crazydazy86
Regular Member
Sick and Tired
I am a member of the NRA. I am a gun owner. I also own semi-automatic rifles. My rifles have never been raised in anger or malice towards any other human being. I am sick and tired of people treating me like I am part of the problem every single time a tragedy like the shooting in Newtown, CT is perpetrated. There are some people who think that I am cold and heartless and could not care less about the people and children slaughtered by a deranged individual. They believe this because I am an advocate for the second amendment and the responsible ownership of firearms. In their own minds they have determined that they are somehow morally superior to me and others with similar mindsets. Why is it that I have to defend myself and others like me for the actions of a lunatic that I have no control over? Why am I the target of the Brady Campaign? Their hypocrisy is unfathomable. Only hours after acts of extreme violence, people of this group were calling that members of the NRA should be “shot.” This is a direct threat to myself, my family, and many of my friends. Why is it okay for them to call for violence against me while feigning outrage against firearms, inanimate objects?
I have a daughter of my own and I love her and I am proud of her. If she was taken away from me, my world would be shattered. I cannot even pretend to understand the grief of the families that have had their lives shattered by this monster. I pray for the families that they can find solace and peace. I hope that eventually they can piece their lives back together.
I am sick and tired of these hypocrites telling me that I don’t care about the innocents that were slaughtered. I know that if I had a chance to save even one single child I would do everything in my power to do so, up to and including using the use of deadly force with a firearm on the perpetrator. I would risk my life and my freedom if I could have the opportunity let one more baby go home to see their parents. I would not be able to live with myself if I knew I had the power to do something, but did not.
I am sick and tired of the politicians in Washington, D.C. We once again have politicians in the Capitol arguing over gun control measures. There have been talks of banning “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines.” What exactly is an “assault weapon?” The answer to that question lies only in the hands of the people who draft the legislation and not the people for whom the government works for. The truth is that I can assault a person with a baseball bat, a knife, or my bare hands. Are these considered “assault weapons?”
The most insulting thing is that many of the people and legislators that are calling for these gun control measures have not even handled a firearm of any type. They will, however, hire private security and use the secret service to protect them with these same so called “assault weapons.” Even more absurd is the representatives like Dianne Feinstein. She is one of the few people that has had bestowed upon her one of the extremely scarce Concealed Weapons Permits in the state of California. Yet, this sophist is the same one who introduces and sponsors anti-gun legislation. It is farcical for them to believe that they have the right to defend themselves, but that I do not have the same right to defend myself and my family.
At the same time our current administration, through the Justice Department led by Eric Holder, allowed the sale of thousands of these same “assault weapons” to drug cartels in Mexico. Some of these same weapons were used in the murder of Mexican and American citizens, as well as a border patrol agent by the name of Brian Terry. His family still does not have answers as to what actually happened. Our own attorney general, Eric Holder has been held in contempt of congress for not providing subpoenaed information to congress. Where is the outrage with this situation?
I am sick and tired of an industrial news complex that cannot accurately present the facts. Within hours of the shooting in the movie theater in Aurora, CO, the news media had already incorrectly identified the shooter as a Tea Party member from a Facebook page that nobody thought needed to be verified. In this recent shooting at the school in CT the media once again incorrectly reported the identity of the shooter and also incorrectly reported his mother as an employee of the school. The media was more interested in playing politics than reporting the facts. Before the spilled blood was dry, the media outlets gleefully resorted to their smear campaign against guns and gun owners portraying anybody who disagreed as selfish individuals who would rather see innocent children be slaughtered than give up their second amendment rights. These same media outlets sensationalize the crimes by using buzz words like massacre, slaughter, and assault weapon. They ensure that everybody will remember the killer, but never the victims. This only ensures copycats that will try and outdo the others before them. Why is it that we cannot have “reasonable restrictions” on the 1st amendment of the freedom of the press, but it is okay to have reasonable restrictions on the 2nd amendment to bear arms? It would be just as crazy as saying we need to have reasonable restrictions on the 15th amendment that guarantees equal opportunity to vote. The truth is that none of the amendments of the constitution were meant to have “reasonable restrictions.”
I am sick and tired of so called journalists like Jason Whitlock who spew hate against organizations that they do not understand. In his ignorance, Mr. Whitlock called the NRA the “New KKK.” A bit of research and a look back into history would have informed this sports journalist that the NRA was founded by Union Soldiers after the Civil War to provide marksmanship training to freed slaves so they could effectively defend themselves against their white oppressors. I am sick and tired of sports casters like Bob Costas who use the halftime show of nationally televised football games to go on rants about gun control. While alienated millions of gun owning Americans, he incorrectly placed the blame of a murder/suicide on a gun which is an object that has no moral structure. He did all this while ostentatiously ignoring that FBI statistics show that most violent crimes in this country are perpetrated with a baseball bat. This is pretty ironic for a sports caster reporting on violent crime.
