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Item 1:
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A guest post from James Fidlerten.
___
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Today we learn...
The 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has told interrogators that the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan motivated him and his brother to carry out the ...
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On the day James Holmes walked into a movie theater and murdered 12 people, and seriously injured dozens more, he was wearing full body armor and a gas mask. He had in his possession an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle equipped with a 100 round magazine, a Remington tactical 12-gauge shotgun, two Glock pistols, a Blackhawk knife and a canister of tear gas. He also had 6000 rounds of ammunition for the weapons.
It’s hard to imagine that this was what the authors of the 2nd Amendment had in mind back in 1791.
In 1791 all weapons were muzzle loaders and required quite a bit of work to prepare them for the second shot. I could be wrong but I don’t think the double barreled shooting iron as we know it today came about until the early part of the 19th century although weapons with multiple barrels had been experimented with as early as the 16th century.
I think the founding fathers would have recoiled in horror if they could have seen the arsenal that was carried into that theater. No man has any requirement for that kind of firepower. Why doesn’t the NRA just go ahead and advocate for personal ownership of tactical nuclear weapons too?
I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation as to why the Republicans are being allowed to get away with curtailing the constitutional rights of millions of eligible voters for the sake of preventing a crime that only occurs a handful of times (and mostly through error, not intent) despite the millions and millions of votes cast, but they do nothing to prevent crimes of violence that inflict death or injury on over 600,000 people a year.
Gun ownership is addressed by a single amendment – the second* – while the right to vote is the subject, in whole or in part, of at least seven constitutional amendments (The fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-second, twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth); more amendments deal with that single issue than any other enumerated constitutional right.
People like Charlie and E.A. refuse to take responsibility for their own safety and prefer to look to government for protection. This is typical of leftist thinking. The 2nd Amendment is about taking responsibility for our own lives and not relying on government to do it for us. You can eliminate every gun in the country and it would not do a thing to prevent the killings we had in Colorado. Gun control is not a cure for crazy people.
Marcus, you’re wrong. Gun control would not prevent every act of insanity from happening but it would make them less likely. Give me one sane reason for allowing weapons like ar-15s to be sold to the public. Just one. While you’re at it explain why countries with reasonable gun control laws have fewer homicides and acts of violence per capita. I’m waiting for your response.
The 2nd ammendment is about a “well regulated militia” that government can call upon when “security” is threatened.
Our government should do some “well” regulating.
I’m a Democrat, retired military, own a bunch of guns and being “well regulated” is not a problem for me.
Sorry Marcus D. but you couldn’t be more wrong. I qualified as expert (a step above sharpshooter) with both the 45 caliber automatic pistol and the AR-16 during my 14 year military career. Don’t try to break into my home in the middle of the night because I have a Winchester 22 automatic riffle, A Stephens Savage double barrel 12 gauge shotgun, an antique Smith & Wesson 32 caliber revolver, a Smith & Wesson 357 magnum revolver, a Rugger Blackhawk 44 magnum single action revolver, and a Connecticut Valley 50 caliber muzzle loader.
In spite of my considerable arsenal I think that private ownership of automatic weapons should be illegal and no one needs to buy 6,000 round of ammo on the internet. Don’t try to stereotype me. I believe in freedom as much as anyone else but I also believe in common sense.
Fine, Charlie, you’re the liberal exception. But if you start banning automatic weapons and place limits on purchase of ammo, you’ll only drive the business into the black market. Criminals will always have access to weapons. Why should you and I not have that same access?
Cathy, see above for my sane reason. Your stats on guns and violence are twisted and do not reflect the reality. Common sense dictates that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens serves as a deterrent to criminal activity. Chicago has strong gun laws and it still remains one of the most violent cities in the country. Explain that.
Marcus D., Surprisingly all my liberal friends are exceptions to your stereotyping also. As to violence in Chicago have you considered the socioeconomics of the violent offenders?
