It wasn’t a great feeling to wake up this Saturday morning, I was taken aback by reports of three police officers losing their lives in Pittsburgh at the hands of an extremist idiot; a man who shot police like dogs in the street when they responded to a domestic disturbance call. This after trying to absorb the carnage left in New York with an immigrant taking the lives of 13 other people, before killing himself after barricading the back door of the community center with his car before entering and opening fire. This not a week removed from Oakland police officers losing their lives at the hands of another man who made the wrong decision. Unfortunately in coming weeks you will see the flags of those who desire to create new gun legislation waving. They'll be calling for lawmakers to make new laws, ban more guns and make it harder for law abiding citizens to defend themselves.
Anyone who knows me [or has read my previous musings] knows I am an advocate of gun rights while at the same time being an advocate of personal responsibility. Decreasing the availability of firearms to those who are law abiding will not solve our issues in this country. I am a firm believe that every law abiding citizen who desires to, should be able to carry a handgun on their person wherever they go. I personally believe that this would decrease crime so much so that many criminals would have to go and get a job. Now, in the case of these idiots, just as in the Virginia Tech and Columbine situations, these were crazy for real. They just wanted to kill some people. Having an armed citizenry would only have stopped them before they killed more. Again, more lives saved! Look, I know there are those who believe that no one should own a gun, there are those who believe that only the police and military should have them; but we have to decide if we want to live in reality or fantasy. In a utopian society we would have no need for guns, or police, or military for that matter. In reality, we live in a society where other people live whose morals and principles are not necessarily like ours.
I was ecstatic on Sept 1, 2008. Why you ask. That day in the state of Texas, the 'Castle Doctrine' took effect. Let me explain what this means. If someone breaks into my home, I am allowed by law to put a bullet in him and have no fear of being sued by the family of the intruder, or him for that matter if he lives. It basically states, that your home is your castle and you have the right to defend it against those who might mean you no good. It further allows for your vehicle to be, in essence, an extension of your home and allows you to carry a handgun in your vehicle as long as you meet 3 simple criteria: 1. It is concealed 2. You are not in the commission of a crime 3. You are not on a gang/organized crime watch list or associate. I don't have an issue with this. However, some people do and this portion of the bill is being contested by some lawmakers. You see, I've always had issue with having to determine if someone who has broken into my home in the middle of the night is armed before engaging him. Now, all I need to do is put my hands on my 45.
Let's not handle this in the wrong manner. There are between 43 and 55 million households in this country that own guns, that’s almost 250 million guns. Even if you add up all of the murders in the US for the last year that’s wouldn’t add up to half a percent of those person. Don’t get me wrong, these are tragic events that should never happen, but taking drastic actions is not the answer. Let’s think about it…if their logic is correct, we should ban cars because auto accidents kill more people annually than guns. We should also ban alcohol because DWI accidents add more deaths as well. We have some great laws on the books…how about enforcing them? Then we can see what's needed in addition to that. Emotional or logical…reality or fantasy…solution or reaction? I wonder which we'll see from lawmakers. Unfortunately with a democratic powerbase running the country right now, I think it'll be an emotional reaction to a perceived fantasy.
It's Just My Opinion, But I'm Not Wrong.
3 comments:
I agree this was a tragic incident needless to say it wasn't the only tragic thing that happen this day. We need to prepare ourselves for what's ahead of us we are living in tragic tmes but God warned us that this would be it's all in the book (The Bible) read it.
Christine,
I agree with you that this wasn't the only tragic thing that happened that day, or that week for that matter. However, I decided to blog about it because it moved me while watching the news. If you review my previous blogs I generally share my feelings on politically charged topics, with the one exception being the one on Tim Tebow and my admiration of his convictions to Our Fathers beliefs. As far as the Bible, I read it, talk to God, and listen to Him as he guides me throughout my life. Don't assume someone whose views may be slightly different than yours doesn't love the Lord, or read the Bible for that matter. None of the views I shared here, or in my previous posts are contrary to my beliefs, or the teachings of God's word. Still my opinion, and I still ain't wrong.
hi!
you have a really interesting blog. i enjoyed reading the topic "what's going on". a question that we unfurtunatley have to ask ourself every sngle day.
i thoght life was about happiness. just rejoycing?!
anyway, stay cool. i like your attitude.
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