What a week……..
So many things have happened this week that I wanted to share some thoughts on, so here goes!
THE ORLANDO SHOOTING: While I am not part of the LBGT community I was still shocked and saddened by this pure act of terrorism and hate. I stand with the victim’s families and injured in demanding answers to how this could happen. The FBI apparently had this man in custody twice and had lots of information that would lead anyone to believe that he was a real threat, yet he was able to get a concealed carry permit and buy an AR-15! Something is badly wrong with the people that are supposed to be protecting us! I think our federal agencies owe us, the people, an explanation!
ANOTHER ROUND OF GUN CONTROL TALK: When our politicians and their agencies fail us, they immediately blame it on the gun. I challenge anyone to find even a single incident where a gun went into a crowed room by itself and shot a bunch of people! The term assault weapon is being overused and used in a wrong context. An assault weapon is a weapon that is being used to “assault” someone. An axe can be used to attack someone in the hands of an “attacker” but we do not call axes, Assault Axes! An AR-15 rifle is a semi automatic rifle, it is not an assault rifle until it is used to perpetrate an assault. I own a AR-15, but I have never used it to assault anything except paper targets. I have no intention of ever aiming it at anyone, unless they are assaulting me or my family. That is called self-defense and it is legal under U.S. law and under the faith of almost all religions. I wish people that are afraid of guns or just don’t like them, would just stay out of the debate. If you want to talk about this subject objectively, take a training course, learn the proper way to handle a firearm, spend hours at a range and learn to understand and respect guns. They are not to be feared, but bad people with evil in their hearts are to be feared, let’s start there!
THE EVIL IN WASHINGTON: What I’m about to say does not apply to every single person in government, but it sure applies to far too many! We elect REPRESENATTIVES to go to Washington and watch out for the interests of the people. We have trusted them to keep their oath to uphold the constitution of the United States of America. When they get there they immediately find out that a great deal of money, wealth and power can be had if they simply play ball with all the special interests. Soon the addiction of power, money, sex and corruption is too much to walk away from and then they need only one thing, since the lobbyist have provided everything else, and that is to stay there, get re-elected and re-elected. So they lie to us, they steal our money through taxes, they transfer our wealth to the poor to buy their votes and allegiance, and they do it all while acting like they are really in it for us. You should be ashamed, no, you should be in prison! You pass laws that apply to all of us, but that you do not have to obey. You have fabulous health care and you give us Obamacare. You live like kings off the fat of the land, and we provide the fat! Well my friend what goes around, comes around, and trust me, there will be a final accounting. I hope I’m within earshot when you stand before God and have your sins read aloud! It’s time to repent and get right, soon it will be too late!
SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Go to Youtube and watch the videos by Mike Mahoney: Money VS Currency and The Biggest Scam in the History of Mankind. It will teach you about Fractional Banking System. If you think Madoff was a thief, wait till you see what the Federal Reserve and our banking system is doing to us! I can highly recommend Mike’s very instructional videos!
LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS OH MY!!!!!!! So the world has gone crazy, we’re being robbed by our elected officials, terrortist live next door and are starting to kill us on our own streets! The media tells us that more and more people do not believe in God or any god. Things we grew up being told were wrong are now fine! What are we to do?????
GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL: Whether you believe in Him or not, He believes in you! God has a plan, He always has, and He is allowing us to be what we have always been, fallen man. We can choose to believe on Him and live in His grace and forgiveness or reject Him. It’s our choice. One things is for sure, He knows just where we are and what will happen next, our job is to keep our eye on the ball, (HIM), and trust Him, and work at bringing in the Harvest before night fall.
Blessings,
the pilgrim
This entry was posted on Friday, June 17th, 2016 at 7:04 pm
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Well said! Thanks for saying truth! How long we get to say it is another question!!
I wish that were not true, but I fear it is!
ISIS attacks France.
France responds by bombing ISIS.
ISIS attacks Russia.
Russia responds by bombing ISIS.
ISIS attacks America.