I lived in Japan for many years where gun control was strict, few people even owned hunting weapons and one of the lowest homicide rates on the planet was enjoyed. Coincidence? I think not.
We’re missing a point here, arguing about whether or not someone with a personal arsenal commits more crime, whether states with higher gun ownership USE their arsenal more or less…
My question is WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID that we feel the need to arm ourselves against our neighbors?
I don’t disagree with collecting as a hobby, yet want COMMON SENSE limits to the firepower. I live in a state where some families would go hungry if not for deer season. Incidentally, my neighbor “carries” at all times under his car seat (and keeps a pistol ready under his pillow)….his response is “you can’t be too careful, you never know what might happen”. At WalMart? in Buckhannon? His son committed suicide…with his gun. Now there’s a statistic worth discussing….
Again, are we so disengaged and suspicious that we hide trembling in our homes, afraid to venture into “life” without “protection”? Is it our intention to kill an intruder or simply disable him? WHY do we feel the need to arm ourselves as if our home or our city will be invaded by a well-armed assault team? And what if we shoot the wrong person, as almost happened when Gabby was shot?
I strongly object to people using the 2nd Amendment (or any other number) as a justification for amassing assault rifles and enough ammo to kill a crowd. That was long ago and far away…
All armed response teams, military installations like, say, Ft. Hood…hell, the whole of US, schools, churches, parents, universities, community leaders, therapists and social workers…EVERYONE should have the “profile” on how to identify people, ANY people, who might be “at risk” for committing an Aurora. My neighbor blames himself for not seeing the signs that his son was depressed enough to pull the trigger.
My husband always goes to the basement to lock the “outside”‘ door after I’ve come in there…I finally asked
him “Why?”…his response was a sheepish “home invasion….?”
Granted, we live on a one-lane road just out of town, only traveled by we few residents, now and then a UPS truck or a stray lost soul…we sleep with our doors wide open (except the basement) and the keys to my truck hang on the edge of the bed, handy in case I want to take my husband’s car instead, garage doors wide open except against winter snows. The only crime reported in the local “rag” is small groups of unarmed teenagers hunting in unlocked cars for CD players…I freely admit I live in a “low-risk” environment.
That wasn’t always the case.
Yet, I CHOOSE to TRUST that statistically, I’m at small risk, wherever I go. The PROBLEM, as I see it, is a lack of knowledge, a lack of education, too many people with too much ammo who aren’t trained to do crisis response, too many people leaning on an old idea and arming themselves against a remote possibility…a lack of community, of investment in our neighbors and neighborhoods…
As I see it, we’ve become armed to a higher and more dangerous degree in a vicious spiral…the police arming against the gangs with military rifles, the perps arming against the police….the question is, WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY ARE WE CREATING FOR OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN?…do we arm our 10-yr-olds to go to school? Why don’t we work toward a more benevolent, empathic and SAFE world, full of the EQUALITY our Constitution calls for???
My question is WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID that we feel the need to arm ourselves against our neighbors?
Carol – Good question. My simplistic answer is that people are afraid of having things forcibly taken away from them. It could be their jewelry. their life, their belief in God, or it could be their choice to live a lifestyle different than their neighbors. All of those things are “possessions” in that each individual controls their disposition. Threat of loss scares people.
Taking without permission, that which is legally or inherently owned by another, is the heart of all crime. All crime emanates from disrespect for the property rights of others. If everyone on the planet operated from the same core belief, “take only with permission”, there would be no crime or inhumanity. There would be little to fear.
Tommy…your reply is eloquent…I like “simplistic”…I call it getting to the heart of the matter.
Yes, if we all lived by the 10 Commandments, as some of our brothers and sisters (who shall remain anonymous) CLAIM to, we’d live in a different world. Still, there’s more.
WHY are we afraid…IMO, more afraid than in other times? Yes, the world has become a far more complicated place but…smaller too.
