There are times when irony isn’t funny. This is one of them.
I read this at FNC:
Orlando gunman made multiple visits to nightclub he attacked, reports say
Omar Mateen made multiple visits to Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in the weeks before he killed 49 people there early Sunday, according to several reports quoting regular patrons.
One man also said that he recognized Mateen from an app used to arrange dates and hookups for gay men, adding a new layer of complexity to the investigation of the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
The Orlando Sentinel cited four Pulse regulars who said they had seen the 29-year-old Mateen there before.
“Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent,” said Ty Smith, who claimed to have seen the gunman at Pulse at least a dozen times.
“We didn’t really talk to him a lot, but I remember him saying things about his dad at times,” Smith added. “He told us he had a wife and child.”
Smith’s husband, Chris Callen, told the Canadian Press that Mateen had been to Pulse regularly for “at least three years.”
Jim Van Horn, 71, told the Associated Press he was a frequent patron at Pulse and said another “regular” there was Mateen.
“He was trying to pick up people. Men,” Van Horn said late Monday outside the Parliament House, another gay club.
[…]
Read the rest there.
What have we been hearing for the last couple days?
There is a tension in the MSM between this being an Islamic terror attack and being an “anti-‘gay’ hate crime”. Some seem to want to diminish the terror aspect and emphasis the “anti-‘gay’ hate angle.
Now it seems that this was Islamist terror and a “gay” v “gay” crime, a barbaric mass murder perpetrated by a registered Democrat American citizen homosexual Islamic terrorist. If he, apparently a Muslim homosexual, killed the homosexuals in the homosexual club that he frequented because he hated homosexuals, then this is pretty complicated and he was pretty screwed up. Whatever else it is, it isn’t a simple case of a homosexual hater killing homosexuals because they are homosexuals. It’s more than that.
Let’s see what the MSM does about this.
On another point…
This morning I awoke to the news that, in France, an Islamic terrorist murdered a cop, in front of his little son, and he streamed it live. The police officer’s wife was also murdered. The terrorist animal killed the cop with a knife… not a gun… a knife. The murderer pledged allegiance to ISIS three weeks ago and did so also during the steamed attack. The boy survived. HERE
So much for French cuisine: all knives should be banned, right?
If terrorists want to kill you, they will use whatever is to hand, a knife, a pressure cooker, a Ford F-150, whatever.
That brings me to another point.
Less-than bright people in the MSM talk about the evil “assault weapon” used in the Orlando terror murders. Some say it was an “automatic assault weapon”.
In one recording recovered from a victim’s phone you clearly hear the weapon being fired. It wasn’t automatic fire. You can’t tell if that was the handgun or the rifle.
The barbaric terrorist wacko had in the week prior purchased an AR-15. If he bought an Ar-15 is wasn’t an automatic and it wasn’t an “assault weapon”. “Assault weapon” or rifle is a phrase brilliantly applied to just about any rifle colored black by haters of the 2nd Amendment to distort the public’s understanding of rifles.
An “assault rifle” (the term might go back to WWII) can more accurately be applied to rifles that have a selective fire option, that is, they can be set to fire single shots with a single squeeze of the trigger, or multiple shots with a single squeeze. An AR-15, unless it is subjected to significant modification, is not capable of selective fire. An AR-15 gives you one shot per trigger pull. An AR-15 is a “semi-automatic” long gun, or rifle, or carbine. It is semi-automatic in that when you shoot a round, the case is extracted and ejected and, if there are still rounds in the magazine, another round is chambered and the mechanism is reset so that you can continue to fire with another squeeze of the trigger. If you can squeeze the trigger quickly, you can fire quickly. When you listen to the talking-heads, pay attention to the terms they use. I think that some of the anti-2nd Amendment crowd get the difference, but they used the wrong terms to confuse and to warp. Others just don’t know what they are talking about.
So… in the MSM coverage of the Orlando terror attack pay attention to the language that people use.
And let’s see if anything changes in the reportage or from, especially liberals and the homosexualist crowd, now that we know that the terrorist perp was himself often at the club seeking homosexual sex. Will they still talk about “anti-gay hate”?
I am switching on the moderation queue for this. Think before attempting the comment, please. Also, I have some travel today, so I’ll not be checking the queue too often.
Finally… when you enter a business or any other place, make sure you know where the exits are and, having examined your conscience thoroughly…
GO TO CONFESSION.
UPDATE:
A thought. It is assumed that he was “crazy”. Maybe so, depending on your definition. However, that doesn’t mean that he was stupid or that he didn’t know exactly what he was doing. Maybe he wasn’t crazy. Maybe he was just evil. Maybe he was possessed.
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You’re so right. Situational awareness. My nose snuffles and my ears prick up in the presence of Muslims I do not know well. Yes, that makes me a Bad Catholic. I’m afraid I’m racking up quite a score on that scale lately. I cannot be more disappointed at Archbishop Cupich repeating the gossip that the Muslim terrorist might have been “mentally unstable.” Nice work. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans have some sort of mental health diagnosis. And to cover for a Muslim terrorist, we have prelates who are willing to scapegoat an already-stigmatized group by linking them to mass murder.
Simply, our leaders do not care about us. They care about: their cronies, covering up their corruption, and advancing anti human ideologies at the expense of real human beings.
The MSM seems to be going out of their way to emphasize the fact that these weapons were purchased *legally* in some vain attempt to call attention for even MORE gun control.
Unfortunately, it seems to be working as the (Democratic majority controlled) legislature in CA is working on *even more* gun control laws – because, you know, you can never have enough gun control laws when you don’t bother enforcing the ones you already have…
The MSM can’t even get simple facts correct. The “assault rifle”, which wasn’t, nor was it an AR-15, was a Sig Sauer. When you are so blinded by your ideology, getting even simple facts right is a chore. A major portion of the public simply doesn’t read or care what the media says any more because most of it is unbelievable. Ultimately, this loss of confidence in the press is not a good thing.
If he’d only been there a few times before, I’d presume he was casing out the place, looking for weakness in any security they did have, etc. (and, as someone who was a security officer himself, he’d actually know what he was looking for,) but yeah, “years” doesn’t fly under that.
