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| Photo from Radically Christian website |
A hot button issue, red/blue conflict written all over it. Or is it? I find
myself, living in Norwood for some 30 years now, having watched my neighbors,
most of whom have guns, be respectful, not harm anyone and not negligently
allow arms access to their youngsters, so I’m having a hard time endorsing a
letter supporting Pres. Obama’s gun control measures in this country, when this
is the same president who’s using drones to kill terrorists and terrified
children in foreign nations, in open violation of the U.N. Charter (why host an
international alliance if you aren’t going to honor its charter?)
Okay, that
was kind of a non-sequitur. But I think we have to face up to the facts. Ours
was a nation born in revolution. We owe our independence to a citizenry who
threw off the yoke of a King and founded a democratic union wherein they had
the right to bear arms – not just for hunting or for sport but for self-defense
and against ill-doers or (goddess forbid) a government coup.
Yes, I’ve walked
for peace in Telluride on the 11th of almost ten years’ worth of
months. I deplore state violence beyond our borders, except for the most
egregious situations – of which ‘Nam,
Iraq, and Afghanistan did
not qualify in my book. And as a commissioner, I’ve sworn an oath to uphold and
defend our state constitution, as well as our federal one.
But I also think,
as Americans, we have a responsibility to defend ourselves, families and
friends and a duty to defend our nation. Let’s start giving our society new
tools to prevent mass killings (mental health programs, youth mentoring, etc.)
rather than taking away our rights to defend ourselves.
Thanks for the bit of sanity. When we have a perfect world, we won't have to defend ourselves from evil doers and tyrannical governments.
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