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When everyone can own a gun, we cannot distinguish the criminals from the innocent
Gun = Criminal
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http://www.lavendermagazine.com/artman/ ... e_4160.php
How Does It Feel, Charlton Heston?
THE GAY AGENDA by Brendan O’Donnell
When Don Imus infuriated Rutgers University and the nation with flippant racist, sexist remarks on his morning radio show, consequences were swift, amends were made, and forgiveness became possible.
I originally intended to discuss the obligation of the media to analyze and debate ideas in a responsible manner that includes people rather than excludes them. The national dialogue surrounding Imus’s statements and the level of discourse in this country must continue.
But, as often happens in life, another issueâ€"one of life and deathâ€"became our nation’s focus. Without forgetting the horrors of demeaning the valor and honor of minorities in this country, we must visit the problems we all face.
Blacksburg is a beautiful little town in Western Virginia. The only true haunt on the road through this home of Virginia Tech University was the Kudzu vines overtaking centuries-old trees. The last time I drove through that part of Virginia, it was late June, a time when the color green peaked. Nothing appeared to condemn this part of the world. Not even the strangling Kudzu foreshadowed the largest massacre in American history.
This year, Jamestown, Virginia, will celebrate the 400th anniversary of its founding as the first permanent English settlement in America. Preparations for the festivities included a large piece of housecleaning: The Commonwealth of Virginia apologized for slavery.
The apology may have seemed dry to most Americans, considering how whetted our appetites tend to be for salacious rumors and celebrity gossip. But the proclamation is an important declaration that this strange experiment, founded for reasons still debated, continues to stretch its legs, find its purpose, and grow.
Growing pains may be the kindest moniker for the mistakes our federal administration has made over the past six years, but the 2006 midterm elections proved our willingness to learn.
The one thing our country does better than any other is to adapt and mature, if given the tools and the time. Our forefathers may have dreamed of a democratic utopia, but anyone who argues that even they thought it had been achieved is imbecilic at best.
We have struggled at times to realize even the most basic attributes of a free society. A stroll down any main street from Maine to Maui reveals opportunities for improvement. But that is just it. We have opportunities in this country, and so long as we focus on them, we just might keep this thing afloat.
I become disenchanted at times with the state of our culture. We seem to be barreling toward an unthinking future, a time and place where reflection and contemplation are eschewed for instantly gratifying activities like adulterous affairs and binge drinking.
Yet, I also see the connection between Richie Hawtin’s reconstruction of electronic music and Beethoven’s reinvention of the symphony.
I don’t care much for Paris Hilton’s debauchery on prime-time television, but I know that obsession with excess led to Marcel Proust’s observation of hypocrisy in his masterpiece In Search of Lost Time.
The potential for greatness to rise above an increasing muddled puddle of mediocrity is of more importance than temporary annoyance of an unmotivated society. And the movement of that society motivates great individuals. Whatever it takes to promote that spirit and determination is well worth the discomfort.
The one thing that can derail this process of progress is violence. We never will know what was lost in the massacre at Virginia Tech. We cannot know how many great lives and ideas, how many joyous picnics and holidays, were destroyed.
We only can know that anyone who enables this kind of reaction to life is a part of this kind of destruction of life. This is terrorism. This venomous hatred disables the great society we are trying to create.
The excuses and the justifications for what this man has done will be many, and they will be veiled. But they will be nothing more than excuses by and for those who have allowed this kind of negative reciprocation to unfold.
The Second Amendment to our beloved Constitution does not state that persons who have spent time in a mental institution and are angry with rich people should own firearms.
When everyone can own a gun, we cannot distinguish the criminals from the innocent. We must demand action regarding access to deadly weapons. We must debate the rational necessity of firearms. It is time to rid the national dialogue of firearms. It is time to create a civilized society.
How Does It Feel, Charlton Heston?
THE GAY AGENDA by Brendan O’Donnell
When Don Imus infuriated Rutgers University and the nation with flippant racist, sexist remarks on his morning radio show, consequences were swift, amends were made, and forgiveness became possible.
I originally intended to discuss the obligation of the media to analyze and debate ideas in a responsible manner that includes people rather than excludes them. The national dialogue surrounding Imus’s statements and the level of discourse in this country must continue.
But, as often happens in life, another issueâ€"one of life and deathâ€"became our nation’s focus. Without forgetting the horrors of demeaning the valor and honor of minorities in this country, we must visit the problems we all face.
Blacksburg is a beautiful little town in Western Virginia. The only true haunt on the road through this home of Virginia Tech University was the Kudzu vines overtaking centuries-old trees. The last time I drove through that part of Virginia, it was late June, a time when the color green peaked. Nothing appeared to condemn this part of the world. Not even the strangling Kudzu foreshadowed the largest massacre in American history.