America responds by blaming it on gun control.
I’m at a complete loss for words.
Well said my friend!
The United States is also bombing ISIS. We’re all in this together.
Right on Brother!
Thanks for your words as I look forward to your messages!
Scott
Thanks Scott!
I have great respect for you, Bill, and I know the spirit in which you offer up your thoughts and opinions is from a good place. That said, I cannot completely agree with what you’re saying. If you go into that night club with an axe, the night doesn’t end with 100 people dead or injured. Guns permit bad people to do bad things on a scale not possible before their easy availability. You can blame the system but the system will never be perfect. There will always be mistakes and oversights. We’re left with the choice of “punishing” the 99.9% of responsible gun owners for the bad actions of that .01%; or we’re willing to say that the carnage we seem to see every week now is just the cost of living in a gun-loving society—that letting a certain number of people die is worth it for the easy availability of guns. Maybe the benefit of guns to society is worth the cost. I don’t know that I’m smart enough to even try to answer that question. But the choice is not a good choice and there is no simple answer or easy solution. I believe there are reasonable, intelligent, and well-meaning people on both sides of this argument. Whatever choice we, as a society, make will involve sacrifice.
Tim, Good point on the axe, but we have a Constitution and it is supposed to reveal what our rights are. “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” According to that document we have the right to own and bear arms. Taking away the right to own firearms is not a punishment , it would be infringement on the constitution. Many people today think the constitution is out dated and it needs to be a living document. If we go down that slippery slope, and we already have. We will fundamentally change what our fore fathers envisioned for our nation. Many Americans have died for our right to believe as we choose. I can take no issue with anyone who wants to depart from the principle laid down in the constitution, but as for me, I will stand by the document and point to all the ills that have fallen on our country when we have departed from it’s wisdom.
Now, I am deeply saddened at the loss of life in Orlando, and Sandy Hook, and all the other places that mass shootings have e happened,d but remember two terrorists killed a numbers with two pressure cookers in Boston. These evil people do not need a semi automatic weapons to take out people.
I do not doubt the well meaning intentions or intelligence of those that would like to see certain kinds of guns banned, I just genuinely believe that would not solve our problems, our problems reside in the hearts and minds of men and women.
I often hear the point what do you need a semi automatic weapon for? Why are we not asking why we need a Corvette with 600 hp or a purse that costs $1,000. The weapon is not the problem. Since the unprotected crowd at the night club would have been in just as much trouble if the gunmen had been carrying two handguns that could shoot 15 rounds each. What we should really be pushing for is being sure trained concealed carry permit holders be enthuse crowd, the shooting would not have last near as long, and less people would have died. These cowards go where they will not be resisted, yet some in our society want our ability to resist to be taken away.
I do completely agree with you on how difficult it should be for a terrorist or person of diminished mental or emotional capabilities to get a gun, that is the real crime here!
Could not agree more with your thoughts, Pilgrim!
Thanks Papa Doc!
Bill I agree, there is one thing we need to acknowledge. Jesus told us that narrow is the way and there a few that find it. We are a minority, have always been a minority and always will be until Jesus rules this earth as King. The other thing is we need to recognize is that we need to do more with our recognizing those with mental issues and how we deal with them. I had first hand experience with this years ago as a social worker. You take someone that is a threat to themselves and others to a mental hospital, they medicate them, claim they are no longer a threat and send them home. They almost would beat you home except they would stop by the local beer store and add that to their new meds and the end is worse than the first. Now we also have the Radical Islamic Extremist that want to kill us and them selves that we are doing a so so job on as well. Personally I dont have an issue with taking weapons out of these peoples hands and we should but I also know a case where man threatened his wife and children with a frog gig. I think we need to be able to defend ourselves. Jesus told the disciples at the end if they did not have a sword go buy one. We are to love these people, pray for these people but to defend our families is also our responsibility.
It is truly a fine mess we find our selves in, thank God we have Him!