I do not pretend to have all of the answers but there are a few things that I do know for sure. First of all, the shooter in the Aurora, CO movie theater passed over numerous theaters closer to his house to make his attack in the only nearby theater that had “No Guns Allowed” signs on the door. These signs only guarantee a criminal that he will not be met with opposition. It makes as much sense as a sign that says, “No Crime Allowed” or to make a law outlawing crime.
Secondly, in 1995 a man was able to kill 168 people including 19 children under the age of 6 years old in Oklahoma City without the use of any firearms (I intentionally refuse to identify the man by name in honor of the victims). He only used readily available products from a hardware store, some fuel, and a box truck to accomplish his task. To this day I still have not heard any outcry for the regulation of fertilizer, and as far as I know, I can still rent a U-Haul. The criminally insane will always find a way to carry out their evil intentions regardless of their access to firearms.
Another thing I know for a fact is that another man in Norway was able to murder over 70 children at a summer camp with the use of firearms. The laws for firearm ownership in that country are far more stringent than in this country. Furthermore, ownership of semiautomatic rifles is also banned in that country. Add to this that the Columbine tragedy also took place during the height of our own Clinton Assault Weapon ban. Banning firearms or types of firearms does little to no good in the mitigation of violent crime.
Finally, these senseless acts of violence are not something new that have only appeared since the evolution of semi-automatic rifles. The bloodiest mass murder in a school in the United States of America occurred way back in 1927 in Michigan. A former school board member set off three bombs in the school, killing 45 people and injuring 58. The production of semi-automatic rifles was still in its infancy when this took place.
As I mentioned earlier, I do not have all the answers to solve this problem but there are a few places that we can begin the conversation. We have too many boys growing up without fathers to teach them how to be men. We have a mental health system that is broken. There are months long waits for psychiatry appointments and we have closed all of our state run hospitals for mentally impaired. These people are now on the streets or with caregivers that cannot adequately address their needs. The high unemployment and skyrocketing debt is causing a noticeable feel of civil unrest. We have cultivated a culture of violence on television, in video games, and in the lyrics of songs. These are at least a few topics on where we can start the conversation.
One thing is for sure. The answer to our culture of violence is not kneejerk reactions that will ultimately abridge our rights and freedoms. The facts simply do not support the conclusions. And, I am sick and tired of making these arguments!
I am a member of the NRA. I am a gun owner. I also own semi-automatic rifles. My rifles have never been raised in anger or malice towards any other human being. I am sick and tired of people treating me like I am part of the problem every single time a tragedy like the shooting in Newtown, CT is perpetrated. There are some people who think that I am cold and heartless and could not care less about the people and children slaughtered by a deranged individual. They believe this because I am an advocate for the second amendment and the responsible ownership of firearms. In their own minds they have determined that they are somehow morally superior to me and others with similar mindsets. Why is it that I have to defend myself and others like me for the actions of a lunatic that I have no control over? Why am I the target of the Brady Campaign? Their hypocrisy is unfathomable. Only hours after acts of extreme violence, people of this group were calling that members of the NRA should be “shot.” This is a direct threat to myself, my family, and many of my friends. Why is it okay for them to call for violence against me while feigning outrage against firearms, inanimate objects?
I have a daughter of my own and I love her and I am proud of her. If she was taken away from me, my world would be shattered. I cannot even pretend to understand the grief of the families that have had their lives shattered by this monster. I pray for the families that they can find solace and peace. I hope that eventually they can piece their lives back together.
I am sick and tired of these hypocrites telling me that I don’t care about the innocents that were slaughtered. I know that if I had a chance to save even one single child I would do everything in my power to do so, up to and including using the use of deadly force with a firearm on the perpetrator. I would risk my life and my freedom if I could have the opportunity let one more baby go home to see their parents. I would not be able to live with myself if I knew I had the power to do something, but did not.
I am sick and tired of the politicians in Washington, D.C. We once again have politicians in the Capitol arguing over gun control measures. There have been talks of banning “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines.” What exactly is an “assault weapon?” The answer to that question lies only in the hands of the people who draft the legislation and not the people for whom the government works for. The truth is that I can assault a person with a baseball bat, a knife, or my bare hands. Are these considered “assault weapons?”
The most insulting thing is that many of the people and legislators that are calling for these gun control measures have not even handled a firearm of any type. They will, however, hire private security and use the secret service to protect them with these same so called “assault weapons.” Even more absurd is the representatives like Dianne Feinstein. She is one of the few people that has had bestowed upon her one of the extremely scarce Concealed Weapons Permits in the state of California. Yet, this sophist is the same one who introduces and sponsors anti-gun legislation. It is farcical for them to believe that they have the right to defend themselves, but that I do not have the same right to defend myself and my family.