I’ve also read some reports that the shooter was also very anti-Latino (why did he live in FLORIDA, then???) but it’s been speculated that that was why he chose THAT day, because it was “Latin night,” and that night was being hosted by “trans” folks, so it could also be he had something against them, but… Maybe he was a soul who’d allowed the devil too much reign in his mind and heart and eventually took out his abundant self-hatred on everyone else.
This could also explain why the shooter’s father said his son wasn’t religious; if his father believes in the Koran’s declarations about homosexuality, he may have just believed that one excluded the other, i.e. “My son is gay, and, therefore, he cannot possibly be sympathetic to the Islamic State. They would execute him if they knew.”
just read “NOT AN LGBT motivated attack
As I understand the anti-gun argument, Father, it goes like this: the ready availability of guns in some states, without strict checks, makes killing a lot of people, at a distance, easy.
Of course you are quite right, if someone wants to kill you enough, s/he will use any weapon to hand, knife, bludgeon, bomb. We had a nice little example of the last in London a few years ago.
But getting ingredients, building bombs, strapping on suicide vests, takes a bit more time and organization than pulling a trigger. And with a knife (as in France just now) or a blunt instrument, you can kill far fewer before someone takes you down.
We will never be able to eliminate the murderously inclined, people have been trying since Cain and not succeeded. But we can try to make their task that little bit more difficult.
That means some form of agreed gun control.
Well, we know where this is going now. Obviously, it was the man’s “religious guilt” that drove this massacre- nothing to do with Islam except that some people of all religions are homophobic. Religious guilt is the real problem here, not Islam’s terror mandates. Religions in this country must learn not to incite hate crimes. We must pay closer attention to what preachers and religious schools are teaching people about homosexuality. We must punish those who incite hate./sarc off/
Christians will inherit the wrath from this incident, especially those who preach and teach.
Sadly, with the disclosure that the terrorist himself fought with homosexual temptation, I am afraid the MSM’s approach will become an attack on Christian conservatism. I am sure it already has although I don’t track it carefully enough to be sure but the argument would go along the lines of;
If he would not have been brought up in such a strict unloving environment that preached the evil of homosexual relationships then he would have been free to live his life and happily engage in any relationship he chose. That the guilt and hatred of himself for having those desires were the cause of his radicalization and his choice of targets.
The link will be made to Christians that would dare to say something is wrong, or tell someone they are acting in an immoral way. We need to accept these acts and these people and quickly admit everyone to Holy Communion because if we leave them out, they will feel separated and alone and probably go and kill a whole bunch of people.
The focus will be turned away from the evil act itself, and not even the killer will hold any blame, it will be the fault of our backward and conservative way of thinking.
Already, the victims are losing their names and faces, they are not people anymore, they are persecuted homosexuals. It is sad that after such an evil attack that instead of being asked to pray for the souls of the individuals, the MSM will turn them all into just a persecuted group, killed because one man didn’t feel free to explore all of his desires.
What MSM doesn’t get is the Christian conservatives are the ones who are constantly and fervently praying for these victims, not because they were gay, but because they were people killed in a horrific way. Had we encountered them in life we would have befriended them, talked with them, disagreed with them and tried to lead them down that narrow path that we all walk.
Peter Hitchens (“The Good Hitchens Brother”) often notes that many mass murderers, spree-killers, and some terrorists are habitual marijuana users and have taken anti-depressants and other powerful medications that may gradually destroy a person’s mind.
I don’t know if Hitchens is correct, but it should be investigated if there is a link (or even a contributing factor) between the use certain prescription medications and/or illegal drugs and these monstrous crimes.
I would suggest that doctors may misdiagnosis some patients and give them the wrong medication, which doesn’t help or makes things worse and ends up increasing their feelings of despair.
I’m guessing this club, like all nightclubs today, had security cameras. So we can see how everything unfolded (and if the killer had accomplices.) One expert I listened to suggests that autopsies and ballistics tests will determine if any of the patrons may have been accidentially killed by the police during the firefight.
Just perused my local (small city, Northeast state) newspaper.
Front paper almost entirely dedicated (appropriately) to the tragedy.
Here are the themes:
1. Anti gay motivation.
2. Possible mental illness of the shooter.
3. Lack of adequate gun control.
No mention of the shooter’s STATED dedication of his actions to ISIS, no mention of his reported previous statements linking his hatred to his religion, no mention that he not only complied with gun licensing requirements, he was an ARMED FEDERAL CONTRACTOR, no mention of his political affiliation. Even the local congressman’s statement, a former Marine with multiple tours in the mid-East. blames the whole thing on the lack of gun control!
One can almost here news editors and reporters around the country slapping their heads wondering why oh why wasn’t he a white, Christian, Tea Party, Trump supporter, NRA member, etc.
DimitriCavalli, yes, ironically, many anti-depressants and other such drugs have significant side effects of suicidal thoughts and thoughts of violence.
doreilly- Exactly. See- religious guilt (specifically Catholic)even drives people to suicide rather than face their homosexual inclinations:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/belgian-seeks-euthanasia-rather-than-embrace-his-gay-attractions
In the future, I would not be surprised to see “rigid” belief in the immorality of various sex acts classified as mental illness, and to see it screened in schools and doctor checkups, adoption applications, and employment selection.
I think the Catholic Church in America will either mainly cave to the homosexual agenda or will shrink drastically since most people will not want to be seen as bigots.
A blog post by the Roman Catholic Bishop of St. Petersburg, in which he talks about Catholicism breeding contempt for homosexuals:
ORLANDO, ORLANDO WE LOVE YOU
Today I write with a heavy heart arising from the tragedy which occurred in the early morning hours yesterday at a Gay, Lesbian, Transgender night club in Orlando, our neighbor to the east. Yesterday, the best I could muster was to send these words by text message to my brother, Bishop John Noonan, bishop of Orlando: “John, I am so sorry. With love to and for all.” Today with a new dawn, I once again have some thoughts which I wish to share.
Our founding parents had no knowledge of assault rifles which are intended to be weapons of mass destruction. In crafting the second amendment to the Constitution which I affirm, they thought only of the most awkward of pistols and heavy shotguns. I suspect they are turning in their graves if they can but glimpse at what their words now protect. It is long past time to ban the sale of all assault weapons whose use should be available only to the armed forces. If one is truly pro-life, then embrace this issue also and work for the elimination of sales to those who would turn them on innocents.