Bill, thanks for your earnest comments. We agree with you in all respects. Being old enough to remember when people stood together, and took care of each other, it certainly saddens one to see where our country has gone. We still pray daily for a revival and more people turning to God for answers.
On guns, we are strong believers in bearing arms and defending ourselves. Guns are not more available today that at other times in history. There was a time when essentially every family owned guns, and no permit, license or background check was required. If you recall, Japan felt there were too many armed people here and decided they should not invade the US mainland. A gun could be purchased at Sears, Montgomery Ward or the hardware store, and most kids got one as a teenager. Now we have much more stringent requirements and must have a background check to buy a firearm. Most criminals can’t, and don’t, buy guns at gun stores. They get them on the streets from other criminals (Orlando was an exception). The better question is how we can control that activity.
When we know there are literally dozens of terrorist training camps in the US, why are we not shutting those down? Most experts seem to feel a coordinated terrorist effort is underway, and the fact is our politicians are doing nothing. We need a new group, and pray for a strong leader.
We need to come together and attack our problems with sanity and stay on our needs, and I second you clearing house an starting over in Washington, and probably many state houses as well! …..and no I’m not running for any office!
Amen Bill! You are exactly on point!
Thanks, certainly hope so!
Thanks for the public service posting from Mike Maloney on the Federal Reserve. Never had that explained so well. Not pretending I understand it yet but we all need to know more about the issue.
Good stuff, not what they are doing, but understanding it!
Hi Bill
I’ll way in with my two or three cents worth because I’m frustrated and worried. First point is I agree with everything you said, especially about our political system. No matter how good intentions a person has when they run for office the absolute power corrupts them absolutely and then they spend the rest of their time making sure they get reelected until someone is able to unseat them and the process starts again.
I lay a lot of the blame at Obama’s feet. He is the most divisive President in my life time. He has done more to increase the racism in American then all the Presidents since Lincoln freed the slaves.
He has devalued Christianity, put more people on welfare, welcomed illegal immigrants (because that means more votes) and has so trashed the constitution that it is barely recognizable. The debt has doubled since he took office.
I truly fear for our country. 4 more years of a liberal President is going to throw an already ideological divided Supreme Court severely to the left to the point that our country will suffer immensely.
Okay I’ve said more than $0.03 worth. But thanks for giving me the opportunity. Can’t wait to meet you in Nashville.
God Bless.
Sorry meant to say weigh in. 🙂
Me to Dave, and that was a dollars worth of .03 cents!
I can’t let Mr. Updegraff’s comments go without a counter point. It was the Republicans that said, when Obama was elected, that they would make sure Obama would fail in everything that he would propose. Obama went into his first term with HOPE to try to unify Washington to get things done. The Affordable Care Act (lets call it what it is – backed by the Supreme Court) was at least an effort to help those who didn’t have insurance. What’s wrong with that? It has worked for many people. The Republicans did not work with him and put forth their plan and come up with a united plan. No, they stonewalled and just criticized the ACA. Now Paul Ryan says they have a plan. NOW. But where is it? Now they just want to get reelected.
Second point, “devalued Christianity”? Really? You have a faithful husband, great father, churchgoing man and you say he devalues Christianity? Give me one good fact for that statement. I’m tired of people making up things to put down our president. He’s a Muslim, he is not really an American, he hates our country. Bull!!! None of this has been proven true in 8 years of his presidency.
I’m as disappointed as anyone that we’re in the mess we’re in, but there are many people to blame for the war (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld) which cost us billions of dollars and over 4,000 American lives, and the economy (2008 crash which Obama handled as best possible after inheriting it from the previous administration). As for the Supreme Court, Obama put forth a candidate who was endorsed by the Right, but to continue the Republicans promise to make sure he fails, they won’t even confirm a person they previously endorsed. It’s a crime!
My $0.02 worth (adjusted for inflation). I could go on… Let’s all work together to make a better wold.
