So we have experienced another mass killing. Recently - on the very day a few gun safety measures were made into law - the Supreme Court in its infinite wisdom said it is okay to open carry your guns.
My question is this - if I see a person carry a gun into my grocery store should I worry? How will I know if he is a good guy with a gun or a bad guy with a gun?
I guess the most serious concern is for the NRA. Will they continue to survive in the face of our children, parents, grandparents, teachers being slaughtered. After all the NRA should not suffer or lose income because of a few mentally ill people and the NRA does contribute generously to the politicians who support the NRA.
I have another question....who will protect innocent Americans and when will that day be?
Cecilia Lewis
Ooltewah
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To answer your first question, if the firearm is in the person's hand, they may be up to no good. If it is on their belt, there is nothing to see here...
Your second question- The responsible weapon holder
Christopher Brewer
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In essence Christopher is saying the good guy with the gun on his belt becomes the bad guy once he pulls the gun from that belt and place it in his hand? That'll work, Chris. Gotcha message loud and clear. wink
Lots to see here.
Paddock, to name a few in many, was the "good guy with the gun" untill he decided to become the "bad guy with the gun." In fact, the reason America continues to miss the potentially "bad guy with the gun" is because there's this stereotypical built in image of what the "bad guy" looks like. And there are no plans to divert away from that image anytime soon.
Brenda Washington
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When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. Ecclesiastes 8:11
Folks, the bad person is the one doing bad. We no longer punish the bad people.
99% of these bad people have criminal records a mile long and yet they are free to do as they please without fear of punishment.
We have always heard “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime." Time! What time? But we focus ourselves on an inanimate Object such as a gun. It’s the wickedness of man that needs cleansed not the removal of something outside the body.
So we’ve come full circle. Deny God's Holy Word and declare no one is doing bad because if we don’t do this we are faced with the truth the world refuses to accept. We are bad and in need of regeneration which is only in Jesus Christ.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
When the fear of God/punishment is gone, it’s just folly upon folly to argue about why crime is up. We were killing each other before the word gun was ever in a man’s mouth.
More police and cameras we shout. More laws and restrictions cries the people and it’s all nonsense.
Michael Burns
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I doubt that the Supreme Court decision striking down New York's restrictive policy on carry permits will have any negative repercussions as it relates to public safety. If there are examples of citizens with gun permits holding up gas stations, I am unaware of them.
Since Ms. Washington loves to take issue with other writers, I feel compelled to take her to task. Since when has Stephen Paddock ever been referred to as a "good guy with a gun"? Why on Earth would this psychopath (Paddock) become part of this discussion? As for stereotypes, having read many of Ms. Washington's previous responses, I know what she is implying, however, bad guys with guns come in many different forms. For example, recent mass shootings highlight the serious lack of mental health services that would give society the chance to treat troubled young men. Maybe we should look at the big picture regarding gun violence. I believe this onion has many layers.
I believe Mr. Brewer and Mr. Burns offer cogent responses to Ms. Lewis's question. The spike in violent gun-related crime and violent crime in general, in my opinion, has, primarily, been the result of increasingly lenient attitudes from government prosecutors and political leaders as it relates to criminal justice. This is especially true in Democrat run cities and within in our own Department of Justice. If we want to see a reduction in violent crime, we need to return to common sense policies that remove criminals from society and not the revolving door that returns them back on the street to commit further crimes.
James Nelson