Of course, now they come for our guns

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The logical first reaction to the Connecticut shooting is that an armed teacher or administrator could have stopped that punk Lanza right then and there. The mayors of New York City and Boston don't think the same way. From Breitbart:
Bloomberg: Obama Must Take 'Immediate Action' Against Guns
Today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an ardent gun control advocate, moved to politicize the monstrous school shooting in Connecticut, issuing the following statement:
With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it�s still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their A,B,Cs are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem. Calling for �meaningful action� is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership � not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.
If Bloomberg�s deepest sympathies were with the family, he wouldn�t use this as an opportunity to get on his soapbox about gun control. We don�t know all the facts of the case yet, Connecticut has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the country, and it seems that the shooter obtained his guns legally.
And, also from Breitbart:
Boston Mayor Menino: Time For 'National Policy on Guns'
At the same time that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement going full bore after gun owners on the heels of the tragic school shootings in Connecticut, Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston issued a similar statement. It was just as strident and just as political:
As a parent and grandparent, I am overcome with both grief and outrage by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. This unspeakable act of violence will forever imprint this day in our hearts and minds. My heart goes out to the families impacted by this senseless tragedy and the many others we have recently witnessed across the United States. As a Mayor who has witnessed too many lives forever altered by gun violence, it is my responsibility to fight for action. Today�s tragedy reminds us that now is the time for action. Innocent children will now never attend a prom, never play in a big game, never step foot on a college campus. Now is the time for a national policy on guns that takes the loopholes out of the laws, the automatic weapons out of our neighborhoods and the tragedies like today out of our future.
There is no law on earth that can take tragedy out of our future. The guns used today were apparently semi-automatic, not automatic. And as for the loopholes in the law, there is no evidence of any loopholes exploited by the perpetrator. As mentioned, Connecticut has some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation -- which is why Menino is calling for a national gun policy, since he clearly can't blame Connecticut's gun policy.

But all of that won�t stop the radical left from politicizing the shootings with minutes. And it hasn�t.
The comments to both entries are worth reading. μολὼν λαβέ 'Puter writing at the Gormogons had this to say:
'Puter's bile aside, he thought it would be a good time to remind us all that the most effective weapon against evil and its concomitant violence is love. That's right, 'Puter said love. And before you call 'Puter a hippie stoner, let 'Puter say he's not talking about the 1960s infantile concept of love. 'Puter's talking about true love, the love God has for each of us and the love he wants us to have for each other.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 may be 'Puter's most hated Bible passage. If you've been to a Christian wedding, you've heard it. It's putridly treacly and sappy.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Or is it? Maybe 'Puter's had it wrong all these years. Maybe there's something deeper Paul's trying to tell us about love in this passage.

Real love isn't the "she's so hot, my pants just got shorter" kind. Nor is it the "dude, I totes love Bronies and unicorns" kind.

Real love means, when necessary, telling people the truth, no matter how unpleasant or uncomfortable or unwelcome the truth may be. Real love is protecting the weak. Real love is doing the right thing in difficult circumstances. Most of all, real love is offering forgiveness when asked.

Out of this latest massacre, and through the Paul's wisdom that 'Puter's overlooked for so many years, 'Puter thinks he sees Paul's point, and a way forward.

It is love to say to the violently mentally ill that they are a danger to society, and that for the good of all, including themselves, they must be separated from society and monitored. It is love to say to the violently mentally ill that they cannot have guns. It is love to do so, for we speak the truth: the evil and the mentally ill cannot remain free to roam society and free to act on their deranged and/or evil impulses.

It is love to say to qualified and properly licensed teachers and administrators that if they wish, they can concealed carry firearms on school grounds. What greater love can their be than an unrelated teacher willing to kill if necessary to defend her classroom full of innocents? After all, love always protects.

It is kind to treat the violently mentally ill, even against their will when necessary. It is kind both to society and to the patients themselves. In so doing, we cannot lose love's patience, nor its perseverance, for the proper and just treatment of the mentally ill requires scads of each from all involved.

But most of all, we all must trust and hope. Trust in God, and hope in the future he has provided for each of us.

So, perhaps we'd all do well to step back and consider the deeper meaning of Virgil's words, "Omnia vincit amor et nos cedamus amori." In English, "Love conquers all; let us all yield to love."

Tonight, as we head home to join our families, yield to love. For when we act out of real love, God is truly present among us, and, as we are told, with God all things are possible, including finding the good in today's senseless, evil slaughter.

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This page contains a single entry by DaveH published on December 14, 2012 5:15 PM.

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