Archive → September, 2011
Local News Underscores Gun Rights
In today’s “Times” there were two seperate stories that made me reflect for a moment about gun rights in general.
The first has to do with the highly publicized story of the murder of Amanda Bach. At this time they have a suspect, they have determined that she was shot, and that she did not suffer; there is at least that, I suppose. Now, what I like to do is be a “facebook troll”. Yes, I surf around and see what people are saying about one issue or another. It’s not only entertaining, it’s very informative. For example, I’ll see a comment about one issues or another, and I’ll check “info” on that person and see what they have to say about themselves. It’s kind of like conducting miniature polls for my own amusement; people who say A are more likely liberal, people who say B are more likely conservative, etc., etc.
Not too surprisingly, there were a handful of those that listed “liberal” or “very liberal” in their info who decided that this was an example of why guns should be outlawed. Now, I don’t want to automatically pigeon hole ALL liberals; after all, there were many who said nothing of the sort. But the few that there were really made me think to myself, “My God I hope this person never holds any position of power.” Rather, I ask the opposite question: What would be different is SHE was packing heat?
Certainly it can’t be said with 100% certainty that either A)she wasn’t or B)it would have changed the situation any, but if does make one wonder, none the less.
The second story in the paper is one about a man who was open carrying his weapon at the zoo.From what I understand, he was asked by security to conceal his weapon and he made quite the fuss about it; to the point where he was escorted out because other patrons were becoming frightened.
I don’t open carry very often; I prefer people to not know that I have my gun on me, because if it’s out in the open I’m the first person a “bad guy” is going to shoot, because he knows I have a gun. BUT it is important to open carry every so often, as my buddy Greg at work says, “because if you don’t use your rights you lose them”. In this situation, first of all, even the security says that it wasn’t that he had the gun on him; rather, there were people (and kids) there who were uncomfortable with the gun being out in the open. What the man SHOULD have done was to calmly conceal the gun and go about his day, simply because the fact that it was a public place where children were made it a little understandable that security would be concerned. But it is still his right to carry it that way, and so what security should have done was quietly pull him over to the side, check his permit, and ask him politely if he would conceal the weapon. When the man said no, they should have told him “fair enough” and then told the patrons that were complaining that it was his right, but if they felt nervous they would keep a close eye on him (which is THEIR right, as well). All in all, there is no reason that as a gun owner and carrier that one has to be a jerk about it. There are a lot better places to open carry than the zoo.
We Will Never Forget
A decade.
A decade is how long it has been since America was viciously attacked by terrorists. It doesn’t seem like it has been that long, to me at least, until I think about where I was at on 9/11 (I think most people will always remember where they were that day). I was a Sophomore in High School, taking the ISTEP tests that morning. Now, I’m going to admit something here: I had no freaking idea what the Twin Towers were at that point. I remember Mrs. Waywood (who worked at the school and is now, coincidentally, Hebron’s Town Clerk) coming over the intercom and announcing the attack (I wonder, sometimes, also, what those scores would have been if the school had waited until we were done to announce it to us all. Though then a lot of people would have been pretty ticked that they had waited, I suppose).
The next class, after we were done testing, we were finally able to SEE the destruction; it was unreal. I remember all of us standing there, watching people run away from the cloud of dust and debris. People were crying and screaming in the street. It was absolutely horrid, and that day will probably easily be the worst day in America within my lifetime.
There was a lot that happened when I was a Sophomore in High School…and right now I couldn’t tell you a damn thing. That’s what happens with big, major events like 9/11; it burns into our memories. “We will never forget” is more than just an inspirational, or patriotic saying: it’s a simple fact. Nobody will forget that day. It would be like asking me to forget the day either of my children were born, or the day I got married…it’s not only that I wouldn’t want to, it’s that I would be physically unable to.
Today is about remembering. And recognizing that America was changed that day. It isn’t about R’s and D’s after ones name, we can continue to argue and fret and fight tomorrow. For one day, just one day, we are all bound together in commonality…in remembrance. There were all kinds of ceremonies in different areas today throughout NW Indiana, and throughout the country, and running for Town Council it probably wasn’t politically smart of me to not go to any. But I chose to remember today in my own way; I spent the day with my family, played with my children, and waited for the Cowboys to play. Because that is the biggest slap in the face to those that wanted to tear our country down. A decade later, and though our innocence as a country has been lost, we can still live here without fear.
So today, spend some time with your family, and say a little prayer for those that lost their lives. And remember.
