In the interest of full disclosure, I am a gun owner and have been for most of my adult life; I am not now nor have I ever been opposed to people owning guns, however as we once again find ourselves praying for people who are the victims of yet another mass shooting, I have serious concerns about how we regulate guns in this country and the ready availability of firearms seemingly to anyone who wants one. Not only are guns readily available, the type of guns available is for lack of a better term nothing short of idiotic. There is simply no justification for the ready availability of AR-15’s, M16’s, AK-47’s and a host of other semi-automatic rifles and hand guns that have massive clips. When I was in the army, my M16 had a magazine that held 20 rounds, yet today civilians can buy that same gun and get a magazine that holds up to 100 rounds. I know of no reason to own such a weapon unless you’re expecting an invasion, which will never happen because the rest of the world knows that we are among the most violent people on the planet and most of us own a gun.
I happen to live in one of several states where purchasing a gun is the really easy. In Virginia, if you can pass an instant background check, you can purchase a gun simply by presenting your driver’s license. I think that our system in VA is a good start however I would argue that the background check needs to be expanded to reviewing a purchaser’s mental health records. I know that some will say that medical records are private, and you can keep your records private you just wouldn’t be able to purchase a gun, especially since many of those engaged in these mass shootings seem to have mental issues. The background check requirement needs to be extended to Gun Shows and absolutely no one should be able to purchase a gun over the internet. Did you know that foreign nationals holding a U. S. Driver’s license can purchase a gun? Yep, that’s right our gun laws are so weak that even people who come here with the intent do us harm can buy guns. Is it just me, or is that one of the craziest things you’ve ever heard?
The Gun Lobby would tell you that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, but there can be no question that the availability of guns in this country plays a role in what’s actually killing people. As of the end of October, there were already 469 murders in Chicago, that’s more people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan this year in just one city. This most recent shooting is the 16th mass shooting in our country this year, and each day in America there are 32 gun related deaths, with many of those killed being women and children. There were there (3) mass shootings this week alone in America, 1 in Cleveland, 1 in Oregon and the most deadly in Connecticut killing 28 with 20 of those deaths being children between 5 and 10 years old. To date, 88 people have been killed in mass shootings in 2012. By the end of the year there will be almost 12,000 deaths by gun in America, if we lost that many soldiers in a war zone, there would be universal outrage, yet we as citizens and our politicians accept those numbers as routine. What does that say about us as a nation?
We live in a country where our politicians are for sale to the highest bidder, and for most that’s the NRA. Every politician, male or female, Democrat or Republican is afraid to cross the NRA for fear of being run out of office, they tip toe around the issue of any kind of meaningful gun laws and some simply refuse to vote on even the most reasonable gun controls. After every massacre, our political leaders make speeches, but when it comes to really doing something about guns and gun violence, they run from the NRA’s threats like the lily livered cowards they are. I personally have no interest in running for office, but I assure you that I will not cast a vote for anyone who is in the pocket of the NRA ever again and if my choice is between two candidates who are in their pocket, I will vote for none of the above!
Finally, I heard someone ask a pastor on TV earlier today “how God could let something like this happen” and I’m not sure that the pastor really answered that question, so let me try. Mass murder is not of God, murder is an evil act, carried out by people who are evil and have no connection to God. According to the bible, all sins can be forgiven, but when someone kills another and then kills himself, that person has no opportunity to ever enter the kingdom of God.
Our sincere prayers go out to the families of the victims of all of these tragic deaths, we pray for your healing in the hope that through faith you will recover.
I’M JUST SAYIN