At the same time our current administration, through the Justice Department led by Eric Holder, allowed the sale of thousands of these same “assault weapons” to drug cartels in Mexico. Some of these same weapons were used in the murder of Mexican and American citizens, as well as a border patrol agent by the name of Brian Terry. His family still does not have answers as to what actually happened. Our own attorney general, Eric Holder has been held in contempt of congress for not providing subpoenaed information to congress. Where is the outrage with this situation?
I am sick and tired of an industrial news complex that cannot accurately present the facts. Within hours of the shooting in the movie theater in Aurora, CO, the news media had already incorrectly identified the shooter as a Tea Party member from a Facebook page that nobody thought needed to be verified. In this recent shooting at the school in CT the media once again incorrectly reported the identity of the shooter and also incorrectly reported his mother as an employee of the school. The media was more interested in playing politics than reporting the facts. Before the spilled blood was dry, the media outlets gleefully resorted to their smear campaign against guns and gun owners portraying anybody who disagreed as selfish individuals who would rather see innocent children be slaughtered than give up their second amendment rights. These same media outlets sensationalize the crimes by using buzz words like massacre, slaughter, and assault weapon. They ensure that everybody will remember the killer, but never the victims. This only ensures copycats that will try and outdo the others before them. Why is it that we cannot have “reasonable restrictions” on the 1st amendment of the freedom of the press, but it is okay to have reasonable restrictions on the 2nd amendment to bear arms? It would be just as crazy as saying we need to have reasonable restrictions on the 15th amendment that guarantees equal opportunity to vote. The truth is that none of the amendments of the constitution were meant to have “reasonable restrictions.”
I am sick and tired of so called journalists like Jason Whitlock who spew hate against organizations that they do not understand. In his ignorance, Mr. Whitlock called the NRA the “New KKK.” A bit of research and a look back into history would have informed this sports journalist that the NRA was founded by Union Soldiers after the Civil War to provide marksmanship training to freed slaves so they could effectively defend themselves against their white oppressors. I am sick and tired of sports casters like Bob Costas who use the halftime show of nationally televised football games to go on rants about gun control. While alienated millions of gun owning Americans, he incorrectly placed the blame of a murder/suicide on a gun which is an object that has no moral structure. He did all this while ostentatiously ignoring that FBI statistics show that most violent crimes in this country are perpetrated with a baseball bat. This is pretty ironic for a sports caster reporting on violent crime.
I do not pretend to have all of the answers but there are a few things that I do know for sure. First of all, the shooter in the Aurora, CO movie theater passed over numerous theaters closer to his house to make his attack in the only nearby theater that had “No Guns Allowed” signs on the door. These signs only guarantee a criminal that he will not be met with opposition. It makes as much sense as a sign that says, “No Crime Allowed” or to make a law outlawing crime.
Secondly, in 1995 a man was able to kill 168 people including 19 children under the age of 6 years old in Oklahoma City without the use of any firearms (I intentionally refuse to identify the man by name in honor of the victims). He only used readily available products from a hardware store, some fuel, and a box truck to accomplish his task. To this day I still have not heard any outcry for the regulation of fertilizer, and as far as I know, I can still rent a U-Haul. The criminally insane will always find a way to carry out their evil intentions regardless of their access to firearms.
Another thing I know for a fact is that another man in Norway was able to murder over 70 children at a summer camp with the use of firearms. The laws for firearm ownership in that country are far more stringent than in this country. Furthermore, ownership of semiautomatic rifles is also banned in that country. Add to this that the Columbine tragedy also took place during the height of our own Clinton Assault Weapon ban. Banning firearms or types of firearms does little to no good in the mitigation of violent crime.
Finally, these senseless acts of violence are not something new that have only appeared since the evolution of semi-automatic rifles. The bloodiest mass murder in a school in the United States of America occurred way back in 1927 in Michigan. A former school board member set off three bombs in the school, killing 45 people and injuring 58. The production of semi-automatic rifles was still in its infancy when this took place.
As I mentioned earlier, I do not have all the answers to solve this problem but there are a few places that we can begin the conversation. We have too many boys growing up without fathers to teach them how to be men. We have a mental health system that is broken. There are months long waits for psychiatry appointments and we have closed all of our state run hospitals for mentally impaired. These people are now on the streets or with caregivers that cannot adequately address their needs. The high unemployment and skyrocketing debt is causing a noticeable feel of civil unrest. We have cultivated a culture of violence on television, in video games, and in the lyrics of songs. These are at least a few topics on where we can start the conversation.
One thing is for sure. The answer to our culture of violence is not kneejerk reactions that will ultimately abridge our rights and freedoms. The facts simply do not support the conclusions. And, I am sick and tired of making these arguments!