Saturday, December 22, 2012

My stand on gun control in today's United States of America

Gun control.  There a lot of opinions.  Most by folks who have had no first hand experience that involved any form of gun violence.  Yet, they are so self-righteous when they demean and ridicule anyone with the audacity to defend the second amendment. Oddly, many, no, probably most people think that this amendment appears at the top of all other amendments because our founding fathers felt it would be necessary for citizens of the new nation to defend themselves against bad people - robbers, murderers, rapists, mentally disturbed individuals hell bent on killing as many innocent people as possible before being confronted by armed authority and requiring a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound.  But this was not the intent of the second amendment. 

Understand that the Constitution was being drafted following a very long and brutal revolution fought by brave patriots who wanted freedom from tyranny and repression.  They knew that governments, even those founded on independence, self-rule and formed under the auspices of God almighty, can become corrupted.  In fact, history has shown repeatedly that most do eventually degrade into a form of totalitarian rule by individuals who have formed a coalition with the single-minded intent to quiet the free press (or better yet, form an alliance with the "free" press), disarm the populace, bloat the government so the majority of citizens become dependent wards of the state, and then deal the final blow of complete dictatorial rule.  [Does any of this sound eerily familiar?].  Noah Webster stated it much more eloquently than I have...

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed...."- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787

I for one, fully support the right of every citizen to defend himself by carrying a gun.  In fact, as unpopular as this notion is, I fully agree with the NRA's recommendation that the only way to stop the massacre of our innocent children in schools is to have armed individuals - whether they be hired police, or even armed teachers - situated in every school building.  Why does this not make sense?  We do it for our banks, for our government buildings, for our courthouses, for our streets, celebrities do it (yes the one's that would deny us "ordinary people" the right to afford ourselves the same protection).  Why then would it not make sense to provide the same level of defense for that which we hold most precious - our children? 

When NRA President Wayne LaPierre declared such a remedy in his recent press announcement, he was immediately vilified by left and even some on the right as a madman.  But not one of these dissenters that I could determine finished their rebuke with a reason why this suggestion is lunacy.  Not one could explain why such a tactic would be catastrophic?  Not one could even hypothesize an outcome that would be so destructive, that the thought of bringing a gun into a school should not be given serious consideration.  As Mr. LaPeirre stated so well - "The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun".  So simplistic, so obvious. 

Well, I've gone on too long here considering that I also have had no first hand experience with gun violence.  But I ask that you dedicate about five more minutes to view this video.  Or, if you prefer reading over watching a video, I copied a version of the experience that Suzanna Gratia iterated at a congressional hearing on gun control.  You'll hear the thoughts on gun control by someone who did experience gun violence of the worst kind.  She knows from where she speaks. 
- Bob Hunsicker, December 22, 2012

https://twitter.com/michellemalkin/status/281828551328677888

Suzanna Gratia's Horrible Experience:

On October 16, 1991, Hennard drove his 1987 Ford Ranger pickup truck through the front window of a Luby's Cafeteria at 1705 East Central Texas Expressway in Killeen, yelled "This is what Bell County has done to me!", then opened fire on the restaurant's patrons and staff with a Glock 17 pistol and later a Ruger P89. About 80 people were in the restaurant at the time. He stalked, shot, and killed 23 people and wounded another 20 before committing suicide. During the shooting, he approached Suzanna Gratia Hupp and her parents. Hupp had actually brought a handgun to the Luby's Cafeteria that day, but had left it in her vehicle due to the laws in force at the time, forbidding citizens from carrying firearms. According to her later testimony in favor of Missouri's HB-1720 bill[1] and in general, after she realized that her firearm was not in her purse, but "a hundred feet away in [her] car", her father charged at Hennard in an attempt to subdue him, only to be gunned down; a short time later, her mother was also shot and killed. (Hupp later expressed regret for abiding by the law in question by leaving her firearm in her car, rather than keeping it on her person. One patron, Tommy Vaughn, threw himself through a plate-glass window to allow others to escape. Hennard allowed a mother and her four-year-old child to leave. He reloaded several times and still had ammunition remaining when he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after being cornered and wounded by police.

Reacting to the massacre, in 1995 the Texas Legislature passed a shall-issue gun law allowing Texas citizens with the required permit to carry concealed weapons. The law had been campaigned for by Suzanna Hupp, who was present at the Luby's massacre and both of whose parents were shot and killed. Hupp testified across the country in support of concealed-handgun laws, and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1996. The law was signed by then-Governor George W. Bush and became part of a broad movement to allow U.S. citizens to easily obtain permits to carry concealed weapons.

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