If you’ve read The People’s History of the United States, the epic by Howard Zinn, perhaps you’ve already surmised my thoughts.
Yes, there’s terrorism…and we are right to fear it, take appropriate steps (under debate) and “live as if” we haven’t lost our innocence.
Yes, there will always be those who, for a multitude of reasons, wish to do others harm.
But have we been “helped along” by forces among us toward this paranoia state?
How have we become so polarized, in a country that used to revel in passionate debate? (yes, I know people shot each other then too)
Who benefits from this polarization?
Early on in his book, Zinn asserts that the wealthy landowners, knowing themselves to be in the MINORITY and afraid of “the masses” removing them from “power” , devised creative ways to pit the poor farmers, the indigenous tribes and the Blacks (slaves) against one another to maintain control. I believe the theory is not only applicable today but is being used with great knowledge and forethought.
I listen to CDs by a local couple who have revived Appalachian Folk music, and are in high demand around our state…they sing a song called “If the World had a Front Porch” …(and it continues) “like we did back then…we’d still have our differences, but we’d all be friends”. I’m a Progressive who likes to look FORWARD, but wouldn’t it be nice if….?
Well, to begin with, all the media outlets. They benefit financially from an environment of increased conflict. Billions are now spent on political campaigns. Politics is now primetime, all the time. The TV and cable outlets, talk radio shows, book publishers, and social networks, all have vested interests in seeing more conflict between the left and the right.
On a similar note, the Democratic Party is useless without the Republican Party, and vise-versa. Only conflict makes them relevant.
Does anyone ever read the 2nd amendment as it was written in 1792? There is more than one version. Please think about what “arms” were available to people in those years. An Ak-47 purchased through the internet? I don’t think so. Was that what our founding fathers had in mind? And how about that pesky “well regulated Militia” phrase? I don’t hear any one in the NRA mention that.
Here is what is written;
As passed by the Congress:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Every NRA member and gun nut should memorize this. And repeat it over and over. That is the second amendment. Then think about the right of Aurora shooter to buy his guns legally. Yes he bought them legally.
I have a vision. I wish I had the guts to do it. 100 people should dress up as arabs. Men in traditional arab dress. Women in Burkas. We go to gun shows, and guns stores. We try to buy as many AK-47′s as possible. Do you think they would sell them to us?
Carol- We’re not really afraid, yet. In the mid-50′s, a firecracker plant exploded in Ft. Worth. It was on the West side of town, near Carswell AFB, one of the “Commies main ICBM targets.”
A mushroom cloud drifted up.
Imagine!
I agree with Carol’s excellent statement – most right wing belief is based on illogical fear !
Why do mostly Republicans feel that common sense gun laws means “They want to get rid of our guns”?
That in itself is insanity and smacks of paranoia and delusion.
That would be like saying when we make common sense traffic laws that “We want to get rid of cars” !
The fact that some people, mostly Republicans, do not even want to have a converstion of this issue, important to saving thousands of American citizens lives annually, clearly shows that their priority is NOT about the General Welfare of the American people.
PS – Another BIG Republican myth is – because Dems want common sense gun regulations – we don’t own guns, they are HUGELY mistaken !
I also have owned firearms for decades and you know what – Not once did I ever FEAR that someone would come for them or that I would not be able to purchase another if I wanted to !!
That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the right wing and liberal mindset !
