XPost: talk.politics.misc, us.military, us.military.navy   
   XPost: aus.politics.guns, uk.politics.guns   
   From: Voter@Vote2016.com   
      
   Can people agree not to use weapons _but_ in self defense?  I would point out   
   our   
   very police officers do _not_ use weapons merely in self-defense.  Police point   
   guns at people, when their lives are not in danger.  All arrest is murderous.   
      
   Self defense is not a time for justice.  The question is, what to do when   
   someone   
   insults you.   
      
   Self defense, by gun, does work, against knives, guns, and trucks.  But hardly   
   against people shooting from up high, and guns are absolutely useless against   
   bombs.   
      
   But unarmed crowd against knives is going to have more deaths, than a gun armed   
   crowd, against a gun.   
      
   I guess knife against knife could be an option, but knives you could use in   
   self   
   defense are generally prohibited to the same degree as guns you could use in   
   self-defense.  Those crafting these prohibitions just expect someone else to do   
   the defending for you, and they won't.   
      
   You can run easier from a knife, but only if you're not trapped, or you could   
   throw blunt objects at the knife wielder's head.  And that's the kind of   
   self-defense thinking we need!   
      
   Rights don't come from the U.S. Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution was   
   established to recognize and protect the factual rights of man.  Yes, there is   
   such a thing as right and wrong, and even people sometimes disagree on what   
   they   
   are. Logic, reason, and truth must determine right from wrong and lead us to   
   fact.   
      
   How can anyone argue, that simply owning or bearing a gun _without_   
   mal-intention   
   is ever wrong, anywhere, in the Universe?  It is a sacrosanct right, like being   
   Black or Jewish.  You have a right to bear a gun even on private property, and   
   to   
   not be discriminated against, because for all you know, you'll find yourself   
   next   
   in a death trap.  Orland shooting anyone?   
      
      
   At the same time, there must be many holistic solutions, to our social   
   problems,   
   that don't resort to control and destruction.   
      
   When open war is upon us, domestically or internationally, we have no choice   
   but   
   to fight.   
      
   Domestically we otherwise stick with the message of Jesus: "Love one another."   
   See   
   others as yourself. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior.   
   Friends   
   don't hit first, and friends don't hit second.   
      
   Leadership is in order, and leading without condemning is divine.   
      
   "Love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who   
   does   
   not love does not know God, for God is love."   
   - St. John the Divine, 1 John 4:7, Holy Bible, New Testament, NKJV   
      
   "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another"   
   - Jesus Christ, John 13:34, Holy Bible, New Testament, NKJV   
      
   Love is ultimately a solution to hatred.  It's not as if open war is upon us.   
   Perhaps we should bring the New Testament back into schools as literature.  I   
   bet   
   the people who committed these massacres never read it.   
      
   If not taught as an imposed religion, The New Testament can only be *your*   
   religion, ever if you choose it.   
      
   Ultimately the kingdom of God is within you.   
      
   Well, if that's just like "Namaste" I'll again point out the actual number of   
   people killed in massacres per year is less than those struck by lightening (51   
   per year on average, source:   
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_strike#Epidemiology)  And advise you to   
   bear a gun.   
      
   But at the same time, holistic solutions which don't resort to control and   
   destruction, might not only stop massacres, but might enrich the quality of   
   life   
   of people who are unhappy and never near the point of actually pulling a   
   trigger.   
   Those who commit massacres are probably just the extreme of thousands.  We   
   shouldn't have to resort to negative arguments like massacres, to merit social   
   improvements.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)