You’ve put your finger on the basic problems. The number one rule of politics is: Get Re-Elected! It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle the politician sits on, the rule is the same. Every once in a while there’s a politician with true integrity who puts the citizens first, but most of them convince themselves that what they’re doing will help the people, and that they must therefore play the system to stay in office (so they can keep doing what they’ve been doing to “help” the people). But most of them truly believe only in themselves and in self-self-aggrandisement (a certain presidential candidate with the initials HRC is exhibit number 1). With respect to guns, France has far more stringent gun control laws than we do; so does Belgium; so does Great Britain. Nevertheless, the terrorists in Paris and Belgium have used automatic weapons and bombs while the victims have no protection. And just the other day, a disturbed 52-year-old man used a handgun and a knife in Britain to kill a Labour Party MP. There was a no-gun law for the Pulse bar in Orlando, so everyone there was defenseless. Even on a military base, Fort Hood, a terrorist was able to kill soldiers because he chose a place where the soldiers were not allowed to carry weapons. Schools are off-limits to guns, but that makes them inviting targets for terrorists who don’t obey the law anyway. But when some Islamic terrorists tried to attack the people in Garland, Texas, at a Muhammed Art Exhibit, they were put down pretty quickly by armed security! And the president who pledged in 2008 to bring us together seems to use every speech to push us farther apart. It’s truly a sad time for America!
Well said!!
Yes, very well said!!!
Bill great post! One of the things I can’t understand from my “friends” that favor gun control is that they tell me that “the few individuals that claim to be invoking their Islamic beliefs should not be held against the entire faith just because the few individuals are doing bad things” and then turn around and tell me “(a few) AR-15’s have been used to do bad things so we need to ban the other 3+ million of them”.
And, as soon as someone can explain to me how/why someone gets put on the no-fly list and what they need to do to get off of it – I would be willing to consider it as a possible reason to consider someone from getting a gun. As long as it is a “secret” list with no structure (or even rhyme or reason) then there is no way it should be used to restrict the rights of an American Citizen. Now if they want to use that list to restrict any non-citizen from buying a gun, I guess I don’t really care as a non-citizen really doesn’t have “American” rights anyway.
I pray daily that the Lord helps us get out of this mess we have gotten ourselves in but then wonder if He doesn’t think it is time for another flood. I hope not and he can provide the guidance “WE” need to get things straightened out — as long as enough “WE” will listen and trust Him.
We need guidance and He is the source!
Keep the faith Bil (& I know you do). We have entered what I’ve long called the New Dark Age.
B
Afraid it is so!
Bill, thanks for wading into the cesspool of any rational discussion about gun control. The ability of either side to be rational is part of the very problem. To me, the argument can be completely obliterated by asking those on the side of gun control one simple question, “in ALL OF HISTORY, name one law, just one law that has changed behavior?” You, see, no law has ever changed behavior. It isn’t even the goal of a law to change behavior. A law defines a behavior, and it can describe the punishment or consequences for an individual that chooses to break the law but the law does not have the power to prevent any action by an individal or group if individuals. The lie that many have accepted is with the right law there won’t be anymore mass killings. If every gun in the world were destoyed today, would there ever be another mass killing? Everyone who has any intellectual honesty knows the answer to that question. But in this arena, few are willing to be honest.
I understand that some are very afraid of guns, and they truly believe in their passion. I truly believe that they are wrong!
I’ll join in with my support of what has been said. Both parties are playing the American people and taking us for fools. I think the liberal mentality has already taken over and I have doubts that it can be stopped because conservatives have been asleep at the wheel for too long. Heck, they’re probably in cahoots because I can’t image one party being allowed to get away with almost everything and the other basically does nothing. Our country wouldn’t stand for taxation with representation and European rule years ago and now look where we are headed, less and less representation and more and more European socialism.