It is NOT what our forefather’s had iintended with the 2nd Amendment. This is why this Amendment as well as the rest need revision and or modification. This country of our’s is 239 years old, give or take a year. We have grown into a 50 state leviathan, we are the most powerful country on the planet. The laws of the land when George Wahington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson were political dignataries, applied to them & the citizens at he time. I believe, they would think we have flipped our wigs if they knew we still enforced the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights without AMENDING THE DOCUMENTS so that they would be consistant with today’s world. Personally, I THINK THE MAIN REASON WHY THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY REVISIONS TO ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS is because the people in the SUPREME COURT, CONGRESS, SENATE, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ARE NOT INTUITIVE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO REWRITE WHAT OUR FOREFATHER’S EVIDENTLY, HAD NO PROBLEM IN PUTTING INK TO PAPER AND SIGNING.! With this being said, what happen in the movie theatre, should not have occured had proper security checks taken place. Mr. Holmes was able to walk in, sit down, wait until the movie was to begin, get up, exit through a side door, leave it ajar, go to his car, get dressed in his all black padded kevlar ninja suit, load up with all his ammo, guns, tear gas and proceed BACK INTO the theatre where he proceeded to make history with his exploits. Had an ALARM WENT OFF WHEN HE FIRST EXITED THE THEATRE, security would have been alerted & perhaps the murderous rampage would NOT HAVE HAPPENED. Or, if SECURITY was walking the aisles, they would have seen the door ajar and closed it, thereby preventing anyone access from the outside. Our killer would have been stymied. Or, in closing the door, security might have looked outside and in doing so, would have saw the killer getting dressed and perhaps made a phone call to alert police. In the end, it is DETAILS that get us in trouble! DETAILS, ARE THE KEYS that fit the LOCK of OUR EXISTANCE! In the case of the movie murders…..&……other events that affect our daily lives, I hasve a phrase I like……” VICTORY LOVES PREPARATION.” So, in the end you could ask youself is life about WINNING AND OR LOSING? It’s not so much competition….Bad guys vs Good guys…..It comes down to one important peice, and that is… WE all have a part in this one act play we call life ! If WE all DO what WE are SUPPOSE to do at any given time…..a lot of this murderous mayham could be avoided! Remember….”VICTORY LOVES PREPARATION!” If we are prepared, if we become a DETAILED oriented society, following one simple but GOLDEN RULE ! FC 8o]
In 1791 all weapons were muzzle loaders and required quite a bit of work to prepare them for the second shot. I could be wrong but I don’t think the double barreled shooting iron as we know it today came about until the early part of the 19th century although weapons with multiple barrels had been experimented with as early as the 16th century.
I think the founding fathers would have recoiled in horror if they could have seen the arsenal that was carried into that theater. No man has any requirement for that kind of firepower. Why doesn’t the NRA just go ahead and advocate for personal ownership of tactical nuclear weapons too?
I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation as to why the Republicans are being allowed to get away with curtailing the constitutional rights of millions of eligible voters for the sake of preventing a crime that only occurs a handful of times (and mostly through error, not intent) despite the millions and millions of votes cast, but they do nothing to prevent crimes of violence that inflict death or injury on over 600,000 people a year.
Gun ownership is addressed by a single amendment – the second* – while the right to vote is the subject, in whole or in part, of at least seven constitutional amendments (The fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-second, twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth); more amendments deal with that single issue than any other enumerated constitutional right.
*Actually, it was the fourth.
People like Charlie and E.A. refuse to take responsibility for their own safety and prefer to look to government for protection. This is typical of leftist thinking. The 2nd Amendment is about taking responsibility for our own lives and not relying on government to do it for us. You can eliminate every gun in the country and it would not do a thing to prevent the killings we had in Colorado. Gun control is not a cure for crazy people.
Marcus, you’re wrong. Gun control would not prevent every act of insanity from happening but it would make them less likely. Give me one sane reason for allowing weapons like ar-15s to be sold to the public. Just one. While you’re at it explain why countries with reasonable gun control laws have fewer homicides and acts of violence per capita. I’m waiting for your response.
The 2nd ammendment is about a “well regulated militia” that government can call upon when “security” is threatened.
Our government should do some “well” regulating.
I’m a Democrat, retired military, own a bunch of guns and being “well regulated” is not a problem for me.