Second, sadly it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people. Attacks today on LGBT men and women often plant the seed of contempt, then hatred, which can ultimately lead to violence. Those women and men who were mowed down early yesterday morning were all made in the image and likeness of God. We teach that. We should believe that. We must stand for that. Without yet knowing who perpetrated the PULSE mass murders, when I saw the Imam come forward at a press conference yesterday morning, I knew that somewhere in the story there would be a search to find religious roots. While deranged people do senseless things, all of us observe, judge and act from some kind of religious background. Singling out people for victimization because of their religion, their sexual orientation, their nationality must be offensive to God’s ears. It has to stop also.
Third, responding by barring people of Muslim only faith from entering the country solely because of their stated faith until they can be checked out is un-American, even in these most challenging of times and situations. There are as many good, peace loving and God fearing Muslims to be found as Catholics or Methodists or Mormons or Seventh Day Adventists. The devil and devilish intent escape no religious iteration.
Will we ever learn? I hope so but until the above three points are taken seriously by society, sadly, tragically, we can expect more Orlandos. May the souls of those faithful departed who met their God early Sunday morning rest in peace, and those recovering from deep wounds heal, help and hope.
+RNL
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The spoons Padre, the spoons ! Please don’t forget to confiscate the spoons too – since, according to Coloumbia University, there is new evidence that Obesity kills far more Americans than we think it does.
Just putting this here so people can understand that it is VERY CATHOLIC to oppose open borders, gun control, and mass Islamic immigration – and to strongly oppose Islam in general.
====
“Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense… It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.” – CCC 1909-1910
“Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.” – CCC 2241
“Islam… simply does not have the separation of the political and religious sphere which Christianity has had from the beginning. The Koran is a total religious law, which regulates the whole of political and social life and insists that the whole order of life be Islamic. Sharia shapes society from beginning to end. In this sense, it can exploit such partial freedoms as our constitution gives, but it can’t be its final goal to say: Yes, now we too are a body with rights, now we are present just like the Catholics and the Protestants. In such a situation, it would not achieve a status consistent with its inner nature; it would be in alienation from itself. Islam has a total organization of life that is completely different from ours; it embraces simply everything. There is a very marked subordination of woman to man; there is a very tightly knit criminal law, indeed, a law regulating all areas of life, that is opposed to our modern ideas about society. One has to have a clear understanding that it is not simply a denomination that can be included in the free realm of a pluralistic society. When one represents the situation in those terms, as often happens today, Islam is defined according to the Christian model and is not seen as it really is in itself. In this sense, the question of dialogue with Islam is naturally much more complicated than, for example, an internal dialogue among Christians.” – Joseph Ratzinger prior to his papal election
Mateen may have been seeking salvation for his sins. To die as a martyr in jihad is a guaranteed ticket to paradise.
Who was it that suggested we consider why this statement was ever uttered?:
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only bad and inhumane, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
@Dimitri_Cavalli If nothing else, this guy may have drank enough to blast away brain cells with that alone. I am picturing one of my cousins, an alcoholic his entire life, who’s literally drank so much that he’s damaged massive quantities of his brain =-
And yes, Father, the term “assault rifle” does date back to the Second World War. The Nazis introduced the StG44, which was the first modern select fire assault weapon. The term derives from the German name for the weapon, Sturmgewehr 44.
and now THIS,
Florida Bishop Blames Orlando Massacre on Catholic ‘Contempt’ for Homosexuality
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/06/14/florida-bishop-blames-orlando-massacre-catholic-contempt-homosexuality/
a catholic bishop, and I intentionally am using a small b for bishop. And we are not to be critical of bishops!
A Catholic Bishop in Florida is blaming Catholic teachings about homosexuality for what
happened in Orlando.
http://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2016/06/catholic-bishop-blames-catholic-faith.html
I must be confused because I really don’t think ISIS is a “Catholic” group and ISIS is who
the murderer in Orlando self identified with.
Christians will inherit the wrath from this incident, especially those who preach and teach.
Which will be as nothing to the wrath we can expect if we don’t preach and teach—both from our Maker and from our neighbor toward whom we will fail in justice if we soft-pedal or dismiss the Truth.
I would dispute the claim that psychotropic medication “destroys the mind” and makes one prone to become a mass murderer. And marijuana is so common among the kind of people who ordinarily commit murder it is useless observation. I did criminal defense work for 30 years and did a lot of murder cases. I never had one insanity defense. I never had one case where antidepressants were an arguable factor (and I always looked for all the arguments I could get). I think it is uninformed and stigmatizing to attempt to link mood disorders like depression or bipolar to mass murder. I had an autistic murderer. So everyone who is autistic is a risk for murder?
A small number of mental health sufferers are psychotic. They may suffer from delusions and may indeed be dangerous. If memory serves, I saw one such case. I also saw one case with a true psychopath (who is not considered mentally ill, oddly enough). He was a spree killer, truly a remorseless intraspecies predator.
Alcohol and recreational drugs (e,g, methamphetamine) are far more likely to be a factor than mental health. I can only recall one murderer who fancied himself a mastermind and staged an elaborate fake threat to throw the police off. Chris Coleman murdered his wife and two sons to run off with a girlfriend. (The one case that still troubles me.) All the other murderers were pretty much jerks and losers with no plan. Oh, there was one involving a witch cult, I kid you not.
Loose talk about “mental instability” and “deranged person… senseless” is a canard to shift blame to an already stigmatized group that does not enjoy cultural protection. If mental illness were a factor, hypothetically, did his experience with Islam aggravate it and channel it into a homicidal act? But even if there were mental illness, that begs the question of whether it contributed to the mass murder. How is someone who is bipolar a likely killer? He might kill himself if he were depressed. If manic, he might max out his credit cards showing a good time to someone he just met. He would not be a likely murderer.
People cannot imagine how distressing it is to harmless people who are already stigmatized by a mental illness to have persons in authority suggest they are likely to kill people, just to make a cheap political point. This is simply not true.
What do we know? He was a Muslim terrorist acting as a very efficient agent of ISIS, which is a “common enemy.” Brigands was the old name, and the rules of warfare were… let’s say relaxed. We should not make anything of an ex-wife’s lay recollections of “bipolar” or something. Frankly, I think it is despicable for anyone in authority to try.
If this gets approved, thank you Father Z for allowing me to lend my experience to something I feel very strongly about in this case.
people with evil intentions will always be able get a gun-legally or illegally.
