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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Today's Reads - 5/30/13 - Gun Control and Thoughts about Religion.

So yesterday I read this post at Addicting Info about Mark Kelly husband of former Representative Gabby Giffords  going into a gun shop and buying some guns. Of course the right went crazy, but then as the post describes, they missed the whole point,, which was to show how easy it is to fill out a background check!!

Video Of Gun Purchase Shuts Down Right-Wing Media Outcry (VIDEO)
Somehow, the whole Hee-Haw gang managed to miss the fact that Mr. Kelly had himself photographed (see above) filling out the background check paperwork. Along with the picture, Kelly wrote this on his Facebook page:Looks like the judiciary committee will vote on background checks next week. I just had a background check a few days ago when I went to my local gun store to buy a 45. As I was leaving, I noticed a used AR-15. Bought that too. Even to buy an assault weapon, the background check only takes a matter of minutes. I don’t have possession yet but I’ll be turning it over to the Tucson PD when I do. Scary to think of people buying guns like these without a background check at a gun show or the Internet. We really need to close the gun show and private seller loop-hole. (source)Mr. Kelly said that he had always planned on turning the AR-15 over to Tucson police. When Gallagher reported on this part of the story, he managed to completely misread the Arizona statute on the disposal of weapons that are voluntarily turned over to authorities. In fact, Kelly never even picked that weapon up from the store and the shop owner has nullified the sale and returned Mr. Kelly’s money. Continue reading

 

Then today I read Eugene Robinson post at Truthdig and once again he captures the way I feel about sensible gun control far more eloquently than I can.

Maximum Mayhem on His Mind
The gunman in the Newtown massacre fired 154 bullets from his Bushmaster military-style rifle in less than five minutes, killing 20 first-graders and six adults. He brought with him 10 large-capacity magazines, each holding up to 30 rounds, which allowed him to reload quickly. He also carried two semiautomatic handguns, one of which he used to take his own life.

Is this supposed to be the price of the Second Amendment? Is this the kind of America we want? Read More

Not me! I want a country where life, anyone or anything is valued more that the ability to own a gun that can take that life as quickly as an assault weapon!!

So growing up a Christian, I never really questioned the roots of Christian traditions. But now as more of a secularist or Humanist, when I look at the similarities between the pagan traditions both a Christmas and Easter, I really question the whole of Christianity. Now I do believe that the last paragraphs of the following post are the most important. First that all religious beliefs are personal and everyone should be allowed to believe whatever they want and secondly "that compassion, tolerance and acceptance are the truest tenets of humanity, ones that transcend any labels or religions" and that if everyone truly lived rather than just espoused their religious beliefs the world would be a better place!!

After Easter, American Christians Await The Second Coming… Surprising Number Say It’s Soon
As most of us know, many holidays celebrated as secular events originally began as pagan rituals rife with wild traditions and colorful superstition that later evolved into religious ones. From Halloween to Christmas and, certainly, Easter, the symbols and often arcane images and rites that accompany these holidays are a strange and sometimes confusing mix of sacred and secular. In a piece called 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Easter (But Really Should), my colleague breaks down many of these traditions and explains their origins… fascinating stuff

Religious belief is personal and deeply subjective, and it is a foundational tenet of this country that all people are allowed the freedom to believe or not believe; as are all afforded the freedom from the beliefs of others. As this poll shows, a great many people hold strong beliefs about religion, and Jesus in particular, that others might call mysticism, superstition, fairy tales, delusion. And both sides have the right to their perceptions and opinions. As do both sides have the demand to NOT wield their religion, their beliefs, or their lack of belief, to limit, obstruct, discriminate, hurt, or marginalized another.

As Easter is celebrated both sacredly and secularly this weekend, let’s hope it is a reminder that compassion, tolerance and acceptance are the truest tenets of humanity, ones that transcend any labels or religions. We don’t have to wait 40 years for that. Full Post

So as I think about both guns and violence and the spirit of the Christian philosophy, I turn to a poster that I saw yesterday.

WWJP

3 comments:

  1. Rick, while I did post the quote the Hee Haw quote did not come from me. And the Hee Haw gang does not refer to all gun owners. Many gun owners see that ther is a need for some of the gun controls that the President is recommending, like the background checks. As a gun owner and lover I think you have every right to have your guns but I think that there should be some controls on the purchases and that there is no need for assault weapons. And you have every right to disagree with my position.

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  2. Please forgive my outburst, Mr. Karn. I do agree that background checks should be required prior to any and all gun sales, as has been mandated by law in New Jersey for many years. And I agree that the assault weapons ban should be re-instituted. As a hunter and competitive shooter, I have yet to see the need for assault weapons.

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  3. Forgiven, and no problem!

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