The cause de jour is gun control and I don’t get it because what will the cost be to our society? They want to prevent murders so why then were guns taken away from the military on their bases? How many personnal have died because they couldn’t defend themselves? Are they going to tell the people that they couldn’t handle guns properly? They want to prevent the mentally ill from having guns? How are you going to do that, by making his medical records public? Who’s to decide what constitutes mental illness for this purpose? Is a short bout of depression from death of a loved one or divorce enough? Is chronic anxiety? They don’t want people on a no fly list to get guns. So you are going to make that list public? How will suspected terrorists be quietly investigated if the list is public? How would they handle identity theft or wrongfully suspected? They want background checks at shows. OK, that’s a point but how do they propose doing it? Is every vendor supposed to pay for a connection to a national database? Is there even a comprehensive database and enough people to support such a propisition? How do they propose on getting guns away from criminals who will sell them to anyone? They pick on Trump for not having a plan and just making statements with no substance. Exactly what are they doing with gun control?
What next? Booze because drunks kill people? Cars because they have intentionally been driven into crowds? Look at all the things that are made that have been used to kill. Should all of them be controlled? Should all manufacturers be held accountable? The ones to be held accountable are the people who harm others not what they used.
The liberal mentality seems to be it’s not my fault, it’s someone else’s. No responsibility and no consequences. Do as I say and not as I do.
How much longer before all this nonsense catches up with us and it all hits the fan?
We sure have been asleep at the wheel!
God is Love. That’s all we can hang our hat on sometimes. Thanks for your concern about our Bill.
that was supposed to say “our country” at the end 🙂
That’s where I hang my hat!
Nothing new here my friend. It’s unfortunate but this country is so corrupt it’s no laughing matter anymore! Central Banks and the Fed? That’s the biggest joke of them all! This is why I bank “offshore” in the Caymans, and Belize. My money is safe from the greed and stupidity. Do I bank here in the US? Of course I do. I keep enough money to pay the few bills I do have, but since I live debt free – and only have my utilities and cable bills each month, I don’t really have to keep much on hand. The rest of it not only earns 3-5% per year. Yes. 3 to 5%, but is is SAFE and not subject to the stupidity of our bankers making crappy loans, to broke, in debt losers. Need my money in a hurry? No problem Mon… I have Debit cards WITH NO LIMITS except what’s imposed a the actual ATM’s here in the US. And yes, I pay taxes, and report the interest each year like a good little boy, until I can retire and get the hell out of dodge as fast as I can.
We live in perilous times!
Amen, Amen & Amen! Mr. Fortney, you are right on the money… and gun control, and the politicians as usual. I made comments on a recent post in another social media platform earlier this week. Interesting dialogue. A comment from from a man in New Zealand spoke volumes regarding gun control. Apparently it is very strict in that country with there being complete control. So, the violent offenders use Cricket bats to beat the store owners and steal from them. The store owners are not even allowed to defend themselves because they could face charges. There is evil in the world. There is no legislation to prevent evil. The only salvation is from our Lord Jesus Christ and the repentance of our sins.
If only all the evil would repent!!!!
First, indeed the Orlando shooting was tragic. So sad for everyone. But it also shows what intolerance towards the LGBT community hath wrought. How many Christian churches really welcome members of the LGBT community into it, and not just pay lip service to how all are welcome? And let’s be real: you can’t on the one hand very aggressively teach that someone in the LGBT community is sinful at their very core way of being, and then not expect it to have some repercussions. Certainly this man who committed the shooting was deranged and mentally unstable. But the basic idea that LGBT equals sin, evil, something wrong is one echoed by many religions, and sadly by many Republican politicians. And if you teach that long enough to enough people, you sometimes light a fuse.
Second, the idea about gun control is this: if you limit the availability of assault weapons you reduce death. The gun used is one really only suited for military use; it has only one purpose, to kill more efficiently. Hunters don’t need it, gun enthusiasts don’t need it, it’s not the type of weapon one would have for personal defense. The US is the only country in the world to have these type of mass shootings and the reason is simple: we are the only country in the world to allow people access to these type of weapons. So sure this crazy guy would have still been out there, and may be would have still gone on his murderous rampage. But without the assault weapon he kills far fewer people.