People who wouldn’t hurt a fly and obey the laws-will(with exceptions of course) always obey the laws.Gun laws just make it more dificult for them;not the bad guy. Most of us just like to think everyone is a good guy until proven otherwise and that’s sadly,more often,after the fact.
Just a thought. Maybe the prior visits = “casing the joint?”
I just read, that according to Florida’s Bishop Lynch, that we Catholics are partly to blame because of our views on homosexuality. What is wrong with our bishops?
A topic of the most extraordinary complexity, human sexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality. And those immersed in the tangle these issues are, are themselves often overwhelmed on physical, emotional, psychological, cognitive and spiritual levels. We need to keep that very much in mind when absorbing, not only this tale, but all of those stories which come across our screen in life.
That being said it is fascinating to watch the reporters and commentators stumbling over their words this morning in broaching the topic of the bisexual Islamic terrorist. It made them so uncomfortable, personally, professionally, politically, that it made me feel awkward witnessing their discomfort. I thought one guy on FOX was going to faint.
It came as no surprise to many, however, that this man himself was dealing with this burden in his life. Self-contempt has a lot to do with violence toward others. And picking up the clues from the father about the father – here is another young man who experienced his relationship with his father as “abandonment.” It does not matter how the father experienced it – the son experienced an inadequate response from his father.
As the phenomenon of homosexuality continues to explode, society had better start to take a good look at how sons are being deprived of fathers.
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In a post earlier today, John Hayward wrote, “A more complicated narrative might portray Mateen as embracing violent Islamic fundamentalism to absolve or erase his ‘gay tendencies.’ That would be much harder to politicize, while simultaneously keeping radical Islam out of the discussion.”
I understand that it is clear (for example) from ISIS publications that their understanding at least is that ‘becoming a shaheed (a so-called ‘martyr’)’ has the effect of erasing all one’s sins. And I remember related discussions in the wake of the attack on the WTC.
I note that the mass-killer is reported to have been drinking alcohol and getting drunk to the extent of being expelled from this club. One of the things I remember being discussed 14 years ago about the behavior of the hijackers is that committing all sorts of what they considered objective sins (as various were reported to have been doing, even with especial intensity prior to the attack) might have been (in part) a tool to get themselves to be sure to go through with it. If that is a possibility, then there are all sorts of possible conscious and/or semi-conscious or ‘unconscious’ complexities of motivation for same-sex-related ‘activity’ (even only mental activity, beyond ‘flirting’?) as well as for (massive) alcohol consumption that are perfectly compatible with intending jihad and ‘becoming a shaheed’ including with those as his consistent conscious prime motives.
As far as his being “crazy,” it’s pretty sad when the effects of being a member of a particular religion can’t be distinguished from being insane. You’d think that alone would be enough to show where this religion comes from – hint, it’s not God…
I expect the media commentators will have a lot to say about “sexual repression” and how religions that don’t condone homosexuality cause violence by their “hate,” which creates internal turmoil that causes members to snap.
And by religions that don’t condone homosexuality, they don’t mean Islam. It’s one thing to refrain from blaming all Muslims for the crimes of extremists. It’s another to immediately launch, often unprompted, into the numerous dismissals I’ve already seen of any links between the murderer’s actions and the teachings of Islam.
The blame for this actually lies with Christianity.
I wish I were joking, but several prominent figures in the ACLU have already publicly blamed Christianity for the murders:
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/6/13/orlando_massacre_comes_after_lawmakers_in
Sadly, this is far from the worst night club disaster in recent years in the US. Knowing how crowds often behave in stressful situations, I wonder how many of those killed and injured in Orlando were harmed directly by the murderer, and how many were harmed in the panic that ensued, as happened in the Station nightclub fire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire
Father, another thought provoking article by a reality based priest. You rarely fail to inspire and enlighten, thanks.
doreilly:
Exactly!
In order to focus on what people are trying to say instead of picking apart statements made in error due to a lack of familiarity with firearms, I suggest when someone says “AR-15” or “automatic weapon,” one hears “semi-automatic centerfire rifle with high capacity removable magazine.” Then one can engage the actual comments made by the speaker.
One does not need to know anything about the use or construction of firearms to know that they are very effective at killing things, whether animal life or human life. It is a fair thing to discuss the regulation of weapons that are particularly effective in taking human life.
In Orlando, the shooter used not an AR-15 but something even more effective at taking human life: the Sig Sauer MCX. Sig designed the MCX to DoD specifications for a rifle for special operations forces. They put particular effort into making it extremely accurate while using a silencer, as a spec ops team might do. Sig’s intended market is military and law enforcement use.
(To learn about the design process of the Sig MCX, visit this web site and click the link to watch the video, then click on the second video. http://www.sigevolution.com/sigmcx )
Of course Sig wants to make money, so they also manufacturer a semi-automatic variant for civilian use.
I think it fair to say that if there were a nationwide policy similar to that of California and New York, allowing only a 10-round non-removable magazine, that it would be much harder for a shooter to take so many lives in such a short time.
Not impossible, but less likely. When compared to handguns, military-grade rifles (and the Sig MCX absolutely is a military rifle even without a fully automatic mode) have better range, better accuracy, greater ammunition capacity, and more powerful ammunition which causes more damage and thus kills more targets.
The now expired Federal assault weapons ban, as well as the limitations imposed by states such as New York, California and Connecticut, are within constitutional bounds as verified by the Courts. None other than Bill O’Reilly said when interviewed by Stephen Colbert that Congress could ban these weapons, and perhaps should.
As Christians we must consider the common good. No one in civilian life needs a military-grade rifle that can pump out 30 rounds in under a minute and be reloaded in a few seconds. Sure, they can be fun, but no one needs them. If a special need exists, let it be addressed by a special permitting process.
Banning these weapons would reduce the incidence of large-scale mass shootings. When mass shootings occur, it would give people more of a fighting chance, with the shooter having a weapon that has fewer bullets and a longer reload time. Casualties would be lessened, lives would be saved.
That would address only the large-scale mass shooting portion of America’s national gun problem. We still have about 30,000 people dying annually from gun violence, about two-thirds by suicide and the remainder homicides. Several times that number are wounded each year.
Policy changes could also help with these, such as mandatory waiting periods, more thorough background investigations and permitting processes, and more.