Sorry Marcus D. but you couldn’t be more wrong. I qualified as expert (a step above sharpshooter) with both the 45 caliber automatic pistol and the AR-16 during my 14 year military career. Don’t try to break into my home in the middle of the night because I have a Winchester 22 automatic riffle, A Stephens Savage double barrel 12 gauge shotgun, an antique Smith & Wesson 32 caliber revolver, a Smith & Wesson 357 magnum revolver, a Rugger Blackhawk 44 magnum single action revolver, and a Connecticut Valley 50 caliber muzzle loader.
In spite of my considerable arsenal I think that private ownership of automatic weapons should be illegal and no one needs to buy 6,000 round of ammo on the internet. Don’t try to stereotype me. I believe in freedom as much as anyone else but I also believe in common sense.
Fine, Charlie, you’re the liberal exception. But if you start banning automatic weapons and place limits on purchase of ammo, you’ll only drive the business into the black market. Criminals will always have access to weapons. Why should you and I not have that same access?
Cathy, see above for my sane reason. Your stats on guns and violence are twisted and do not reflect the reality. Common sense dictates that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens serves as a deterrent to criminal activity. Chicago has strong gun laws and it still remains one of the most violent cities in the country. Explain that.
Marcus D., Surprisingly all my liberal friends are exceptions to your stereotyping also. As to violence in Chicago have you considered the socioeconomics of the violent offenders?
I lived in Japan for many years where gun control was strict, few people even owned hunting weapons and one of the lowest homicide rates on the planet was enjoyed. Coincidence? I think not.
We’re missing a point here, arguing about whether or not someone with a personal arsenal commits more crime, whether states with higher gun ownership USE their arsenal more or less…
My question is WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID that we feel the need to arm ourselves against our neighbors?
I don’t disagree with collecting as a hobby, yet want COMMON SENSE limits to the firepower. I live in a state where some families would go hungry if not for deer season. Incidentally, my neighbor “carries” at all times under his car seat (and keeps a pistol ready under his pillow)….his response is “you can’t be too careful, you never know what might happen”. At WalMart? in Buckhannon? His son committed suicide…with his gun. Now there’s a statistic worth discussing….
Again, are we so disengaged and suspicious that we hide trembling in our homes, afraid to venture into “life” without “protection”? Is it our intention to kill an intruder or simply disable him? WHY do we feel the need to arm ourselves as if our home or our city will be invaded by a well-armed assault team? And what if we shoot the wrong person, as almost happened when Gabby was shot?
I strongly object to people using the 2nd Amendment (or any other number) as a justification for amassing assault rifles and enough ammo to kill a crowd. That was long ago and far away…
All armed response teams, military installations like, say, Ft. Hood…hell, the whole of US, schools, churches, parents, universities, community leaders, therapists and social workers…EVERYONE should have the “profile” on how to identify people, ANY people, who might be “at risk” for committing an Aurora. My neighbor blames himself for not seeing the signs that his son was depressed enough to pull the trigger.
My husband always goes to the basement to lock the “outside”‘ door after I’ve come in there…I finally asked
him “Why?”…his response was a sheepish “home invasion….?”
Granted, we live on a one-lane road just out of town, only traveled by we few residents, now and then a UPS truck or a stray lost soul…we sleep with our doors wide open (except the basement) and the keys to my truck hang on the edge of the bed, handy in case I want to take my husband’s car instead, garage doors wide open except against winter snows. The only crime reported in the local “rag” is small groups of unarmed teenagers hunting in unlocked cars for CD players…I freely admit I live in a “low-risk” environment.
That wasn’t always the case.
Yet, I CHOOSE to TRUST that statistically, I’m at small risk, wherever I go. The PROBLEM, as I see it, is a lack of knowledge, a lack of education, too many people with too much ammo who aren’t trained to do crisis response, too many people leaning on an old idea and arming themselves against a remote possibility…a lack of community, of investment in our neighbors and neighborhoods…
As I see it, we’ve become armed to a higher and more dangerous degree in a vicious spiral…the police arming against the gangs with military rifles, the perps arming against the police….the question is, WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY ARE WE CREATING FOR OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN?…do we arm our 10-yr-olds to go to school? Why don’t we work toward a more benevolent, empathic and SAFE world, full of the EQUALITY our Constitution calls for???
