Innocents Betrayed - True Story of Gun Control

A friend shared this video with me.  I hesitated sharing it here simply due to the extremely graphic nature of the video, there are pictures where it displays death and destruction so please be forewarned on this.  With that said, I think knowing history is extremely important because if we do not learn from our past we are going to repeat it.  While this deals with gun control, evil men, and evil regimes, that principle can be applied in every aspect of our lives.  Proverbs 26:11 reminds me of this in my own life:

"As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."

The video can be fount at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=137bWHaAA1o&feature=related

I write this for my sons, because one day I fear that either my sons, or their children will have to one day fight again for their freedom, not just because of what our government has become, but because there are enemies of God and His people.  For me, it hearkens back to what Nehemiah did when he was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and there were enemies all around them that were trying to murder the workers and destroy the people:

Nehemiah 4:18: "Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built."

Men it is our responsibility to protect our families and to protect those we love.  It starts in the home with principles, being men after God's own heart.  This is a just one principle.

Senators Call for Gun Ban

So we knew it would be just a matter of time before before folks would call for gun bans in light of the recent tragedy in Aurora.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/21/mass-shooting-prompts-calls-from-capitol-hill-and-beyond-for-tighter-gun-laws/?test=latestnews

So while the 44 - 50 million Americans that legally carry and own firearms and don't go out and commit mass murder Senators will call for gun bans because of a single deranged individual.  I highlight my previous post where more people are killed every year because of drunk drivers than because of assaults with guns.  If we use the same line of thinking or logic that these Senators use we need to ban vehicles and alcohol.  People need to think critically, think for themselves and do what is right here.  It was ALL about this deranged psycho and not about the guns.  Again it goes back to the heart.

Aurora Tragedy and Guns

The shootings in Aurora are tragedies for all those involved so first and foremost pray for those affected.  With that said it never ceases to amaze me how when something like this happens folks immediately attack the guns, and not those behind the guns.  Let’s look at some statistics:

 The National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 60, No. 3, December 29,2011 that shows the death statistics compiled for the year 2009 we have the following (see page 93 of the link below):

Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms:                          11,493

Assault (homicide) by other than discharge of firearm:          5,306

Total Homicide:                                                                       16,799

Drug-induced deaths                                                                39,147

Alcohol-induced deaths                                                           24,518

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf

Additional Statistics from other sources (documented below the stat:

2010 DUI Deaths:                                                                    13,365

http://www.bts.gov/publications/by_the_numbers/drunk_driving/index.html

2010 Homicide Deaths by firearm:                                          8,752

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain

Number of Americans who legally own firearms:                   45 million to 50 million (depending on various websites you look at)

Observations about those statistics:

1.       When it comes to assault-homicide (the act of murdering another human being) a firearm is the preferred method of performing the act, as opposed to say a baseball bat or knife.  It is effective.

2.       The 2010 numbers show that there was a decline in murder by firearm from 2009, while the number of firearms owners is at an all-time high: http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/28/gun-crime-continues-to-decrease-despite-increase-in-gun-ownership/

3.       A human being was either behind the trigger or driving the car after drinking alcohol.

I think what the numbers above reveal is that guns don’t pull their own triggers just like cars don’t drive themselves.  So is the gun evil, is alcohol evil, and is the car evil?  The answer is no, it’s how those things are used.  So that brings us to what is the cause, well it is a matter of the heart.  This young man in Aurora decided in his own heart that he would perform these evil acts; he just used guns to carry out his intentions.  I personally know of many people that willingly get into a car under the influence of alcohol and that have also hurt or killed folks because of that action.  My question is what is the difference?  Well at the root of it, it’s a matter of the heart.  Unintentional selfishness can be just as devastating as intentional selfishness.  This young man in Aurora was very selfish and as a result had very evil intentions in his heart and used tools to carry out those intentions.  Guns, just like an automobile are tools.  Guns can be used for recreation, feeding your family (hunting) and for protecting yourself from people whose hearts have evil intentions.  The interesting thing about a criminal is that they don’t care about the law.  So is the criminal act of driving drunk any different than the criminal act of murdering someone with a gun?  Neither person cared about the law, much less the person that they injured or killed. 

Those that are hell-bent on hurting others will find a way, whether by a gun, a baseball bat, a pen, a knife, a car, whatever it is all about their heart.  They will find a way to accomplish what they want.  Let’s deal with the root issue, people’s hearts.

