Archive for the ‘Gun Control’ Category
Gun control – the wrong discussion
“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.” ~ Thomas Jefferson, 1781 A Connecticut man murdered 20 children and 6 adults, gun control proponents again advocating that disarming law-abiding citizens will solve the problem. And though I believe their logic is folly, […]
Guns, the Constitution and Switzerland
A fact regularly ignored in much of the gun debate – the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. In 2008, the Supreme Court revisited the constitutional meaning of the right of the individual to “keep and bear arms,” and unequivocally affirmed our constitutional right of individual gun ownership. That should end the debate because […]
Teaching children to murder
Littleton, Colorado, 1999; Santee, California, 2001; Cold Springs, Minnesota, 2003; Jacksboro, Tennessee, 2005; Cleveland, Ohio, 2007. These are just a few of the 60 school shootings occurring since Columbine in 1999, double previous decades. The propensity to kill is a learned behavior, not something children do naturally. So, where do we learn about teaching people […]
Our children, violence, and murder
What is happening to our children? Children with guns murdering children. Does this support the need for gun control, as advanced by the media and the politically correct, both with a fanciful capacity to not allow facts to interfere with their opinions? But if the data shows guns are not the cause of violence, […]
Who are the ‘real’ terrorists?
The editorial page cartoon in the April 27, 2009, USA Today showed Uncle Sam saying, “Will you ever stop torturing me,” while he is whipping a helpless terrorist strapped on a table. Just last week the oppressed, benevolent Taliban beheaded three more people in Pakistan. On Sept. 11, 2001, they intentionally targeted and murdered over 3,000 […]
The herd immunity of gun ownership
Herd immunity describes what happens when immunizing part of a community provides protection for those in the community who are not immunized. This usually refers to infectious diseases that spread from person-to-person, like measles, mumps, and the like. This occurs because the more people in a community who are immunized, the less likely an unimmunized […]
“Make my day” gun laws
Guns are back in the news, or perhaps more correctly, still in the news, this time in Colorado. A 22-year-old man drove home with a blood alcohol of 0.26, three times the legal limit. He drove to the wrong house, beat on the front door hollering obscenities when he could not get in, went to […]
Concealed carry permits – right or privilege?
This summer the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the meaning of the Second Amendment. I believe they correctly understood the Founding Fathers intentions; affirming that the “right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” But, they did not settle all issues surrounding gun ownership; including if the government can require […]
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms”
The Second Amendment reads, “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 most of us now know, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the Second Amendment right of an individual to “keep […]
Virginia Tech, one year later
April 16, 2008 is the first anniversary of the 32 people murdered on the Virginia Tech campus. The state of Virginia has reached a legal settlement with most victims’ families. The reactions to this settlement, the ongoing evaluations of what occurred that day, and the many assertions of who is to blame for the tragedy […]
“I intend to be among the outlaws”
By June, 2008 the United States Supreme Court may offer some clarification of the Second Amendment and the rights of individuals to own guns. But, their interpretation may be so narrow that it has little impact outside the source of the case, Washington, D.C., leaving the rest of the nation still debating gun control. If […]
“A free people…ought to be armed”
Thomas Jefferson said, “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” But did he foresee guns being used in mass murders, the most recent leaving three dead in Colorado? There a gunman killed two people and wounded two others at a missionary training center in Arvada. Later the same day he killed […]
How objective is media reporting on gun control?
The Idaho State Journal recently offered editorial support for gun control, taking the path of most media, assuming guns are a problem and gun control will solve that problem. They referenced the Jason Hamilton murders when they complimented the University of Idaho for banning guns on campus, calling it a wise decision. They overlooked an […]