…and I can’t wait for someone to tell me to move to Holland, or that I’m a SOCIALIST….or simply NAIVE. ; )
Carol – Good question. My simplistic answer is that people are afraid of having things forcibly taken away from them. It could be their jewelry. their life, their belief in God, or it could be their choice to live a lifestyle different than their neighbors. All of those things are “possessions” in that each individual controls their disposition. Threat of loss scares people.
Taking without permission, that which is legally or inherently owned by another, is the heart of all crime. All crime emanates from disrespect for the property rights of others. If everyone on the planet operated from the same core belief, “take only with permission”, there would be no crime or inhumanity. There would be little to fear.
Tommy…your reply is eloquent…I like “simplistic”…I call it getting to the heart of the matter.
Yes, if we all lived by the 10 Commandments, as some of our brothers and sisters (who shall remain anonymous) CLAIM to, we’d live in a different world. Still, there’s more.
WHY are we afraid…IMO, more afraid than in other times? Yes, the world has become a far more complicated place but…smaller too.
If you’ve read The People’s History of the United States, the epic by Howard Zinn, perhaps you’ve already surmised my thoughts.
Yes, there’s terrorism…and we are right to fear it, take appropriate steps (under debate) and “live as if” we haven’t lost our innocence.
Yes, there will always be those who, for a multitude of reasons, wish to do others harm.
But have we been “helped along” by forces among us toward this paranoia state?
How have we become so polarized, in a country that used to revel in passionate debate? (yes, I know people shot each other then too)
Who benefits from this polarization?
Early on in his book, Zinn asserts that the wealthy landowners, knowing themselves to be in the MINORITY and afraid of “the masses” removing them from “power” , devised creative ways to pit the poor farmers, the indigenous tribes and the Blacks (slaves) against one another to maintain control. I believe the theory is not only applicable today but is being used with great knowledge and forethought.
I listen to CDs by a local couple who have revived Appalachian Folk music, and are in high demand around our state…they sing a song called “If the World had a Front Porch” …(and it continues) “like we did back then…we’d still have our differences, but we’d all be friends”. I’m a Progressive who likes to look FORWARD, but wouldn’t it be nice if….?
Well, to begin with, all the media outlets. They benefit financially from an environment of increased conflict. Billions are now spent on political campaigns. Politics is now primetime, all the time. The TV and cable outlets, talk radio shows, book publishers, and social networks, all have vested interests in seeing more conflict between the left and the right.
On a similar note, the Democratic Party is useless without the Republican Party, and vise-versa. Only conflict makes them relevant.
“Follow the money” has never been truer.
Does anyone ever read the 2nd amendment as it was written in 1792? There is more than one version. Please think about what “arms” were available to people in those years. An Ak-47 purchased through the internet? I don’t think so. Was that what our founding fathers had in mind? And how about that pesky “well regulated Militia” phrase? I don’t hear any one in the NRA mention that.
Here is what is written;
As passed by the Congress:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Every NRA member and gun nut should memorize this. And repeat it over and over. That is the second amendment. Then think about the right of Aurora shooter to buy his guns legally. Yes he bought them legally.
I have a vision. I wish I had the guts to do it. 100 people should dress up as arabs. Men in traditional arab dress. Women in Burkas. We go to gun shows, and guns stores. We try to buy as many AK-47′s as possible. Do you think they would sell them to us?
Carol- We’re not really afraid, yet. In the mid-50′s, a firecracker plant exploded in Ft. Worth. It was on the West side of town, near Carswell AFB, one of the “Commies main ICBM targets.”
A mushroom cloud drifted up.
Imagine!
I agree with Carol’s excellent statement – most right wing belief is based on illogical fear !