Here are some other interesting facts about Gun use:

http://gunowners.org/fs0404.htm

Google Joins the Anti-gun club

Google Joins the Anti-gun club which is why I will be discontinuing my use of Google mail, unfortunately there are no real competitors to Google when it comes to blogging.  I have watched over the last few years how anti-gun groups have used subterfuge to quietly accomplish their anti-gun agendas.  Doing business with like minded individuals used to be easier; however in today's internet age and "global economy" that has become harder and harder to do.  We end up doing business with companies that use our money against the very ideals and values that we spend money to support, which essentially negates those funds and even worse supports (indirectly) the very thing we are against.  Please understand that I don't think that this will make any dent in Google's business or in their anti-gun agenda and left wing thinking; however it is important that I uphold the values, principles and ideals so that my sons and their children will take note and one day make those same types of decisions.  Please visit my new blog at http://www.dontmissthejourney.com.  Also, please be patient as it will take me some time to get things updated and functioning again.

Here is a link to some of the news around Google's new policy on guns.  While I understand that this only affects the shopping aspects there is no way to know how Google adjusts their search results and I have to believe that their money is going to anti-gun PAC's and politicians.

http://nation.foxnews.com/google-banning-firearm-sales/2012/07/01/google-bans-firearm-accessories-its-shopping-services
http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2012/07/05/google-sadly-joins-the-anti-gun-brigade/
http://news.yahoo.com/google-crosshairs-over-gun-ban-222640258.html

Great Men

There have been so many great men that have lived through the ages. What intrigues me more is how they got that way, what was their makeup? Great men (or women) are not created overnight they are usually born in adversity and had to really work (although they would call it living) through life.

I have been reading Sergeant York and the Great War and am almost half way through the book. It is really just a collection of Sergeant York's journals and reflections on his life through World War I. For those who don't know, Sergeant York was considered one of the greatest heroes of WWI. Here is an excerpt as to why:

Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964) was one of the most decorated American soldiers in World War I.^[1] He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others. This action occurred during the U.S.-led portion of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, which was part of a broader Allied offensive masterminded by Marshal Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg line and make the opposing German forces surrender.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_C._York)

York did not act in that moment because of who he was in that moment, rather he acted that way because of who he was. Here is an excerpt from the book that so far sums up what I have read and the sort of man that Alvin C. York was:

"So I was saved!
And that is the greatest victory I ever won. It's much harder to whip yourself than to whip the other fellow, I'm a-telling you, and I ought to know because I done, both. It was much harder for me to win the great victory over myself than to win it over those German machine guns in the Argonne Forest. And I was able to do it because my mother's love led me to God, and He showed me the light, and I done followed it." (Sergeant York and the Great War, pages 60-61)

After those amazing feats of bravery and leadership, Sergeant York was offered a life a fame and money, a movie was even made about him and to this day folks still talk about his bravery. Sergeant York wanted nothing more than to return to the mountains of northern Tennessee to live the life that he'd always known, he turned that life of fame and money down because he felt that he did what he must. It was all he knew and that made him a great man.

Sonship

I have been reading more of Fathered By God and there was an idea in the book that John Eldredge talked about and it was this idea of sonship, stating that "Forgiveness is not the goal. Coming home to the Father is the goal." (Page 32) How often do we as Christians focus on the fact that we are forgiven rather than on the fact that because we are forgiven we once again have relationship with the Father, the Lord of all creation. As Eldredge further makes this case he speaks about the Prodigal Son and points out that the story is "Not primarily about the prodigal son. It is about the father's heart." (Page 33) That really struck me because how often have we thought about that story and focused on the prodigal son as I am that son (or daughter). Well, while that's true we are all prodigal sons and daughters, it isn't about us; but rather it is about the Father's desire to love us, to have relationship with us. It is ALL about the relationship with Him. He gave His son so that we can have relationship with Him, that is the heart of our God.

On Youth

A dear friend gave me this in light of our recent move. I thought I would share this as well. I pray that I will always be youthful!

On Youth
Oh, the eagerness and freshness of youth! How the boy enjoys his food, his sleep, his sports, his companions, his truant days. His life is an adventure, he is widening his outlook, he is extending his dominion, he is conquering his kingdom. How cheap are his pleasures, how ready his enthusiasms! In boyhood I have more delight on a haymow with two companions and a big dog - delight that came nearer intoxication - than I have ever had in all subsequent holidays of my life. When youth goes much goes with it. When manhood comes, much comes with it. We exchange a world of delightful sensations and impressions for a world of duties and studies and meditations. The youth enjoys what the man tries to understand. Lucky is he who can get his grapes to market and keep the bloom upon them, who can carry some of the freshness and eagerness and simplicity of youth into his later years, who can have a boy's heart below a man's head.
- John Burroughs

This helps me keep perspective. Like any place Leadville Colorado has it's own challenges and what others would call work. For me what better playground is there than deep snow, mountains, or a plow on the front of a truck and a long drive way ;)

Life and all that is in it is an adventure to be lived, not a problem to be solved.

Take a look at Ecclesiates 11:8 - 12:14