Neither the Second Amendment nor a love for powerful weapons are found in the Gospels, but a concern for neighbor most certainly is found there.
Can Christians in America sacrifice some of their desires and conveniences, like 30-round magazines and being able to walk into a store and walk out with a gun a short time later, for the sake of the common good and saving lives?
I hope that someday we get there.
A lot of people, it turns out, are just fueled by evil. And no parish council initiative or small group or programming will change that. It’s not rational, and reason is not useful in bringing to bear to stop from harming innocent lives.
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Sigh….firearms again. The German StG-44, Sturmgewehr, (Storming rifle) is generally recognized as the first…wait for it, no, not assault rifle, but mid sized caliber, selective fire rifle. The standard German round in the bolt action, Mauser 98 rifle was the 7.92 x 54. (7.92 mm diameter of the bullet, 54mm length of round.) The StG 44 fired a 7.92 x 33. Same sized bullet, smaller cartridge length. Why? The 7.92 x 54, (and the American 30-06, a 7.62 x 63) were accurate out to about 800 yards. The Germans, and quickly the Soviets, and us, realized that a smaller, mid-range caliber could work just fine, as fighting was not trench to trench but in the 200-300 yard range. The Kalishnakov fired a 7.62 x 39. Our M-16, now M-4 carbine fires a 5.56 x (I believe)45, and/or 63. The assault rifle was an invented term, done, I believe, by Barbara Boxer, (or was it Feinstein, I get them mixed up), by looking at pictures of rifles and picking out the ‘scary features’. For instance, the “pistol grip”. The AR pattern rifles are direct gas impingement action; gas is cycled through a tube into the chamber, and said gas forces the bolt back and a buffer spring in the butt stock forces the bolt forward, loading another round. (The “An assault rifle can easily be made to fire fully automatic in just a few minutes using parts from the internet” is a pernicious, malicious lie. Triggers and sears and hammers and other things from semi to full auto are different creatures.) My point, or points. That 5.56 AR round. The ‘merican size is .223 Remington. As in .223 inches. Let us subtract that .003 inches and see what’s left. Hmm, .22 inches. Wow! “High powered military sized bullets that have no place…” Granted, the humble .22 rifle does not have much powder behind it, and does not have some 50,000 psi of chamber pressure. [ehem … F=ma] But my other point is this picture of a Ruger 10-22. (Probably the most popular .22 rifle.) Here’s a picture from Ruger’s site: http://www.ruger.com/products/1022Carbine/images/1103.jpg Here is pair of Ruger 10-22’s. By the legal definition of the Assault Weapons ban law, the bottom picture is, wait for it, yes, an evil assault rifle. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/73/c0/52/73c052cc8fe66da351e7ff794b0d2138.jpg
(One thing I forgot about the intermediate sized cartridge. As they are smaller and lighter, one can carry more of them than those 7.92’s or those 30-06’s.) [If memory serves, and correct if I am wrong, but the smaller .223/5.56 (smaller than the calibers used in previous conflicts – thus lighter and easier to haul around), were intended also to wound rather than kill outright and tie up more personnel in caring for the wounded. Corrections welcome.]
I apologize for the long rant. The mendacity of the political class is worthy only of scorn. “They have their reward. I read that one hundred million American’s own 220 million firearms and some 13 billion rounds of ammunition. If this was a problem, we would know about it. If the gun confiscation clamor ever reaches truly oppressive levels, we’re in for it. I do not know if the gun grabbers believe that people will just hand over private property without a fight, but it’s not firearm owners inciting the clamorous mobs.
Almost to the end. During the LA riots, (Rodney King) one of his hollywood friends, towards whose house the rioters were coming closer called his friend, Charlton Heston. (I heard Heston relate this on the radio.) Something like, “Hi Chuck, it’s so-and-so. Say, you have guns over there”. “Yes, I do”. “Can I borrow one”? (To be accurate, I may have that question wrong, but that was the inference.) Keep your powder dry and have lots of powder. The govt. is on the other side, and if the “Al Who?-Ackbars” show up at your workplace, that is suddenly the front line, and you, as a member of the militia, are the line of defense.
(Again, sorry for the rant. This stuff burns me. I’m waiting to hear from the Florida citizen who survived the attack, but left his Glock in the car because Florida law prohibits firearms in establishments serving alcohol. [Correction: In FL you cannot carry in establishments such as bars that serve primarily alcohol. You can carry concealed in restaurants that serve primarily food but also have alcohol. Of course one who carries may not consume alcohol.] That mistake won’t reoccur.)
“Second, sadly it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people. Attacks today on LGBT men and women often plant the seed of contempt, then hatred, which can ultimately lead to violence. Those women and men who were mowed down early yesterday morning were all made in the image and likeness of God. We teach that. We should believe that. We must stand for that. Without yet knowing who perpetrated the PULSE mass murders, when I saw the Imam come forward at a press conference yesterday morning, I knew that somewhere in the story there would be a search to find religious roots. While deranged people do senseless things, all of us observe, judge and act from some kind of religious background. Singling out people for victimization because of their religion, their sexual orientation, their nationality must be offensive to God’s ears. It has to stop also.”
This has to be the most egregious and astoundingly dumb comment a citizen of these United States, let alone a BISHOP of the Roman Catholic church, could say at this time. This Bishop’s own history is troubling, and he dares to come out and blame what, the Christian religion? Catholicism? That is incredible. He’s got his own house to clean up, he should stick to that.
This shooter was following Islam. He was being a good Muslim. If we are so incredibly dense that we can’t connect Dot A to Dot B, and apply the simple rules about cause and effect, I’m not sure about our will or ability to survive what is coming. Where on God’s earth is courage.
No matter what, this Bishop’s self-righteous tone is nauseating, and he has done an absolute disservice to all Catholics, the faith, and Christ Himself, by lecturing Catholics and/or Christians, in light of the overwhelming evidence of relentless persecution of Christians by Islam and in particular, the shocking images coming out of the Middle East of the acts of violence committed against men, women, children, whose only crime was they have faith in Jesus Christ and profess Him as Lord. The data is there, for anyone wishing to know the truth as opposed to a sickening reliance on absurd political correctness and convenient cover.
iamlucky13 says,
I wish I were joking, but several prominent figures in the ACLU have already publicly blamed Christianity for the murders:
Anti Christian Litigation Union.