Third, if you look at the data on “Obamacare”, AKA the ACA, you will see that thanks to it many millions have access to healthcare who did not before, and most of these are poorer people, or people with preexisting conditions. Their stories are out there if you bother to look. The only people who complain about Obamacare are those who otherwise would have had healthcare. Obamacare is not perfect, but it’s better than what we had. We should welcome the fact that literally, thanks to Obamacare, many people are alive who otherwise would not be. The opposition to Obamacare resembles what opponents used to say about Medicare and Social Security; now most people appreciate what those deliver, even though, again they are not perfect.
I personally think if more Christians stood for more healthcare for more people, and less guns, they would get their message across better than being against the LGBT community, and be more in keeping with the spirit of Jesus.
Wade, I really don’t no where to start so I will not start, I will say that though I do not take part in the whole LGBT scene, I have gay friends and I love them and pray for them, and I, in no way, could ever think what happened in Orlando is right on any level, it is the Muslim religion that believe gays should be killed, not Christians. We may not agree with the lifestyle, but we are not haters.
Bill, I obviously do not in any way think you or any of the conservative Christians I know in any way condone murder of gay people. And yes, the Muslim religion is also against homosexuality.
However, there are verses in the Bible that not only speak of gay people in a very negative way, but do even call for the death penalty for gays. Thankfully most Christians do not live by those verses…but there have been instances whereby Christians did kill gay people based on this. So it is not just the Muslim religious texts that are to blame for this.
My overall point is this: when you have some Christians speaking out against gays in a very negative way…calling into question their very humanity…then that has impact. Christians and Christian leaders and Christian politicians cannot over and over again teach and preach about how gay people are wrong at the core of their being, about who they choose to love, and not have that create hate in some people.
Science has shown us that being gay is not a choice, but that some people are born that way. We also see instances of homosexuality in some animal species. We cannot and should not label the LGBT community as somehow less of a human for who they are. Yes, it can be a complicated issue when it comes to Biblical scripture, but as I noted before there are many verses that most Christians ignore or outright reject anyway. There is not a single Christian alive who takes the entirety of the Bible in a literal fashion. Anyone who says they do is either wrong or lying. The Bible forbids eating of bacon, tattoos, and divorce, and most Christians don’t seem to have a problem with those…so some adjustment needs to be made with regards to how some view the issue of homosexuality.
Thanks as always for your willingness to engage on this issue, and to allow for my comments on your blog. And as I said, I have no doubt that you yourself are an amazing loving person.
If you think gun control is the answer, just pay attention to how many murders due to gunfire happen yearly in Chicago which bans guns.
You want to stop gun violence? Bring back the death penalty, allow cops to shoot to kill and allow citizens the right to carry concealed weapons. As long as these homicidal people think they can get away with shooting people they will. Even if found guilty, they get housing, activities, meals, healthcare and education on the taxpayers dime which isn’t much of a penalty for taking a person’s life and denying their loved ones an opportunity to share their lives together. Time we stop feeling so sorry for the criminals and feel more compassion for the victims. If criminals know ahead of time that the people they shoot at may shoot back or that shooting someone will cost them their life, they will think twice before pointing a gun at someone.
