Boomerdog

I dunno. I have not asked him.

Well you're entitled to your opinion but the words of gun control advocates (their words mind you) have clearly indicated an incremental strategy to ultimately confiscate firearms from private ownership.

??? New math??? ??? Common Core??? This does not compute!

Could be if you mean reaching across the aisle to bust heads! We do it a little different here in the Colonies.

PBS and Frontline on the NRA. I don't even have to watch this to know both the slant and the outcome. I'll be in bed by then. It's not worth losing sleep over.

So you decided to come on over to the dark side eh?

+1, me too!

+1

Billy, Billy, Billy...please reconsider the two possible offenses of your advocacy: 1) A hell of a waste of donkey semen. 2) Abuse of a donkey! Donkeys are wonderful animals and deserve much much better don't you think?

A half more cup of coffee's worth...and I will conclude. First, we can agree that times have changed from the founding of the country to today. The Founding Fathers understood such changes would take place over time and provided remedies for amendment to such changes. We can read all of this in the Federalist Papers. One thing the Founders knew would never change is human nature. We are all capable of great compassion and wisdom; we are also capable of evil and inflicting misery on each other. Those things have not changed over time and the historical record is the testament. This I think creates for the unfortunate fact that human beings must at times defend their lives against other human predators be it street muggers or political despots. Second, what you consider collateral damage I consider criminal action/offenses. Thousands upon thousands of local, state, and federal regulations pertaining to the control and use of firearms could not and did not prevent Sandy Hook and other criminal atrocities that invade our homes via the media we access. Given this, are we writing and enacting bad law(s) or are we failing to enforce those laws for a myriad of excuses that have invaded the social zeitgeist and enable a criminal to choose to "cross that line?" Finally, those of us who are passionate about the Second Amendment get labeled anti-governement gun nuts etc etc. Nothing, absolutely nothing could be further from the truth. Yes there are some fringe crazies out there on this side of the fence as well as the other side of the fence, but let us not major in minors. My view of government is best put forth in Federalist #51: I humbly submit those words resonate through time even though written over 200 years ago and formulate the basis of our freedom and our republic...assuming we can keep it! And hopefully this weekend, most of us will be able to jump!

OK…we can agree that gun violence i.e. the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime is unacceptable. I would also hope we can agree that self defense with a firearm is not gun violence but a direct response and proportional application of deadly force to preserve innocent life and stop a criminal act using a gun. I won’t write a dissertation on how the Founders saw the role of government in context to an armed citizenry. I will assume you’ve heard all of that before. What I would differentiate, however are the means by which political freedom and liberty have some modicum of a chance of being maintained. The possessions you cite have little if any bearing upon such freedoms. We can agree that they ensure upward mobility and a better standard of living but political freedom, liberty and human rights are not dependent upon these things. When the ballot box and the soap box fail, the cartridge box is the last resort and I think we can agree that none of us want to see this country turned into a free fire zone. However, deterrence works and a RESPONSIBLE armed citizenry is I would submit, the very difference between being a governed people versus being a ruled people. Now one might think that with 300 million firearms in the possession of 80 million Americans, we would be shooting each other to pieces at a much higher rate and magnitude than what we see every day and we can agree that what we see every day is abhorrent. But such high levels of potential violence based upon such private ownership data is just not the case. Let us also remember that the greatest violence perpetrated on human beings came at the hands of governments particularly in the 20th Century where the Nazi’s, Soviets, and the PRC have the blood of over 150 million souls on their hands (most were unarmed). I am also sure that someone else will chime in with a reply about Americans doing some of the same; Wounded Knee comes to mind. Speaking only for myself, I like what we have here. Perfect by no means but liberty and freedom both have their price along with the responsibility and vigilance in order to be secured and maintained. Finally, I'm sure we disagree on many points here, but I've not called you any nasty names or stridently criticized your position or the position of anyone else here either. It is possible even though I too at times have thrown some pretty big verbal rocks around these boards, to have a constructive discussion which I hope I've offered. My 25 cents and a cup of coffee’s worth.

It's why Southwest is the only airline I fly when I'm paying for it. With Southwest, what ya see is what ya get and I'm more than OK with that!

Well...it all started with a one jump introductory AFF Certificate Christmas present in 2011 and it led to both my wife and I getting our A License. Between Christmas 2011 and August 2012 when I actually started AFF training, I did visit a DZ or two to get some ideas of how a DZ functions. At best it was a very limited view but something is better than nothing. I say limited simply because there's a distinct difference between being an observer versus being a participant. I did however, did get some insight into the sport as well as the culture I was coming into. The Skydiving Community is a sub-culture woven into the larger social fabric. This is by no means a criticism. In fact I think and state this as a complete compliment. It's a great community to be a part of. By my observations over the past few years, Skydivers don't think themselves better than WUFFO's (you should learn that term), it's just that there is a common thread I think that skydivers share a common core thread that they thrive at challenges many just don't wish to undertake for various and what seems to them (Wuffo's) as obvious reasons. But you've picked a great DZ in Triangle Skydiving Center. It's not my home DZ but I've made some jumps there. the DZO and the regular jumpers who consider Triangle their home DZ are a great bunch of people. Just introdvuce yourself, tell them why you're there. I think you'll get a warm welcome and the DZ Staff will be more than helpful to answer your questions. OBTW, Triangle Skydiving is located at the Franklin County Airport in Louisburg, NC about 20 - 30 miles from Raleigh.

+1

No criticism of your question mind you but the report states there is a child care facility at the church so perhaps the Pastor thought it proper to be the good guy with the gun in the event a bad guy with a gun ever showed up. In this case, the potentiality became reality.

Of all the hings I miss it is my mind the most. And if you're male, the mind is the first to go . The second thing to go? I'm not going there.

"God uses the good ones. The bad ones use God." Mattie Appleyard (Jimmy Stewart) From the Movie "Fools Parade."

Yup!

Agreed! When we get another scumbag elected politician up on criminal charges with a "D", I am sure you'll post the same concerns.

We are entitled to due process per the United States Constitution. Hopefully, we all hope to receive the desired outcome of that due process but that is not always the case and it is not something any of us are entitled to.

Epic...huge epic fail on trying to be the devil's advocate on this one!

I agree with RonD. I would only add that a digital combination lock is best as it provides much quicker access when time is critical.

Quite frankly, I don't know. The press reports that the DA and law enforcement; to include State law enforcement are now part of this case and apparently no effort is being spared to find a credible suspect. Hopefully we'll know in the very near future.

Quite right and if I may I'll add... Ironclad ships and the revolving turret of the Monitor. Both these technologies did not go unnoticed by the European powers. In fact, it scared the s#!t out of them. After the Naval Battle of Hampton Roads, wooden war ships went the way of the dinosaurs. Battlefield medicine. The wounds were so bad and horrific, battlefield medicine found it's first origins in the Civil War. Trench warfare/long sustained siege. "Line of Battle" tactics of armies marching toward each other in the open pretty much ended. The last major battle of Petersburg established trench warfare as a major departure from line of "Line of Battle." Again the European powers took note. Integrated strategy of resources and assets. U.S. Grant is the example. Grant integrated logistics and intelligence to adjust forces in battle planning. It's a strategy still used to day in US combat doctrine. The civilian component of war. The destruction of a military requires the destruction of the civilian infrastructure that supports it. This is also referred to as "Total War." Winning the war DOES NOT mean winning the peace. The failure of Reconstruction has taught us that 1) the two issues are separate and 2) winning the peace requires as much planning as the prosecuting the war. This critical issue is taught in all of the US War Colleges. My 25 cents and a cup of coffee's worth.

Ya got a hell of an idea there!