You can’t make this stuff up. The ACLU’s lawyers are blaming the “Christian right” for ISIS’ mass murder attack on Orlando gay night club. The Left’s hatred for Christianity stems from Christians’ refusal to celebrate sexual behavior which they view as aberrant. Since Islam is the enemy of Christianity, (so the thinking goes) and the left is the enemy of Christianity, then Islam must be the friend of the left. Enter the truth: When confronted with the evidence that radical Islam is an actual “code red, lights flashing, alarms blaring” threat to the left, the liberal ACLU just digs it’s heals in, plugs it’s ears, and sings “la-la-la-la”. This behavior is especially perplexing, since it’s now blindingly evident that Islam is actively hunting gays, who typically congregate on the port side of the ship politic. If the left, especially the gay community, would just come up for a breath of truth, they’d realize that Christians may want to save their souls, (how terrible!) but radical Islamists want to see them cold, stiff, and quite dead.
For what it’s worth – there are two very good articles on this over at the Chronicles website (that’s the Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture). Mr. Wolf wrote one that very nicely outlines the liberal perspective on this incident and religion in general:
https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/orlandos-instant-hate/
Mr. Richert wrote a good piece highlighting the fact that this is the 3rd FBI failure to result in the death of American citizens:
https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/homegrown-violent-extremists/
I can only say that this will not end until either Muslims in Western Countries are strictly controlled (there is reasonable discussion to be had on HOW they should be controlled, from deportation/immigration restrictions to surveillance . . . I’m not advocating any particular method in my comment) or Muslims gain significant control over the government (i.e. I will be very surprised if there are any more jihadi attacks in London for the time being). It’s pretty simple, and those are the only two options.
Further to Andy Lucy and Kerry, the StG 44 was copied by the Russians, and improved by …. Mikhail Kalashnikov. Look at the AK-47 and compare.
–Guy
ghp95134, Ian at Forgotten Weapons (d0t) com would disagree. (If he does not know, no one does.) See his AK and STG, Kissing Cousins: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/ak-and-stg-kissing-cousins/
I believe also hearing that the “While hospitalized…” quote, was Soviet, after the facts, propaganda. From what little I know about the Garand, the quote does not quite make sense; en bloc clip compared to removable box magazine, but enough deep weeds.
Father Z, thank you for the ‘Words in Red’. About the ‘designed to wound’ this writer does not know, but am suspicious of that claim. Lighter weight, smaller caliber and selective fire were, to my understanding, the features wanted.
TomCom,
“What difference does it make, now.”
Kerry, your intuition about “designed to wound” is correct. The bullet type and weight that was chosen tends to tumble but the intent was not that it would do so. The desired features were as you stated.
Let’s stop blaming inanimate objects for terrorisms, or crimes, or anything else. The blame lies with the individual that committed these acts, and the individuals that knew this guy was going to commit acts of terrorism and did nothing to stop him.
The fact that remains that most people that die from gunshot wounds in this country , do so from when the gun is a handgun, not a rifle or “assault rifle”. In fact, you are much more likely to die by knives, blunt objects, and hands and feet then you are to die by a rifle. In 2014, you are more than 6 times as likely to die by a knife than a rifle in a homicide, nearly 2 times as likely to die by a blunt object or a by hands or feet than a rifle in a homicide.
We also need to dispel the notion that because people have can buy scary “assault rifles”, we increase the risk of terrorism/mass shootings. France and Belgium have strict gun laws, and still have acts of terrorism using guns. Mexico has banned buying and selling guns, and the gun violence is out of control there. Law abiding citizens are not the people we should be concerned with having guns.
When the day arrives that Catholics (Christians) are being blamed by our own Bishops for mass murder sprees by Muslims, what more needs to be said, we’re at the end. In order for President Obama to accomplish his goal of importing hundreds of thousands of Muslims into America, he must divert attention away from the true perp and onto Christian gun owners. He will keep us busy with that while he opens the door. He surely does not like that Europe is so far ahead of him, and that Italy, Germany, and other European nations have been invaded to the point that, let’s face it, they’re done. He’s got to do his share and he certainly doesn’t want to be outdone in his aid to Islam.
It is astounding to see diabolical blindness in action, how many people are still doggedly refusing to see Islam for what it is, and the threat to their own lives and their children’s, not to mention their own countries or culture, or faith!. But the people of Italy reportedly keep welcoming immigrants, indeed, are cooperating and running down to the shores to scoop them up! Well, why not, this is what their pope has told them they must do in order to be good Christians.
Markus, I’m not sure what you are saying. Certainly we cannot undo Orlando, or San Bernadino, or Sandy Hook. Perhaps a better statement would be, “What difference would it have made if…?”
On average, about 85 people a day die from firearm violence in this country each day. The difference is it occurs in many smaller instances instead of a single large one. Most of this violence occurs with handguns, mostly illegally obtained or purchased at the last moment.
We need to address the problem of gun violence in America. And I think that conversation needs to be lead by Christians, since we have a higher authority to refer to than the Constitution of the United States of America.
The Second Amendment has its history and role in America, and Christians more than any other group should be able to say, because of our love of our neighbors and a desire to reduce violence in this country, we’re willing to give up our powerful weapons, submit to thorough background investigations without exception, wait to purchase guns, and so on.
We need to stop dismissing gun violence and saying that nothing can be done about it because “it is declining” or out of a love for owning many weapons ourselves, or because the scale of gun violence pales in comparison to the violence of abortion.
This news analysis compares gun laws in Florida and New York and how stronger laws might have prevented the Orlando tragedy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/06/14/the-orlando-shooter-bought-his-guns-legally-which-is-exactly-why-gun-laws-matter/
Typically (ever??) knives are not used in mass murders. Guns are. Gun control is a pro-life issue. But, perhaps it is too late. Our culture loves guns; violence and killing in movies/tv/games is accepted and expected; the NRA is politically and financially driving the bus… The culture of death is fast becoming a new normal in the US. I feel terribly sad and frightened for the mess we are leaving for our children and grandchildren. Who will be next? We all stand to lose loved ones…
NRA, that institution blamed by default for the actions of those who are not its members.
To those who are advocating increased gun control laws: Do you know who committed the worst mass shooting in U.S. history? It was the U.S. Army who slaughtered almost 300 Lakota men, women and children at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The U.S. government was not honoring treaties with the Lakota and the U.S. Army was sent to disarm them. The soldiers started shooting when a Lakota tribesman who was deaf and did not speak English resisted having his rifle taken from him (which he really did need for hunting and for protecting his people).