Wade –
I’d respectfully suggest that your assertions lack a logical or factual basis. First, there is no indication whatsoever that intolerance by Christians was responsible for Omar Mateen deciding to shoot over 100 people in a gay bar in Orlando. Nor is there even factual support for your suggestion that Christian churches generally don’t really welcome members of the LGBT community, but rather only pay lip service to a message of welcome. You next suggest that you don’t believe that any Christian churches welcome LGBT people because “you can’t on the one hand very aggressively teach that someone in the LGBT community is sinful at their very core way of being, and then not expect it to have some repercussions.” Are you saying that Christian churches in general teach such a message? If so, then you reveal that you have little or no experience with Christian churches outside reading the newspapers about fringe “churches” such as Westboro Baptist. Christian doctrine teaches that we all are sinners and fall short of the grace of God. Christians are taught to love the sinner, as Christ loved all of us. Some Christian churches may assert that homosexuality is a sin, but the doctrine itself is generally expressed as hating the sin, but loving the sinner because the sinner is merely a child of God as are all of us. There is, however, one religion that explicitly states the practice of homosexuality is evil and that any who commit acts of homosexual behavior (whether or not they identify as LGBT) must be put to death. That religion is Islam. Omar Mateen did not identify as a Christian or give any indication he was influenced in any manner by Christian views of LGBT people. However, he explicitly indicated that he was influenced by the tenants of radical Islam – a religion you choose not to make any explicit reference to (other than to generally assert that “the basic idea that LGBT equals sin, evil, something wrong is one echoed by many religions”). It’s also interesting that you try to lump Republican politicians into this equation, particularly since Mateen was a registered Democrat. Mateen even swore allegiance to ISIS during this incident, and ISIS is one of the entities that puts into actual practice Islam’s call for death for homosexuals. Assuming that Mateen’s disturbed psyche was influenced by a religion’s call for punishment for LGBT people, the religion to which he listened was Islam (the one you don’t mention), not Christianity. To blithely avoid mentioning Islam, and instead target Christianity, undercuts completely whatever point you were trying to make.
With regard to “assault weapons,” perhaps the best thing I can do is refer you to the following article: http://thefederalist.com/2016/06/13/the-assault-weapons-ban-is-a-stupid-idea-pushed-by-stupid-people/
As the article points out, relatively speaking, very few murders are committed with rifles, let alone with so-called “assault” rifles. Gun control advocates try to target these weapons because (1) they look “scary” because they’re derived from military weapons and they’re are seen in violent action movies, (2) advocates labor under the misapprehension that they are “automatic” weapons (machine guns), which they are not, and (3) they see this as an easier opening step toward their real goal of a complete gun ban. And we have ample evidence of how a complete gun ban works. Just look at Paris where 17 were killed and 22 wounded in the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo office and a Jewish market, and later 130 were killed and 368 were injured in the attacks on the Bataclan theater, the sports stadium, and several cafes. The attacks at the theater and at the Hebdo office in particular were carried out with automatic weapons and hand grenades; the victims had nothing to defend themselves with because they could not obtain “assault” weapons or even handguns since France has strict laws banning possession of such firearms – just the scenario you apparently advocate: let the terrorists have access to high-grade automatic weapons, but let law-abiding people have nothing with which to protect themselves. Finally, to assert, as you do, that without an “assault” weapon (essentially a semi-automatic rifle with a large capacity magazine), Mateen would have killed “far fewer people” is simply wishful thinking without any basis in reality. As you should know, and as gun-control advocates repeatedly remind us, handguns kill most people. They’re easier to carry and conceal, and they can carry high capacity magazines also (albeit usually 17 rounds or so compared to 30 rounds for the rifle). They also are easier to handle and shoot than bulkier and heavier rifles. Certainly criminals know these facts because far and away the greatest number of murders committed with a firearm are committed with handguns and relatively few are committed with rifles of any kind. And Mateen knew this also because he also carried a handgun. So, as I said, gun control advocates target “assault” rifles, but merely as a first step toward banning all guns.
Finally, you go off on a tangent regarding Obamacare. Obamacare has nothing to do with “assault” weapons, religious bias or hatred against LGBT people, or anything else in the original post. The merits of Obamacare as a means of providing medical insurance for more people is debatable. And as even you acknowledge, it “is not perfect.” It is certainly true that assurances that peoples’ premiums wouldn’t go up and that they could “keep their own doctors” proved to be completely false and, to some degree, intentionally false when the assurances were made.
If I was gay, I would thank God every day that I lived in a Christian country where I could obtain a handgun to protect myself from attack – by criminals or radical Islamist terrorists. And I would give thanks that I could attend virtually any Christian church and be accepted for who I was rather than for what sexual preference I had – and that I would not fear that the admission that I was gay would lead to being put to death.