This year, Jamestown, Virginia, will celebrate the 400th anniversary of its founding as the first permanent English settlement in America. Preparations for the festivities included a large piece of housecleaning: The Commonwealth of Virginia apologized for slavery.
The apology may have seemed dry to most Americans, considering how whetted our appetites tend to be for salacious rumors and celebrity gossip. But the proclamation is an important declaration that this strange experiment, founded for reasons still debated, continues to stretch its legs, find its purpose, and grow.
Growing pains may be the kindest moniker for the mistakes our federal administration has made over the past six years, but the 2006 midterm elections proved our willingness to learn.
The one thing our country does better than any other is to adapt and mature, if given the tools and the time. Our forefathers may have dreamed of a democratic utopia, but anyone who argues that even they thought it had been achieved is imbecilic at best.
We have struggled at times to realize even the most basic attributes of a free society. A stroll down any main street from Maine to Maui reveals opportunities for improvement. But that is just it. We have opportunities in this country, and so long as we focus on them, we just might keep this thing afloat.
I become disenchanted at times with the state of our culture. We seem to be barreling toward an unthinking future, a time and place where reflection and contemplation are eschewed for instantly gratifying activities like adulterous affairs and binge drinking.
Yet, I also see the connection between Richie Hawtin’s reconstruction of electronic music and Beethoven’s reinvention of the symphony.
I don’t care much for Paris Hilton’s debauchery on prime-time television, but I know that obsession with excess led to Marcel Proust’s observation of hypocrisy in his masterpiece In Search of Lost Time.
The potential for greatness to rise above an increasing muddled puddle of mediocrity is of more importance than temporary annoyance of an unmotivated society. And the movement of that society motivates great individuals. Whatever it takes to promote that spirit and determination is well worth the discomfort.
The one thing that can derail this process of progress is violence. We never will know what was lost in the massacre at Virginia Tech. We cannot know how many great lives and ideas, how many joyous picnics and holidays, were destroyed.
We only can know that anyone who enables this kind of reaction to life is a part of this kind of destruction of life. This is terrorism. This venomous hatred disables the great society we are trying to create.
The excuses and the justifications for what this man has done will be many, and they will be veiled. But they will be nothing more than excuses by and for those who have allowed this kind of negative reciprocation to unfold.
The Second Amendment to our beloved Constitution does not state that persons who have spent time in a mental institution and are angry with rich people should own firearms.
When everyone can own a gun, we cannot distinguish the criminals from the innocent. We must demand action regarding access to deadly weapons. We must debate the rational necessity of firearms. It is time to rid the national dialogue of firearms. It is time to create a civilized society.
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75,867 Posts
So, everyone who owns a gun is a criminal?
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If a truck ever runs over Brendan O’Donnell, I hope no one bothers to get the tag number. :cheers:
:lol:
:lol:
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"...When everyone can own a gun, we cannot distinguish the criminals from the innocent. We must demand action regarding access to deadly weapons. We must debate the rational necessity of firearms. It is time to rid the national dialogue of firearms. It is time to create a civilized society."
_____
I agree with the first sentence. It is precisely why I own and carry a firearm.
I agree with the second sentence. It is about time that I have access to my deadly weapon, at such places and times that I think are appropriate for my own protection, eliminating zones where the law-abiding are defenseless, such as the campus at Virginia Tech.
I agree with the third sentence. It would be refreshing to have a rational debate with someone who fears a tool of any kind, but a firearm specifically.
I agree with the fourth sentence. Firearms have no place in a national dialogue, nor does definition of the word rational or necessity. The right to self defense, and to individual ownership of a firearm, are not subject to discussion. This is a natural state, precedent to the second amendment, and our constitution.
I agree with the fifth sentence. I contend that acknowledging responsibility for one's own protection offers a perspective on others, that leads to more civil interaction.
Certainly, this is what the author meant, isn't it?
_____
I agree with the first sentence. It is precisely why I own and carry a firearm.
I agree with the second sentence. It is about time that I have access to my deadly weapon, at such places and times that I think are appropriate for my own protection, eliminating zones where the law-abiding are defenseless, such as the campus at Virginia Tech.
I agree with the third sentence. It would be refreshing to have a rational debate with someone who fears a tool of any kind, but a firearm specifically.
I agree with the fourth sentence. Firearms have no place in a national dialogue, nor does definition of the word rational or necessity. The right to self defense, and to individual ownership of a firearm, are not subject to discussion. This is a natural state, precedent to the second amendment, and our constitution.
I agree with the fifth sentence. I contend that acknowledging responsibility for one's own protection offers a perspective on others, that leads to more civil interaction.
Certainly, this is what the author meant, isn't it?
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Taler +1
Thanks to Ga laws I am and I bet many others on this board are too... :evil:Malum Prohibitum said:
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