Do you really think that this could not happen to you, your family, friends or neighbors? Why do you trust the federal government so much? What have they done to engender such trust? It is not like the feds even have that great of a track record after Wounded Knee.
A close relation of mine knows people who have spent time in prison. I can tell you it is easier and cheaper to purchase a fully automatic AK-47 with 10k rounds of ammo illegally than it is to purchase a semi-automatic rifle legally with no ammo. Is it really wise to only allow the U.S. government and criminals to have firearms?
Seems like the guy was filled with self loathing. Even if he was actually straight, it seems the Islamic terrorists are mostly people with serious emotional problems that end up exploited rather than helped by the Religion of Peace.
Un-ionized, the bullets do not tumble in flight. Were that so, they’d buzz around like bottle rockets. The M16 barrel had (as I read) a relatively slow 1:12 twist. It began to tumble rather quickly on impact. The twists on M-4 barrels advertised are 1:7, or 1:9. Do you know what a wound channel is?
I do wish those here and elsewhere would stop using the term ‘gun violence’. It is criminal violence. Sometimes I wonder what certain groups might do if abortions were done with large animal humane killers, some of which are rather gun-like objects.
Marie-Therese, some 110,000,000 firearm owners in this country did not murder anyone today. I carry a firearm “To protect Christ’s little ones”.
Tomcom, every time someone in this country defends himself against a criminal attack, the “scale of violence” in this country declines by one perp. By the way, you must live in a different country than America, some strange place where a handgun can be “Purchased at the last moment”.
It is the evil in men’s hearts causing murder and mayhem.
For what it’s worth, in Syria various groups have not required firearms to cause mass casualties. As Wikipedia (“improvised Syrian artillery”) and various news sites have reported, artillery has been built by mechanics using propane tanks, oxygen cylinders, hot water heaters, and homemade explosives. A catapult has also been used to hurl explosives. The range can be up to 1.5 kilometers.
Tom Com,
85 per day? And just what city is leading in that category? CHICAGO in which has the strictest gun laws in the US. I also have the Catholic right (and obligation) to defend myself, family, and neighbors. Bears and pumas live within 2 miles of my home. Tracks up the driveway. Wild dog packs roam the area along with coyotes. Rabies and plague are a frequent problem here. Yes, I live in the US and my world is not all concrete and metro, perhaps like yours. So ban weapons in your “safe” cities. Let me defend myself with a 30 round clip. I need that many because unlike the Hollywood portrayal, most people are not that good of a shot.
History does repeat itself due to Original sin. Bishops have done similar actions, historically. Study Spanish history, for example. As I recall, only one cleric successfully left with his head after discussions with Islamic leaders. His name was St. Francis. Unfortunately, even his actions did not advert violence.
I also do not trust government, any government. When you get targeted by a US agency because you are Catholic (1099 from a diocese) you may change your opinion. That is another reason why I am armed. All government employees and leaders are not saints. Yes, until Christ shows back up, sin keeps repeating.
@SKAY, I wonder if that is the same Bishop I heard on Catholic radio the other day being interviewed (I think) by Teresa Tomeo. I had to shut it off — with an utterly annoying wimpy voice, the bishop actually said that “we need to respect all religions” – !!
Respect heresy, false religions, especially one as evil as Islam? no thank you, Your Excellency, and please retire.
“Gun control is a pro-life issue. ”
Indeed it is, but you’ve got it backwards. My firearm(s) is/are there to protect my life, the life of my family, and anyone else nearby. If there are those who misuse the tool, please don’t try to take it away from me and pretend you have the moral high ground.
And for those who don’t think people should own rifles for self-defense, tell it to the Korean shop keepers during the King riots. They protected themselves, families and property.
I am shocked that the French police officers were such soft targets in their own home, but don’t think any version of law enforcement stay armed off duty in France. (per a gendarme friend of mine, even after the Bataclan massacre, France examined the issue and decided to NOT let gendarmes carry firearms off duty. I also know a metro cop who has to turn his weapon in each night/is never armed off duty.)
Not pronouncing on the general topic,
I also do not trust government, any government. When you get targeted by a US agency because you are Catholic [..] you may change your opinion. That is another reason why I am armed
that, in itself, could only be a reason why not to be armed.
If you are unarmed, government may target you, interfere you, disturb you, fine you, and tax you. It may find unnecessary to put you to prison.
If you are armed, there is, one thing, always the possibility that government may take your arms from you (in the long run, it’s government or who makes government who also makes constitutional law); and what I intended to say:
in the meantime, if you do use your weapon for what you are implying to use it, government will mow you down; if you are the better shot, bomb you or drive over your house with a tank; and at the very least, put you to prison – with formal trial and all – for armed resistance.
They’re better armed. And if you say, well they wouldn’t use that amount of force against a citizen of their own:
well then apparently you are trusting government.
To those who do not and who do care about that rare and strange creature, the stubborn fact, please read what Weapons Man has written. Are Rifles used a lot in Homicides?: http://weaponsman.com/?p=32708
AnnTherese, when good people like yourself have been convinced that gun control is a “pro-life issue”, I’m not sure if there is hope for the culture.
Gun control is not a pro-life issue. Abortion and contraception are pro-life issues. Contraception and euthanasia are pro-life issues, but guns are a Second Amendment issue. We have had guns in our country forever, and as has been pointed out, no gun ever hopped off the shelf and gone out and killed people. We have a people problem. An immigration problem. A faith problem. A morality problem. A violence problem, as you say. An Islam problem, surely. But not in this case, a pro-life problem. If the gun banners, the people who wish to see our Constitutional rights restricted, can convince people with good intentions like yourself that this is a pro-life problem, that would be bad. Resist the zeitgeist of the dangerous left, who are showing their fascist colors by trying to take away the Second Amendment rights we have and have enjoyed since we began as a nation. This for many reasons, but please consider, a nation that imports tens of thousands of people hostile to their culture and way of life, who then disarms their population, are putting their citizens in a very dangerous position. I believe the Nazi’s disarmed the people of Germany before they got wound up. Why not? How easy that makes it! Americans would be entirely foolish to let anyone take their weapons at this particular point, and let me tell you, many or most won’t.
