their album Murica in June 2020. Vocalist Richard Patrick called for action in lieu of the phrase: {{" '}}Thoughts and Prayers' has become a meaningless catchphrase that gets thrown out every time something bad happens. Usually a mass murder etc. It's an empty gesture. It's time for more than thoughts and prayers."{{cite news |title=Filter Seek Action Over Words With 'Thoughts and Prayers' Song |url=https://loudwire.com/filter-thoughts-prayers-video/ |author-last1=Childers|author-first1=Chad |date=June 18, 2020 |work=Loudwire |access-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204004500/https://loudwire.com/filter-thoughts-prayers-video/ |url-status=live }}

• List of attacks related to secondary schools
• List of mass shootings in the United States
• List of rampage killers (school massacres)
• Christianese
• Prayer healing and faith healing—more general discussions on effectiveness or lack thereof
• Thought-terminating cliché
• 'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

{{wikiquote}}

• {{cite news |url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/10/3/16408658/10-faith-leaders-action-after-tragedy-las-vegas-shooting |title=10 faith leaders on 'thoughts and prayers' – and action – after tragedy |author=Burton, Tara Isabella |date=October 3, 2017 |newspaper=Vox |access-date=October 4, 2017}}
• {{Cite web|url=https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%22Thoughts%20and%20Prayers%22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331032522/https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%22Thoughts%20and%20Prayers%22|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 31, 2019|title=Thoughts and Prayers|website=Google Trends}}

{{School shootings in the United States}}

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Grief

Category:Gun violence

Category:Linguistic controversies

Category:Political neologisms

Category:Political terminology of the United States

Category:Prayer

Category:Thought