Why do mostly Republicans feel that common sense gun laws means “They want to get rid of our guns”?
That in itself is insanity and smacks of paranoia and delusion.
That would be like saying when we make common sense traffic laws that “We want to get rid of cars” !
The fact that some people, mostly Republicans, do not even want to have a converstion of this issue, important to saving thousands of American citizens lives annually, clearly shows that their priority is NOT about the General Welfare of the American people.
PS – Another BIG Republican myth is – because Dems want common sense gun regulations – we don’t own guns, they are HUGELY mistaken !
I also have owned firearms for decades and you know what – Not once did I ever FEAR that someone would come for them or that I would not be able to purchase another if I wanted to !!
That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the right wing and liberal mindset !
Golden Sun,
“Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear.”
~William E. Gladstone
My daughter’s very pro-democrat father-in-law owns enough weapons to arm a revolution.
@Charlie – No truer words spoken my friend – Gladstone hit the proverbial nail on the head !
Charlie…
THANK YOU for the new slogan!
BTW, my neighbor who is “adequately armed”, even on a trip to WalMart, the one whose son sadly took his own life with his gun, is a loyal Democrat.
My Condolences to your friend Carol –
“FEAR” is a contagion and the right wing has expertise and experience in promoting it, daily, for decades !
So much so that a Democratic President had to remind the American people years ago – that ‘THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF !”
Certainly there are reasons to be seriously concerned about – but to be obsessed to the point of delusion, with fear, is crazy !
It is NOT what our forefather’s had iintended with the 2nd Amendment. This is why this Amendment as well as the rest need revision and or modification. This country of our’s is 239 years old, give or take a year. We have grown into a 50 state leviathan, we are the most powerful country on the planet. The laws of the land when George Wahington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson were political dignataries, applied to them & the citizens at he time. I believe, they would think we have flipped our wigs if they knew we still enforced the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights without AMENDING THE DOCUMENTS so that they would be consistant with today’s world. Personally, I THINK THE MAIN REASON WHY THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY REVISIONS TO ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS is because the people in the SUPREME COURT, CONGRESS, SENATE, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ARE NOT INTUITIVE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO REWRITE WHAT OUR FOREFATHER’S EVIDENTLY, HAD NO PROBLEM IN PUTTING INK TO PAPER AND SIGNING.! With this being said, what happen in the movie theatre, should not have occured had proper security checks taken place. Mr. Holmes was able to walk in, sit down, wait until the movie was to begin, get up, exit through a side door, leave it ajar, go to his car, get dressed in his all black padded kevlar ninja suit, load up with all his ammo, guns, tear gas and proceed BACK INTO the theatre where he proceeded to make history with his exploits. Had an ALARM WENT OFF WHEN HE FIRST EXITED THE THEATRE, security would have been alerted & perhaps the murderous rampage would NOT HAVE HAPPENED. Or, if SECURITY was walking the aisles, they would have seen the door ajar and closed it, thereby preventing anyone access from the outside. Our killer would have been stymied. Or, in closing the door, security might have looked outside and in doing so, would have saw the killer getting dressed and perhaps made a phone call to alert police. In the end, it is DETAILS that get us in trouble! DETAILS, ARE THE KEYS that fit the LOCK of OUR EXISTANCE! In the case of the movie murders…..&……other events that affect our daily lives, I hasve a phrase I like……” VICTORY LOVES PREPARATION.” So, in the end you could ask youself is life about WINNING AND OR LOSING? It’s not so much competition….Bad guys vs Good guys…..It comes down to one important peice, and that is… WE all have a part in this one act play we call life ! If WE all DO what WE are SUPPOSE to do at any given time…..a lot of this murderous mayham could be avoided! Remember….”VICTORY LOVES PREPARATION!” If we are prepared, if we become a DETAILED oriented society, following one simple but GOLDEN RULE ! FC 8o]