I don’t put much weight in polls, but there was one recently that stated Americans had a positive view of (the worst president in American history) Barack Obama. That those same Americans also felt that America is weaker now than before, would tell us that Americans are not thinking properly. What people in prior times would give a president a positive rating while admitting their nation is weaker or worse off? It doesn’t make sense, except America is under a diabolical spell at the current time. We’re not as smart, nor as discerning as we once were.
Connecticut is currently demonstrating it’s Democrat Toady-ish behavior, so typical. Working hard to appease the gun banners and make political points, they are feverishly working to come up with bans they can use. They have worked hard to take advantage of the Newtown shootings, as often as they can, in reprehensible ways. The legislature of Connecticut has already proven it will happily overstep it’s bounds and reach it’s tentacles into matters it does not belong in. The legislature actually tried to appoint “boards” to oversee the state’s Catholic churches about ten years ago! Only a huge response at the State House turned that back, but the people see the government’s inclination of control and tyranny. Later they enacted a “law” that certain guns must be registered or the owner face arrest. Most have not registered their weapons. There is a rule of law that if enough citizens do not cooperate with a law it becomes null. Americans need to get familiar with that concept, because between now and January 2017 all signs are it’s going to get weird in the US. We all need to be careful not to throw in with the wrong crowd.
For a nation to not arm it’s police officers at this point is allowing for Muslims to shoot fish in a barrel, which they love to do. Even run of the mill mass shooters prefer areas that are gun free zones. Reason? They don’t want to be shot!
The NRA is a responsible organization that deserves our support. THEY are the ones who stand in the gap and are protecting and defending our Second Amendment rights! They do not promote nor encourage irresponsible gun ownership, far from it, they offer training and clinics and articles in their periodical to encourage people to read, practice, and learn about their guns and how to use them safely. They don’t fire people up or encourage risky behavior. Statistics prove that most gun owners are law-abiding citizens. But the NRA is the target of the liberal left, the media, and slimy politicians who work for Marxist millionaires. If they can get the NRA out of the way, it will all be so much easier. The NRA is NOT the villain here. I urge you to resist the liberal left’s Koolaid.
The ability to shoot a rattlesnake attacking a human is pro-life.
Of course, the ability to behead a rattlesnake with a hoe is also pro-life, but hoes don’t have a very long handle. Ideally, one would be able to pick up the snake and control it or toss it in a bag, but those of us not taking herpetology don’t receive a lot of snakehandling training in school. And again, human arms are only so long, and snakes can bite faster than human legs can run.
Guns are a tool. Guns have good uses and evil uses, both of which are chosen by the user. Abortionists use various medical tools for evil, even though they were invented solely to save lives. They kill a lot more people than guns do. Are we going to ban scalpels as assault weapons?
Insulting law-abiding gun owners by telling them they are maniacs who hunger for blood — that’s the same thing as telling trauma surgeons that they are just as bloody-handed as Dr. Mengele and the abortionists. It’s like telling gardeners that they are just the same as poison-growers, or bank users that their withdrawals are no different from those of bank robbers. Stop it.
Kerry, I did not say that they tumble in flight. They tumble in tissue and cause a large wound channel.
Kathleen10: “A hit! A very palpable hit!”
We can start to slow and to wind this down now.
Many have pointed out the total lack of gun knowledge on the part of the anti-gun crowd. Even a teenager preparing for a high school debate will throughly research the topic they will be arguing for and against. The attitude of who seek to restrict gun ownership in congress is reminiscent of the arrogant rich kid at a prep school who already knows he’s guaranteed the ‘A’ thanks to his parents largess towards the school. It’s a foregone conclusion……That’s disconcerting.
If they were sincere in their concern for citizens as related to gun ownership, wouldn’t that interest compel them to become well versed on the topic? I think this has nothing to do with gun ownership. They know legal gun ownership isn’t causing events such as Paris, San Bernardino and Orlando. We are under attack. War has been declared upon us by a foreign nation. The liberals, operating on the premise of never letting a good crisis go to waste, mis-characterize what’s happening in order to justify greater gun control with the objective of totally revoking the Second Amendment. Their ultimate objective was clearly outlined by the candidate for the Democrat party when she stated that it is necessary to legislate against the will of the people in order to change society. This cannot be accomplished to the degree Democrats wish while the citizens are able to keep government power in check via gun ownership.
We are under attack by the Muslim Caliphate. It’s never a good time to be unarmed, but this is a particularly bad time to be unable to defend oneself and ones family and neighbors and friends.
When war was declared on America at 9/11, Bush took the fight to their turf. When Obama withdrew our troops, the enemy interpreted that as victory and pursued what they perceived to be a fleeing and defeated enemy to slaughter us in our homes.
When we look at it from the perspective of being at war, then all of the instances of “gun violence” are in reality skirmishes …not violence owing to gun ownership. Paris, San Bernardino, and Orlando are all part of the same war which is being wagged against Infidels by the Islamic Caliphate. Everything outside of the Caliphate is the enemy, from their perspective. Until we stop and fight and take the war back “over there”, these instances of “gun violence” on our soil will continue.
Imrahil- Our government has in the past (Ruby Ridge) and will in the future use shockingly excessive force against the citizenry which employs it whether we are armed or not. None the less, having arms allows us the opportunity to fight back. Can you imagine the political pressure and outrage that would be leveled against the governmental agency that would attempt to do more than a one-sie or two-sie type of assault on citizens? Contemplating the backlash and consequent loss of careers for those involved is currently sufficient deterrent. Without the citizens bearing arms, the interaction stays small and quiet and those orchestrating it can operate with impunity. Should such an event happen, it would be unlikely that all of our military would go along with such atrocities…..At least the generals who were in when the current administration took office would have fought for the people and defended the constitution. With all of the replacements? I don’t know.
At a school my children attended briefly, they were not permitted to say the Pledge of Allegiance, it was replaced by the Peace Makers Pledge….which included saluting with a peace sign, a purple flag with a yellow hand in the form of the peace sign. My son who was in first grade, refused to participate, but was forced to raise his hand. They were not amused by his backwards fork ala Steve McQueen at the end of La Mans (I have no idea where he gets this!). They are removing from our children a sense of allegiance to the flag, to the United States and what it was founded upon. It is becoming a cult of personality instead.